CRA Shut Down: Communicate Proactively Before Long Weekend

Did you know that Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will be undergoing a digital migration on the September long weekend, starting Friday August 29 at 8:00 p.m. and ending Tuesday at 6:00 am September 2, with the proviso that this possibly could last til September 3? What could go wrong? Plenty.

One week until Rookie Tax Training School focused on families, employees and investors. This half day event drills down on key tax filing tips and traps for tax season 2025 and will take a detailed look at the tax forms, including late form releases from CRA, and is ideal for anyone new to personal tax filing and especially valuable for career development in the tax preparation, public accounting or financial services industries. Register now and upskill your team for the upcoming tax season. Your tuition includes access to Canada’s Income Tax Fundamentals Course.

The DMA™ Distinguished Master Advisor is a technical specialist in one or more financial disciplines: personal tax, corporate tax, accounting, or small business management and business transition services. Register by February 15 to earn new specialized credentials that build confidence, bring new solutions and build new networks!

Especially for experienced financial services professionals as part of a comprehensive workplace training plan! Earn a new Certificate in Lifecycle Transitions Planning. Choose 15 cool new interactive mini-courses – one hour in length - from a selection of 80 modules.  There’s one important focus:  to help you engage more effectively in tax-efficient wealth management conversations during this period of significant – and potentially expensive – tax change in Canada.  Here’s what you need to know:

Tax season 2025 has started with a focus on the increased income levels some taxpayers may report due to proposed changes in capital gains tax laws.  But aside from this there are new questions to probe with clients to ensure the family’s tax returns are filed to their very best benefit, given change in their life and financial events as well.  Here are top 10 queries to add to your interview checklist:

CRA has put business owners and their representatives on notice that starting in the spring of 2025 their relationship is a digital one.  Specifically, CRA will transition to online mail as the default for business correspondence through the My Business Account portal, rather than communicating through the mail.  That could mean two things for professional tax advisors:  an increase in business from small business owners who want them to the digital relationship for them and second, extra vigilance for communication exchanges for those who Represent a Client. 

Each year Canada writes off millions in unpaid student loans. This is a generally under-reported story but the money we, as Canadians, lend to students and never see again is significant, as explained below. Further, in an effort to ease the burden on students the government eliminated interest on student loans in 2023. Despite the government’s best efforts to make repayment easier, defaults continue. This year, though, the federal government is pivoting to provide some new incentives.