Back to School Tax Breaks

Like tax season, back-to-school season rolls around annually with certainty. But in today’s inflationary environment, the start-up costs for getting the family organizing for the school year may seem daunting. The good news is that tax and financial advisors can help clients understand their tax planning options and manage all the receipts that can lead to tax breaks later in the spring during tax filing time. Here’s a primer of topics you may wish to discuss:

Professional bookkeeping skills are in high demand, but hard to find.   Knowledge Bureau’s new 30-hour certification course features new practical scenarios featuring Intuit’s Quickbooks Online; a powerful educational experience that will enable confidence in the bookkeeping department.  

Taking a Knowledge Bureau training program this year?  There are numerous funding options to help make your professional studies more affordable, including financing by Knowledge Bureau, funding through a student’s own tax assisted savings plans and CRA tax assistance through various tax incentives.

Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farm workers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.” Nelson Mandela

September 15 is the date on which the third quarterly tax instalment must be remitted to CRA, to avoid interest costs on amounts owing for 2016. CRA may have sent a notice, but is the amount shown on it what is really owed?

Although the government has yet to announce the OAS rates for the fourth quarter, indexation factors specified in the Old Age Security Act indicate a rate increase of 0.9% or $5.16 per month for seniors receiving the standard rate.

Tuition funding is expensive, but there is tax relief. In our final of three reports on education funding, learn how the tax system shares in the cost with parents and students when it comes to funding a post-secondary education.