The UHT May Be Cancelled, But Vacancy Taxes Remain

As tax professionals, you are keenly aware of the constant changes our federal government makes to the Income Tax Act. Adjustments are made, and you must adapt. Not often, though, is a tax eliminated altogether. But in the case of the Underused Housing Tax (UHT), that is exactly what has happened – it was cancelled in the federal budget of November 4, 2025, but Canada’s underused housing taxes have not been eliminated. Here’s what you need to know for tax season 2026.

Tax-Free First Home Savings Account (FHSA) is the newest in a series of tax-advantaged savings accounts critical to the building of wealth, and it’s already a month old!  The FHSA is a useful tool, not just for future homeowners but potentially for senior renters, business owners and others with limited RRSP room.  Here is a checklist of rules investors will want to discuss with their advisors.

The prescribed interest rate on overdue taxes is 9% for the second quarter. Will taxpayers now pay off tax debt sooner? Not according to 80% of tax and financial advisors who responded to our April poll. The pros say there are other factors to consider, including paying off other higher interest rate debt and they highlight that increases are only punitive when most taxpayers would pay off their CRA debt if they had the means to. Here are their comments:

It’s officially the beginning of tax season 2024, and there are some important dates to note to sharpen your skills and prepare to help your clients improve their financial lives. Mark your calendar!

Last year was quite possibly the worst year in decades to retire and start drawing retirement income and so far in 2023, the foreseeable future is fraught with uncertainty.  For these reasons we asked CE Summit keynote speaker and best-selling author Doug Nelson, B.Comm., CFP, CLU, CIM, RWM™ to share his inspiration in preparing his sessions for the upcoming May 24 CE Summits Workshop and expand upon the kind of retirement planning advice that’s right for today’s difficult environment. He was passionate in his response and provides a sneak peek at what you will learn.

The 2023 Distinguished Advisor Conference (DAC Acuity) takes place November 12 to 14 at the beautiful Banff Springs Hotel. It is going to be an outstanding industry event for several reasons: the incredible education from Canada’s top thought leaders in the tax, accounting and financial services, as well as our 20th Anniversary celebrations!  Here’s who is included on our illustrious speaker roster so far.  Sign up by June 30 for early bird tuition reductions and reserve the incredibly low hotel rates (rooms will sell out fast):

With the new CE Savvy™ Collections you’ll engage in a cool new format that allows for traditional, mobile and social learning, featuring gamification and personalized, data-driven results: keep track of your CE in your own learners dashboard. Plus, learn by collection (5 micro-courses at a time) or by annual subscription (the full professional library yours to select from any time 24/7).