Toyin Fambegbe, CPA

Eligible educators can now claim your school supplies! There is a new refundable tax credit for 2016 and beyond: the Eligible Educator School Supply Tax Credit. If you are an eligible educator you can now claim a 15% refundable tax credit on up to $1,000 of supply purchases per year. Who is eligible?... You can only claim this tax credit if you are a teacher or early childhood educator employed at an elementary or secondary school or a regulated child care facility: You must have a teacher’s certificate that is valid in the province or territory where you are employed; or You must have a certificate or diploma in early childhood education that is recognized in the province or territory where you are employed. What kinds of teaching supplies are eligible? For your supplies to be eligible for this credit, they must be: purchased in the taxation year by an eligible educator; used in a school or in a regulated child care facility for teaching or helping students learn; not reimbursable and not subject to an allowance or other form of assistance (unless the reimbursement, allowance or assistance is included in the income of the teacher or educator and not deductible); and not deducted or used in calculating a deduction from any person’s income for any taxation year. Some examples of eligible supplies include: construction paper; flashcards; items for science experiments; art supplies; various writing materials games and puzzles; books for the classroom; and educational support software. If you claim this tax credit, the CRA may ask you to provide a certification from your employer attesting to the eligible supplies expense. You should request the certification from your employer in a timely manner and keep it in your files, along with your receipts, in case the CRA requests it. Have questions? Give us a call at (416) 877-8481.

~~ Up next for #SWH April 30,2016 Leading in Heels: In Leading in Heels, we discuss the importance of leadership and empowerment for women in today’s society. We discuss various types of effective leadership for women in business. We also engage in healthy conversations about female leadership with women entrepreneurs who have been successful in this realm. It’s women’s turn to lead in heels.~~

To help our small business owners and prospective clients compile their 2015 income and expenses, we are sharing our Financial statements template. This is an easy to use excel worksheet. Fill it in and send it back to us to prepare your income taxes. To obtain your copy, send us an email with subject line " Financial statements template Request" to email address "[email protected].

To business owners with employees or a payroll account, there is a new form T4032, Payroll Deductions Tables - CPP, EI, and income tax deductions. The guide/table reflects some income tax changes recently announced which, if enacted as proposed, would be effective January 1, 2016. At the time of this posting, some of these proposed changes were not law. We recommend that you use the new payroll deductions tables in this guide for withholding starting with the first payroll in... January 2016. The CRA link to the guide and tax table is: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca///pyrll/t4032/2016/menu-eng.html If you have any questions with the implementation of these changes, or would like to set up your payroll system, do not sweat it, we can help. Call us at (416) 877-8481

Toyin Fambegbe, CPA wishes our devoted clients and Facebook family a very Merry Christmas and happy holidays. Thank you for your continued patronage and trust in us. We wish you many blessings with family and business in 2016.

What's new for corporations.... Small business tax rate ... For tax years that end after 2015, the small business tax rate will be reduced from 11% to 9% over four years as follows: 10.5% effective January 1, 2016; 10% effective January 1, 2017; 9.5% effective January 1, 2018; and 9% effective January 1, 2019. The tax rate reduction will be prorated for tax years that straddle calendar years. If you need more information for your corporations or small business, cal us today at (416) 877-8481 http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca//bs/tpcs/crprtns/whtsnw-eng.html

Changes affecting your GST/HST return Unique access code As part of its ongoing efforts to reduce red tape for businesses and simplify its electronic services, starting October 19, 2015, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will provide all GST/HST registrants with a new and unique access code on their GST34-2, Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) Return for Registrants, or GST34-3, Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) Electronic Filing Informatio...n. As of October 19, 2015, you will also be able to change your access code to one of your choice by going to www.cra.gc.ca/gsthst-accesscode. You can use this access code to file all your future GST34-2s or GST34-3s. Delivery of the GST34-3, Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) Electronic Filing Information Also starting October 19, 2015, how often you receive your GST34-3, and what you get with it will change. All GST/HST registrants that now receive a GST34-3 each time they have to file in the fiscal year will receive one GST34-3 package for the entire fiscal year. The package will contain your access code, a list of your reporting periods and filing due dates for that fiscal year, and the remittance vouchers for each period in the fiscal year. For example: As a monthly filer, you now receive a GST34-3 every month throughout the year. After October 19, 2015, you will receive one GST34-3 package that has everything you need to file your 12 monthly returns. Your filing and payment/remittance due dates remain the same. Helpful reminder To help you keep track of your due dates, we encourage you to download the CRA Business Tax Reminders mobile app and create custom reminders and alerts for key CRA due dates for instalment payments, returns, and remittances. For more information, go to www.cra.gc.ca/mobileapps.

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ID theft? Be aware and protect yourself.

Wishing you and family a happy thanksgiving.