All About Estates

Category: Investments

Total 116 Posts

AMENDING TAX ELECTIONS AFTER THE FACT

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…

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Changing Beneficiary Designations

Changing a beneficiary designation is as simple as writing it down.

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Joint accounts – continued

Several years ago, I wrote about probate planning involving the use of joint accounts. At the time, my father-in-law had just passed away and my mother-in-law, who survived him, was intent on paying the least amount of Estate Administration Tax (EAT). Jointly held property with a spouse or with one…

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Some Ins and Outs of RRSPs & RRIFs Transfers on Death

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…

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What is a Reasonable Error

Further to my last post, the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) does have the discretion to waive tax penalties on excess (or deemed to be excess) contributions to Tax Free Savings Accounts (“TFSA’s) and Registered Retirement Savings Plans (“RRSP”) if an excess contribution  to a TFSA or RRSP resulted from a…

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Inheritance and Tax

There is renewed discussion on whether Canada will become another jurisdiction where specific gift or estate taxes will be imposed on inheritances. There is speculation that the discussion will lead to something concrete as early as next week’s Federal Budget. In the meantime, there are situations where inheritances can come…

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TFSA’s and Non Resident Penalties – An Update

A couple years ago, one of my blog colleagues wrote on the residency rules regarding tax free saving accounts (TFSA’s). Generally, as an owner of TFSA, if you leave Canada, the accumulated funds may remain in the TFSA without Canadian tax consequences. You can’t make any further contributions but you…

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Legislative Amendments Proposed in Light of Calmusky

On March 16, 2020, the Superior Court of Ontario released its decision in Calmusky v Calmusky. In Calmusky, the Court applied the presumption of resulting trust to a RIF that was designated to a particular beneficiary. The beneficiary was unable to rebut the presumption, and the Court ordered that funds…

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POST MORTEM PLANNING: AGAIN MORE GOOD NEWS

CRA will allow post-mortem pipeline transactions to continue, which will allow individuals to avoid double tax on disposition of certain assets.

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CPP: TO DEFER OR NOT DEFER

For several years now, clients and contacts (with more frequency of late, and that’s no accident) have been asking me: “Hey Steve, I am turning 65 shortly, do I apply for CPP now or do I wait – what makes more sense financially” Based on analysis provided by experts in…

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