NALH Bookkeeping » Canada Revenue Agency

Canada Revenue – Children’s Arts Tax Credit

NALH Bookkeeping Services — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 16:58:46 +0000

In addition to fitness programs covered by the children’s fitness tax credit, parents can now claim money spent on programs that focus on fine arts, music, performing arts, outdoor wilderness training, learning a language, studying a culture, tutoring, and more.

When parents claim the children’s arts tax credit – up to a maximum of $500 of the cost of programs – they save as much as $75 at tax time per child claimed.

Find out if your child’s program is eligible for the children’s arts tax credit.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION FROM THE CANADA REVENUE AGENCY >>

Beware as Canada Revenue Agency Cracks Down on Personal Service Businesses

NALH Bookkeeping Services — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 21:22:03 +0000

While setting up a corporation may seem like a good idea if you’re self-employed, it can have serious tax consequences in certain instances. If Canada Revenue Agency determines that you are, effectively, an “incorporated employee”, it may disallow a number of business expenses as well as the small business deduction which normally applies to the first $500,000 of active business income that a corporation generates. This can result in the corporation’s income being taxed at the highest corporate rate.

Some of the criteria that distinguish a corporation set up by a truly independent contractor versus a personal service corporation (PSC) include whether the corporation has only a single client or very few clients, whether the client provides work space or equipment and how much control the client has over when and where the contractor provides his or her services. Canada Revenue Agency’s interpretation of the Income Tax Act with regards to “incorporated employees” is that, without the existence of the corporation, the person performing the services on behalf of the client company would reasonably be regarded as an officer or employee of that company.

Those who are required to work on-site for their client, on a schedule determined by the client and who are provided with work space and equipment would most definitely be considered to be operating a personal service business by CRA.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON THE CANADA REVENUE AGENCY WEB SITE >>

Taxable Benefits: A Guide from the Canada Revenue Agency

NALH Bookkeeping Services — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 20:48:18 +0000

Taxable benefits are an area to which business owners should pay close attention. Many benefits which, on the surface, may not appear to be taxable actually are and it’s important to protect your business and your employees by knowing the difference. For example, a car given to an employee for business use would not be taxable. However, if that employee also uses the vehicle for personal purposes, it would then become a taxable benefit.

To help clarify the details of what is considered by CRA to be a taxable benefit and what is not, the agency has prepared an Employer’s Guide to Taxable Benefits and Allowances.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE GUIDE FROM THE CANADA REVENUE AGENCY >>

Important Deadlines for 2012 RRSP, T4 & Tax Returns

NALH Bookkeeping Services — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 17:41:45 +0000

Another tax year has come and gone, though it seems hard to believe it’s that time of year again already!

Please be mindful of the following deadlines related to contributions to RRSPs, distributing T4 slips, along with filing deadlines for 2011 tax returns for individuals and self-employed persons.

RRSP Contribution Deadline
February 29, 2012 is the deadline for contributing to an RRSP for the 2011 tax year.

T4 Slip Distribution Deadline
You must give employees their T4 slips on or before the last day of February following the calendar year to which the slips apply. If you do not, you may be subject to a penalty.

Individual Tax Return Deadline
Individual returns for 2011 must be filed on or before April 30, 2012.

Self-Employed Persons Tax Return Deadline
If you, or your spouse or common-law partner, carried on a business in 2011, your return for 2011 must be filed on or before June 15, 2012. However, if you have a balance owing for 2011, it must be paid on or before April 30, 2012.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION FROM CANADA REVENUE AGENCY >>

June 15 Tax Deadline Approaching Quickly!

NALH Bookkeeping Services — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 18:11:40 +0000

June 15th, 2011 is the tax filing deadline for the self-employed and their spouses and common law partners; it is also the date the second quarterly instalment payment is due for some taxpayers. These are important milestones for compliance and wealth planning purposes and the following are tips offered by The Knowledge Bureau for maximizing opportunities in each case.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

Tax Time Is Here Again – Deadlines To Remember

NALH Bookkeeping Services — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 18:11:12 +0000

As the saying goes, time flies and another tax year has come and gone. Check out CRA’s web site for important tax filing deadlines, including the following:

INDIVIDUALS – on or before April 30, 2011
SELF-EMPLOYED PERSONS – on or before June 15, 2011

Please note that any tax owing is due on or before April 30, 2011 for both individual and self-employed taxpayers, so make sure to remit any amounts owing to CRA before that date to avoid penalties and interest.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION >>

Ready – Set – File! CRA’s Top 5 Ways to Get Ready to File Your 2010 Tax Return

NALH Bookkeeping Services — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 16:55:52 +0000

Wow! It’s hard to believe another year has come and gone and it’s tax time again! Make sure you’re informed about tax credits for which you may qualify and any other changes to CRA’s regulations which may apply to you as an individual or to your business.

