Bertrand Creek Tax
2645 275A St V4W0C4 Aldergrove, BC, Canada

Tax deadline is on Monday, June 1st! Gives us a call or send us a message

Haven’t filed yet? You are not alone! Can’t find your information slips? January/February was a LONG time ago, after all! We can help retrieve your information. Contact us for further information on filing your return. Completely remote tax prep is still a good and viable option. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND! STAY SAFE & HEALTHY!

Back in March, Canada Revenue Agency extended the filing deadline for individuals to June 1st. Any taxes owing are due September 1st, and the filing deadline for self-employed individuals remains June 15th. So, no 15 hour day for me today, and no take-out sushi to celebrate at day’s end. I’ll kind of miss it. But, no problem, we’ll continue filing taxes surely and steadily for another month. If you haven’t filed yet, I’d suggest doing it soon, especially if you expect GST credits and/or Canada Child Benefits in July. Have a good day!

I certainly miss seeing and chatting with my clients! However, communicating via email and using e-signatures is working, and not as awkward and cumbersome as it seemed just last week. If it must be done this way, it works well. That being said, I am looking forward to the day we can chat and be at ease and maybe even shake hands (What?!). Till then, be safe, listen to Bonnie , and stay healthy. Visit bertrandcreektax.ca to safely and securely upload documents/receipts we may need to complete your tax return remotely.

Honestly, I don’t know how the term carrying charge came about, but if you have non-registered investments you may have deductions to claim on your tax return that you don’t want to miss. Most commonly, this would include interest paid on money you borrowed to invest, or fees and commissions charged by your investment company. We can help determine your eligibility! 236-360-9339 bertrandcreektax.ca

Breaking News! Flexibility for Tax Payers. In order to provide greater flexibility to Canadians who may be experiencing hardships during the COVID-19 outbreak, the Canada Revenue Agency will defer the filing due date for the 2019 tax returns of individuals, including certain trusts. For individuals (other than trusts), the return filing due date will be deferred until June 1, 2020. However, the Agency encourages individuals who expect to receive benefits under the GSTC or... the Canada Child Benefit not to delay the filing of their return to ensure their entitlements for the 2020-21 benefit year are properly determined. For trusts having a taxation year ending on December 31, 2019, the return filing due date will be deferred until May 1, 2020. The Canada Revenue Agency will allow all taxpayers to defer, until after August 31, 2020, the payment of any income tax amounts that become owing on or after today and before September 2020. This relief would apply to tax balances due, as well as installments, under Part I of the Income Tax Act. No interest or penalties will accumulate on these amounts during this period. See more

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An abundance of caution: Have your taxes prepared remotely. If you would like, your information slips can be scanned and uploaded at bertrandcreektax.ca/file-upload - a phone call or two to gather and confirm all the applicable background information and we can prepare your return. You can sign it remotely, we will e-file it, and will email you your completed return.

That result is never fun, especially if it’s unexpected. First of all, know that if you’ve worked fairly steadily for one employer the whole year, and you have no extraordinary credits or deductions , your tax return should result in either a small refund or a small amount owing. That’s how payroll taxes are calculated. Here are three scenarios (although certainly not the only ones!) that we see fairly often when tax returns result in a chunk of change due back to the tax m...an: You withdrew RRSPs. You added to your income but perhaps only 10% tax was withheld. You worked several jobs at the same time. Each employer ‘s payroll program calculated tax as if that was your only income, but when all the income is added together, the tax withheld comes up short. You received EI benefits during the year. Typically, very little tax is withheld from EI payments, which can be useful when unemployed, but not helpful at tax time. If you think this may be the case for you in 2020, you may ask your employer to withhold extra tax from each paycheque (fill out form TD1), or set some money aside so you are prepared. Still wondering about your tax return? Set up an appointment for a second look!

Most of us know that we can use prescriptions, chiropractor, RMT appointments and such, but often overlooked is medical insurance: both co-paid through work (should be shown in box 85 on your T4), privately paid premiums, and travel medical insurance. Naturally, any medical expenses reimbursed by an insurer cannot be claimed, but make sure you include the portion that you did pay. An easy way to determine your share is to go online to your insurer and print out a summary that shows what you have paid out. Check out Medical Expenses Canada.ca for more information, and be aware that you can claim for family members that you support. Call for an appointment - we can help make sure you get the most out of your tax return for 2020!

I know, I know. I already mentioned RRSPs last week! While considering an RRSP purchase, remember that the benefit might not only be less tax payable, but, by reducing your net income, may increase your Canada Child Benefit if that applies to you. Also, if you’ve collected EI during the year and are in danger of having 30% of it clawed back because your net income is over $66,375, consider purchasing an RRSP to bring your net income below that amount to avoid the clawback. Deadline is March 2nd! Follow us on Facebook for more tips on how to get the most out of your tax return in 2020.

Check with your financial advisor to see if this may be a good choice for you. If you want to know what difference an RRSP purchase of any given amount will make to your tax return, bring your slips in and we can prepare but not complete your return with hypothetical RRSP purchases to help you decide on how much to contribute. Call us to make an appointment.