Fuel Excise Tax on Hold But Inflation is Not

The U.S.-Israel war on Iran has thrown global oil prices into turmoil and there is plenty of fallout for consumers. Travelling to Europe this summer? That’s in jeopardy, as jet fuel may run out.  Looking for relief at the pumps instead? The recently announced suspended federal excise tax on gasoline, unleaded aviation gasoline, diesel fuel and aviation fuel here in Canada will soften the blow, but only temporarily: it will be zero from April 20 to September 7, 2026. Here’s what you need to know:

Business owners: the burden of proof in an audit is on you. That’s the message the CRA is sending to businesses since close to $1.2 billion has been identified (but not necessarily collected) through audits of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which represents a big win for the tax department. So, what can you do to prepare a potential defence before year-end should your business be next?

Medical expenses are among the most commonly overlooked tax provisions and it’s important to pay attention to unreimbursed medical expenses and to claim them as they can be used to reduce taxes payable. CRA has a list of over 130 claimable medical expenses. Here are some odd medical expenses you don’t want to miss:

DAC 2019 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico is in full swing this week and Day 3 is underway today. It has been an outstanding conference in every respect, with all the speakers hitting their topics out of the park with passion, cutting-edge insights, and highly engaged delegates discussing resilience and competition in a dramatically changing world.

Advanced 2020 Personal Tax Update - Join Canadian tax expert Evelyn Jacks and special guest instructors from across Canada who will update you on the latest personal tax changes on the tax forms and dig deep behind the lines so you can find every tax deduction and credit available to the families you do tax returns for. Train your new seasonal and returning staff and save money by booking a whole table. This popular event sells out every year so enrol early.

Last year, tax season began on February 19. Tax season has been starting later, leaving less time to file your clients’ returns; but that does leave more time to shore up your education. Now is the time to ensure your team is up-to-speed and ready to prepare audit-proof, tax-efficient returns that save your clients money.

Once you’ve done your year-end planning for 2019, it’s important to know what your tax situation for 2020 will look like. Indexation of tax brackets and personal amounts are based on the Consumer Price Index for September, while prescribed interest rates are based on the average rate for three-month Treasury Bills for October. Although the CRA won’t announce the exact figures until later in November, here’s what to expect the new tax numbers to look like based on a federal indexing factor of 1.9%