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:

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Proprietors – unincorporated self employed people – must file their personal tax returns by midnight June 15 to avoid paying late filing penalties.  Unfortunately, those who owe will already be incurring high interest charges.   What does post-tax season planning mean for those who owe and those who received their refund?  You can provide guidance – some ideas follow:

A new study reports that Millennials have been dealt a raw hand recent economic changes, that have landed them under water with high student loan debt, credit card debt, demand loan debt and the CERB repayment, which has pushed many over the edge into insolvency. 

The divorce rate has dropped by one third in Canada since 2016, in a surprising statistical table published by Statistics Canada this week. This is contrary to the reports by some divorce lawyers who saw a spike in inquiries during the pandemic. Was this new family harmony an anomaly or was there a pandemic blip in the numbers? 

Bill C-47, which was tabled on April 20, 2023 to enact certain provisions of the March 28, 2023 federal budget passed through the House of Commons on June 8, 2023, and is now off to the Senate.  With swift passage there, provisions such as the Grocery Rebate could be initiated for anticipated payment by July 5.  However, there are other very important provisions in the 430-page document – sign up to receive Knowledge Bureau Report in your inbox to receive our detailed budget report for more information! 

An interesting trend has emerged in giving has emerged over the pandemic years.  In a new report released by Statistics Canada on March 14, 2023 there was a 3% drop in donors claiming donation tax credits in the 2021 tax filing year.  Are Canadians less charitable these days? Or is something else going on?