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From the Financial Post: Earlier this month, we learned that the Canada Revenue Agency sent out 441,000 educational letters warning individuals that they may not be eligible for CERB. The letters were sent out to individuals whom the CRA said it was unable to confirm employment and/or self-employment income of at least $5,000 in 2019, or in the 12 months prior to the date of their application. While the issue of whether the $5,000 qualification limit for the self-employ...ed means gross income (i.e. revenues) or net income (i.e. net of expenses) has been discussed extensively, the CRA is standing by its view that the $5,000 refers to net income, and thus if you had gross income of $5,000, but netted under $5,000 after expenses, then you didn’t qualify for the CERB and need to repay it. If you need to return the CERB, you may wish to return it in 2020 vs. 2021. That’s because the CERB amounts are taxable and will be reported on your T4A tax information slip for inclusion on your 2020 tax return. The CRA has indicated that amounts returned by Dec. 31 won’t need to be included on your 2020 return.

RRSP or TFSA. Which should you use for a downpayment on your first house?

It's RRSP season. Hey future home owners! An RRSP loan could get you to home ownership sooner. But, is it right for you?

From the Financial Post: Earlier this month, we learned that the Canada Revenue Agency sent out 441,000 educational letters warning individuals that they may not be eligible for CERB. The letters were sent out to individuals whom the CRA said it was unable to confirm employment and/or self-employment income of at least $5,000 in 2019, or in the 12 months prior to the date of their application. While the issue of whether the $5,000 qualification limit for the self-employ...ed means gross income (i.e. revenues) or net income (i.e. net of expenses) has been discussed extensively, the CRA is standing by its view that the $5,000 refers to net income, and thus if you had gross income of $5,000, but netted under $5,000 after expenses, then you didn’t qualify for the CERB and need to repay it. If you need to return the CERB, you may wish to return it in 2020 vs. 2021. That’s because the CERB amounts are taxable and will be reported on your T4A tax information slip for inclusion on your 2020 tax return. The CRA has indicated that amounts returned by Dec. 31 won’t need to be included on your 2020 return.

If you have to repay CERB, you want to do it before December 31st. If you wait until 2021, not only will you have to repay CERB, you will also have to pay taxes on the CERB you received in 2020. Full details available in the article.

The retirement expense people don't budget for.