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January 19, 2021

Norm's Tips and Traps 4Q 2019
click here to access Norm's Tips and Traps 4Q 2019 saveutax.com...

Norm's Tips and Traps 3Q 2019
click here to access Norm's 3Q Tips and Traps saveutax.com...

SaveUTax.com 2018 Federal Budget Commentary
Please click here to see the SaveUTax.com 2018 Federal Budget Commentary...

Archived Newsletters
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Norman's Tips and Traps Q1 2017
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NORM' s Tax Tips and Traps 120, 2017 4th Quarter
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NORM' s Tax Tips and Traps 119, 2017 3rd Quarter
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Looking ahead to 2021 – getting source deductions right from the start (December 2020)
Planning for – or even thinking about – next year’s taxes when it’s not yet even mid-December may seem more than a little premature. However, most Canadians will start paying their taxes for 2...

Tax consequences of employer holiday gifts and bonuses (December 2020)
During the month of December, it’s customary for employers to provide something “extra” for their employees, by way of a holiday gift, a year-end bonus or an employer-sponsored social event. And...

Year-end planning for medical expense claims (December 2020)
While Canadians benefit from a publicly funded health care system, there are nonetheless a significant (and increasing) number of medical and para-medical expenses which are not covered by provincial ...

Some year-end tax planning considerations for 2020 (December 2020)
Canadian Emergency Response Benefit In March of this year, in response to the pandemic, the federal government announced and rolled out a number of benefit programs to assist individuals who had exper...

Tax planning for year-end charitable donations (November 2020)
Canadians have a well-deserved reputation for supporting charitable causes, through donations of both money and goods. Our tax system supports that generosity by providing a tax credit for qualifying ...

Coming clean with the tax authorities – the Voluntary Disclosure Program (November 2020)
The Canadian tax system is a “self-assessing system” which relies heavily on the voluntary co-operation of taxpayers. Canadians are expected (in fact, in most cases, required), to complete and fil...

Claiming a deduction for moving expenses (November 2020)
One of the more unexpected effects of the current pandemic has been the impact on the Canadian real estate market. In each of July, August, and September 2020 the number of home sales, especially in m...

Federal government expands and extends business pandemic relief programs (November 2020)
Since the pandemic began early in 2020, and especially after many non-essential businesses were required to close temporarily as a public health measure, the federal government has brought forward a b...

New Quarterly Newsletters (Q3 2020)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....

When the taxman has a few questions… (September 2020)
Between mid-February and mid-August of this year, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) received and processed just over 29 million individual income tax returns filed for the 2019 tax year. The sheer volum...

Keeping track of 2020’s changing federal tax deadlines (September 2020)
When the state of emergency was declared in March of this year, the federal government extended the usual deadlines for both the filing of individual tax returns and payment of taxes owed, for both 20...

Transitioning from the Canada Emergency Relief Benefit (September 2020)
Of all the many financial relief programs introduced by the federal government to address the economic impact of the pandemic, probably none has had a bigger impact than the Canada Emergency Relief Be...

Paying income tax instalments in 2020 (August 2020)
Most Canadians who participate in the paid work force do so as employees. Consequently, they receive a regular paycheque from their employer and they pay income taxes by means of amounts deducted from...

Protecting yourself from tax and benefit scams (August 2020)
It’s an acknowledged reality that times of crisis bring out both the best and the worst in people. While most Canadians would never consider using the current pandemic as a means of defrauding other...

Changes to the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy Program (August 2020)
When states of emergency were being declared across the country in March of this year, thousands of businesses were forced to close their doors and, as a result, were faced with the necessity of layin...

Getting financial and tax assistance for post-secondary education costs (August 2020)
For post-secondary students the upcoming academic year is going to be unlike anything they have previously experienced. Post-secondary institutions across the country are now determining whether, and ...

Whether (and when) to stop contributing to the Canada Pension Plan (July 2020)
When the Canada Pension Plan was put in place on January 1,1966, it was a relatively simple retirement savings model. Working Canadians started making contributions to the CPP when they turned 18 year...

Mortgage lending rules tighten again on July 1, 2020 (July 2020)
Just over a decade ago, it was possible to buy a home in Canada with no down payment — financing 100% of the purchase price — and extending the repayment period for that borrowing over a 40-year p...

Fixing a mistake in your (already filed) tax return (July 2020)
While Canadians had an extended time this year to file their income tax returns for the 2019 tax year, the extended filing deadlines (June 1 for the majority of Canadians, and June 15 for self-employe...

Tax and financial planning for the pandemic (July 2020)
While the standard (and accurate) advice is that tax and financial planning are best approached as activities to be carried on throughout the year, it’s also the case that a mid-year tax and financi...

First-time Home Buyer’s Incentive program launches on September 2 (September 2019)
In this year’s Budget, the federal government announced the creation of a program — the First-time Home Buyers’ Incentive, or FTHBI, to provide assistance to individuals seeking to enter the hou...

Claiming the Canada Child Benefit (August 2019)
Raising children is expensive and, in recognition of that fact, the federal government has, for more than half a century, provided financial assistance to parents to help with those costs. That assist...

Accessing home equity in retirement – the reverse mortgage (August 2019)
An increasing number of Canada’s baby boomers are moving into retirement with each passing year and, for most of those baby boomers, retirement looks a lot different than it did for their parents. F...

