The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) was recently asked to provide an update regarding the new online application process for a trust account number. In my capacity as an advisor, I ask clients to make tax payments if an only if there is an account number assigned to the taxpayer responsible…
Category: Canada Revenue Agency
A charitable remainder trust (CRT), although not widely used in Canada, can be a useful charitable giving tool that generates an immediate tax credit for the donor. In an inter vivos context, an individual establishes an alter ego trust and transfers property to the trust on a tax-deferred basis. The trust holds…
Tax planning can be very complicated with an Income Tax Act (“Act”) consisting of over 1.1 million words. This is a far cry from the original 4,000 words of the Act’s predecessor, Income War Tax Act[1], which was originally enacted as a temporary measure in 1917. The more than 3,000…
The rollover provisions of the Income Tax Act, under subsection 85, permit a taxpayer to elect to transfer “eligible property” to a taxable Canadian corporation in exchange for consideration that includes at least one share of the corporation. “Eligible property” includes most capital property, Canadian or foreign resource property, eligible…
On June 29, 2021, the Private Member’s Bill C-208, regarding the transfer of small businesses and family farm or fishing corporations (the Bill), received Royal Assent. The Bill limits the application of section 84.1 on inter-generational business sales. Avoiding section 84.1 allows the vendor to receive capital gains treatment on a non-arm’s…
With the requirements for COVID-19 tests for entry into Canada and vaccines, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) was asked to comment on the availability of the medical expense tax credit (METC). Medical expenses which are eligible for the METC are limited to those described in our tax rules. If a…
No, the government did not eliminate or claw back the principal residence exemption in the 2021 Budget, as had been speculated. Yet, there is a circumstance in which a taxpayer could face an unexpected tax burden in respect of a principal residence: when there is a change in use of a…
Generally the RRSP or RRIF of a deceased can be transferred by specific bequest under the terms of the deceased’s will to a qualifying survivor tax-free. A qualifying survivor would be the deceased annuitant spouse or common-law partner or a financially dependent child or grandchild. When payments from a deceased…
In a recent court case (Paletta Estate v. The Queen) the estate successfully appealed that it was entitled to $55 million in losses in the 2000 to 2006 taxation years generated through forward foreign exchange trading. The estate purchased straddled forward foreign exchange contracts – one long and one short….
A recent article discussed taxation anomalies that occur due to timing differences between when a trust receives a dividend and subsequently pays and allocates a dividend to a beneficiary. CRA view 2016-0647621E5 provides that when a trust receives a dividend in the year and subsequently pays and allocates the dividend to a beneficiary…