With the end of the year fast approaching, Canadian taxpayers will want to consider all the tax planning opportunities available to them. Which year-end planning strategies apply to you will depend upon your specific circumstances and objectives. The IG Wealth Management Year-end Tax Planning Checklist can help you understand what opportunities are most suited to you.
A core component of your retirement plan is the CPP retirement benefit (or Québec Pension Plan for Québec residents, which mirrors many aspects of the CPP). CPP offers flexibility as to when payments can begin, which affects how much you could receive. Familiarizing yourself with CPP provisions can help you decide when to start payments and optimize the benefit throughout your retirement.
When most of us think of year-end tax planning, we typically consider our personal situation. Yet, there are many tax-opportunities for business owners to explore as we near the end of another calendar year. The following tips assume your business is unincorporated or your corporation has a December 31st year-end, although some tips may also apply to corporations with an off-calendar year-end.
To take full advantage of the tax-deferred growth available when investing in a tax-free savings account (TFSA), many Canadians strive to maximize their TFSA contributions as early in the year as possible. However, while the goal with a TFSA should be to contribute as much as you can within the limits of your available contribution room, you also need to be mindful not to over-contribute. Putting more money in a calendar year than you’re allowed by law could result in penalties. The severity of which will depend on the circumstances of the over-contribution.