What to do when you can’t pay your tax bill (April 2019)
Most taxpayers sit down to do their annual tax return, or wait to hear from their tax return preparer, with some degree of trepidation. In most cases taxpayers don’t know, until their return is comp...

Deciding when to start receiving Old Age Security benefits (March 2019)
The Old Age Security program is the only aspect of Canada’s retirement income system which does not require a direct contribution from recipients of program benefits. Rather, the OAS program is fund...

New Quarterly Newsletters (February 2019)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....

More debt … and more interest (February 2019)
The fact that debt levels of Canadian households have been increasing over the past decade and a half can’t really be called news anymore. In particular, the ratio of debt-to-household-income, which...

Canada Pension Plan Contributions for 2019 (January 2019)
The Canada Pension Plan contribution rate for 2019 is increased to 5.1% of pensionable earnings for the year....

Federal individual tax credits for 2019 (January 2019)
Dollar amounts on which individual non-refundable federal tax credits for 2019 are based, and the actual tax credit claimable, will be as follows....

Federal individual tax rates and brackets for 2019 (January 2019)
The indexing factor for federal tax credits and brackets for 2018 is 2.2%. The following federal tax rates and brackets will be in effect for individuals for the 2019 tax year....

Tax deadlines and limits for the 2019 tax year (January 2019)
Each new tax year brings with it a listing of tax payment and filing deadlines, as well as some changes with respect to tax planning strategies. Some of the more significant dates and changes for indi...

Tax changes effective January 1, 2019 (January 2019)
The following tax changes are in effect January 1, 2019....

The potential tax costs of holiday gifts and celebrations (December 2018)
The holiday season is usually costly, but few Canadians are aware that those costs can include increased income tax liability resulting from holiday gifts and celebrations. It doesn’t seem entirely ...

New Quarterly Newsletters (November 2018)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....

Managing a student loan after graduation (November 2018)
Getting a post-secondary education – or professional training – isn’t inexpensive. Tuition costs can range from as little as $5,000 per year for undergraduate studies to as much as $40,000 in tu...

Claiming a deduction for union or professional dues (November 2018)
Most Canadians deal with our tax system only once a year, when preparing the annual tax return. And, while that return – the T1 Individual Income Tax Return – may be only four pages long, the info...

Canadian household debt levels increase – again (November 2018)
Anyone who has ever tried to reduce their overall personal or household debt knows that doing so, no matter how disciplined one’s approach, can seem like a one step forward, two steps back propositi...

Planning for out-of-country medical costs (October 2018)
As the days get shorter and the temperature drops, many Canadians start thinking about spending a few days or weeks (or even longer) of the upcoming winter somewhere warmer. For some, that means going...

The employee tax perks of working from home (October 2018)
The daily commute to and from work is, generally, everybody’s least favourite part of the work day. In recent years that commute has gotten longer and longer as many Canadians, especially those work...

The tax scam that won’t go away (October 2018)
Tax scams have been around, probably, for about as long as Canada has had a tax system. They also have a tendency to proliferate at certain times of the year — often during tax return filing and ass...

Current rules on getting mortgage financing (September 2018)
For all but a very fortunate few, buying a home means having to obtain financing for the portion of the purchase price not covered by a down payment. For most buyers, especially first-time buyers, tha...

Deciphering your Notice of Assessment (June 2018)
By the middle of May 2018, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) had processed just over 26 million individual income tax returns filed for the 2017 tax year. Just over 14 million of those returns resulted ...

Protecting yourself from tax scams (July 2017)
As the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) notes on its website, new tax scams are devised every single day of the week. And, despite the cautionary tales which appear frequently in the media and the warnings...

Deciding whether to dispute your tax assessment (July 2017)
The variety of amounts and kinds of income, deductions taken, and credits claimed on individual income tax returns filed by Canadians each spring is almost limitless. Each of those returns, however, h...

Keeping up with your taxes for 2017 (July 2017)
By now, halfway through the 2017 tax year, almost all Canadian individual taxpayers will have filed their income tax return for 2016, and most will have received the Notice of Assessment which summari...

New rules for financing post-secondary education (June 2017)
For many years, post-secondary students have financed their educations in part through private savings and often in part through government student loans, which are generally interest-free while the s...

Understanding the OAS “recovery tax” (May 2017)
Older taxpayers who have recently completed and filed their tax returns for 2016 may face an unpleasant surprise when that return is assessed. The unpleasant surprise may come in the form of a notific...

Flying south for the winter (November 2016)
Once daily weather reports begin to include wind chill factors or frost warnings, the thoughts of many Canadian turn to the idea of spending part of the Canadian winter somewhere much warmer – most ...

Finance tightens mortgage lending rules - again (November 2016)
During the financial crisis that took place in 2008 and 2009, the Canadian mortgage and real estate market didn’t experience the kind of meltdown which occurred south of the border. That result was ...

Determining your Canada Pension Plan entitlement (October 2016)
Canada Pension Plan (CPP) retirement benefits are available to virtually any Canadian who has participated in the work force and made contributions to the CPP and for most retirees, that monthly CPP b...

Planning for year-end charitable donations (October 2016)
The start of fall marks a lot of things, among them a number of runs, walks, and other similar events held to raise money for a broad range of Canadian charities. And, in a few months, as the holiday ...

Employer-provided cell phones - the potential tax cost (September 2016)
Having access to mobile communication is useful and practical for any number of reasons and Canadians who don’t have a cell or smart phone are likely now the exception rather than the rule. It’s a...