CRA has prepared a list of top 5 things you can do to get in gear to file your 2010 tax return, including the following:

Claim your credits
Check out other credits, deductions & benefits
Go electronic
Review this year’s tax package
Stay connected

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION >>

What you need to know about Tax-Free Savings Accounts

NALH Bookkeeping Services — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 19:37:05 +0000

Is a Tax-Free Savings Account a good investment option for you? Learning about any new investment vehicle inevitably leads to a flurry of questions: What type of investments can be included? How much can be contributed each year? How are TFSAs different from other savings accounts?

A recent article written by IPBC discusses a number of need-to-know facts about TFSAs that are good for any investor – large or small – to know.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

T4 Filing Deadline – FEBRUARY 28 – What should you supply to your bookkeeper?

NALH Bookkeeping Services — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 01:08:11 +0000

Deadline for filing T4s is February 28, 2011 for the calendar year 2010 for all employee wages and taxable benefits.

In order to prepare accurate T4 forms on behalf of a company, a bookkeeper needs a complete set of books to be able to see all wages and benefits that employees have earned during the filing period (the previous calendar year).

If employees receive taxable benefits above and beyond their salary or other wages, the value of those benefits needs to be added to the T4 calculations.

When providing your information to your bookkeeper, be sure to list any benefits that are taxable that were paid to employees throughout the year. Making sure your T4 preparer has all the info they need to process your forms efficiently and accurately.

NALH to Adopt Electronic Filing with CRA

NALH Bookkeeping Services — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 00:21:17 +0000

In an effort to streamline the filing process, NALH is adopting electronic filing procedures for GST/HST, Corporate Tax Returns, Payroll and Personal Tax returns for eligible clients.
In order to be able to submit filings electronically, all clients must fill out CRA form RC59. Get in touch with us to ensure that your form is filled out with the correct authorizations specific to your business.

CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION >>

100% Depreciation on Computer Equipment & Software for 2009/2010

NALH Bookkeeping Services — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:48:54 +0000

To encourage investment by businesses in computer systems and related peripherals, the Income Tax Regulations were amended on May 13, 2009 to add new Class 52 to Schedule II with a 100-per-cent tax depreciation rate for eligible computers and software acquired after January 27, 2009 and before February 2011.

Visit the CRA web site for more information.

This article is an excerpt from the NALH e-Newsletter. Click here to read the current issue.

Missed an issue? You can also read all previous issues in our newsletter archive. Want to join our subscribers list? Visit our site to subscribe to our newsletter.

HST-Related Reading

NALH Bookkeeping Services — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 17:27:32 +0000

Canada Revenue Agency
Bulletin B-103: Place of Supply Rules for Determining Whether a Supply is Made in a Province.

The Tax Detective
We also recommend checking out Eileen Reppenhagen’s web site, the Tax Detective. Eileen’s site includes links to a wealth of bulletins, articles and other information related to HST.

Fraser Institute – Countering the Myths Surrounding HST
The Fraser Institute authored a study that addresses many of the myths and misunderstandings about the HST, highlights the shortcomings of the current provincial sales tax system, and explains the differences between the PST and the harmonized sales tax.

Government of British Columbia HST Blog
The BC government has published a variety of articles related to HST and how it relates to and affects different industries and consumer groups.

This article is an excerpt from the NALH e-Newsletter. Click here to read the current issue.

Missed an issue? You can also read all previous issues in our newsletter archive. Want to join our subscribers list? Visit our site to subscribe to our newsletter.

CRA Policy Shift on Employee Benefits

NALH Bookkeeping Services — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:18:02 +0000

Administrative Policy Changes for Taxable Employment Benefits to reduce a number of administrative difficulties and increase fairness include:

Overtime Meals and Allowances Provided to Employees
Municipality or Metropolitan Area
Loyalty Programs
Employer Provided Motor Vehicles Required to be Taken Home at Night
Non-cash Gifts and Non-cash Awards
Surface Transit Passes Provided to Family Members of Transit Employees

Read the full article on the CRA web site.

This article is an excerpt from the NALH e-Newsletter. Click here to read the current issue.

Missed an issue? You can also read all previous issues in our newsletter archive. Want to join our subscribers list? Visit our site to subscribe to our newsletter.

GST/HST Notices & Technical Bulletin List

NALH Bookkeeping Services — Thu, 20 May 2010 20:29:18 +0000

CRA has compiled a list of notices and bulletins with regards to GST/HST. The list includes information sheets on transitional rules, along with question and answer bulletins for specific areas of concern.

Download the bulletin list in PDF format from the Curriculum Services Canada web site.

Make Sure March 15th CRA Instalments Are Correct

NALH Bookkeeping Services — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:03:58 +0000

Will your clients overpay their March 15th instalment payment? It is important that they don’t, particularly if their income has taken a hit over the past year. Canadians taxpayers may find that due to employment layoffs or possibly due to their portfolio tanking, overall income may have taken dropped off. There may be a bit of good news to offset the bad, at least from a tax point of view, if you are a quarterly instalment payer.

Many people don’t realize that instalments remitted to CRA (often by post-dated cheques) can be adjusted to actual income earned in the year. Others don’t know that the CRA “billing method” of collecting quarterly instalments is only one of three methods of payment. The other two are optional…

Read the full article on the Knowledge Bureau web site.