Just two years back, when buying condo presales was the rage of investing free cash in Vancouver, I wrote a short blog cautioning investors to begin preparation years ahead for the closing date of the deal. When the condo completes, full payment of the balance on the condo is required to close the deal; hence qualifying for the mortgage at that future time required some income reporting planning. Back then, waiting for construction completion date to close the deal was not necessarily part ... Read More
Non-Canadian Resident and Collecting Rental Income in Vancouver
Non-Canadian residents who own Canadian real estate and collecting rental income have two ways to deal with the Canadian tax liability.
The first method is remit to the CRA, 25% tax on the gross rent collected. This 25% is due to the CRA on the 15th of the following month the rental income was credited to the non-Canadian resident. This tax is considered the final tax liability on the rental income and the non-Canadian resident has no further obligation. However, the non-resident ... Read MoreDeath of a Taxpayer – A To Do List
Death of a family member is one of the most stressful events in life. To compound the grief, there are final tax matters to deal with either by April 30th of the following year or 6 months after the date of death.
What To Do Upon The Death of a Taxpayer?
Upon the death of a taxpayer, at a minimum, there is a final return (“terminal return”) to be filed with the CRA and three optional returns to be filed if desired. In addition, a trust return to report income received after death is ... Read MoreVancouver Sale of Rental Property and the Principal Residence Exemption
While at dinner recently, a friend of mine, Carla, informed me that she sold her rental property and was curious about the amount of tax that she would owe on the gain. Upon further questioning, I uncovered that, in the past, my friend had lived in this rental property (a condo) for many years. She purchased a second condo a few years back and moved into it. She had then rented out the first condo—the one she just sold. From her line of questioning, I realized that, other than the tax ... Read More
Moving Abroad Part Two
Canadians moving abroad have the option to either continue maintaining their residential ties to Canada or sever them (or most of them) completely. By continuing ties, the obligation to pay Canadian taxes will continue. Similarly, if a Canadian plans to not pay taxes on income earned outside of Canada, they must sever ties with Canada so that they’re no longer considered a Canadian “resident” for taxation purposes.
When Cutting Ties
If a Canadian chooses to sever ties, steps must be ... Read MoreMoving Abroad?
When a Canadian is deciding if they should work abroad for a few years, thought should be given to whether or not they want to continue holding ties to Canada and pay Canadian taxes on worldwide income or sever most of their ties with Canada so that their obligations to pay Canadian taxes are limited only to income earned from Canadian sources. Many taxpayers automatically assume that taxes will be lower if ties to Canada are severed. Although this might be correct, taxpayers should pay close ... Read More
Need To Catch Up On your Tax Filings?
Filing Canadian Income Tax Late
Taxpayers are only human and sometimes we fall behind on our tax filings. Marital breakdowns, family emergencies and mental health issues are just a few of the reasons taxpayers are unable to file their returns on time. Life has a way of changing our routines and habits, and for an unfortunate few, this means that they miss their Canadian income tax filings. Before you know it, a few years have passed, and a subtle slip-up is now several years of ... Read MoreThe Rental Property – Personal or Corporate Ownership?
Should rental properties be held personally or in a corporation?
With the real estate in such high demand in Vancouver, Canada, many Vancouverites are buying investment properties either to generate rental income and/or participate in capital appreciation. The dilemma commonly faced is whether or not the rental unit(s) should be held personally or in a corporation?Personal ownership makes more sense
Although there are many pros, cons and legal considerations that come with ... Read MoreNon Residents with Canadian Rental Income
Many Canadians live abroad but own rental properties in major Canadian cities like Vancouver – mostly because Canadian real estate has become a choice asset to own. The same principles apply to many non-Canadians who are also invested in rental properties here in Canada. Both classes of taxpayers are considered non-residents for Canadian taxation purposes and both are required to report any rental income earned in Canada. Non-residents with rental income earned in Canada have tax obligations. ... Read More
Why Choose the Higher-Priced Professional Tax Advisor?
Increasing Risk of Being Selected for an Audit In our last blog we mentioned that it is no secret that the Canadian government and the CRA have recently been finding new ways to raise revenue. Recent news articles in the Globe and Mail have reported that the CRA has been devoting more resources into uncovering routine common filing errors made by honest taxpayers rather than investing additional resources into uncovering intentional errors. Our recent experience with the CRA confirms this as ... Read More
