Reporting a Foreign Property

Reporting a Foreign Property

The CRA has made changes to Form T1135 . It allows taxpayers who held foreign property with a total cost of less than $250,000, throughout the year, to report under a new simplified reporting method rather than providing the detail of each property. If the total foreign property is $250,000 or more, at any time during a year, the current detailed reporting method will continue to apply. For more information, click on: Reporting for the 2015…

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Directors: Can They Be Liable for Corporate Income Taxes?

Directors: Can They Be Liable for Corporate Income Taxes?

A December 11, 2017 Tax Court of Canada case examined whether a taxpayer was liable for unpaid income taxes of the corporation of which he was a director. CRA’s assessment was based on the assertion that the taxpayer was a legal representative of the corporation and had distributed assets of the corporation without having first obtained a clearance certificate from CRA. A clearance certificate essentially confirms that the corporation has paid all amounts of tax,…

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Subsidized Meals: Are They a Taxable Benefit?

Subsidized Meals: Are They a Taxable Benefit?

Do you have an employee dining room or cafeteria? In a March 21, 2018 Technical Interpretation, CRA stated that they do not consider meals subsidized by the employer to be a taxable benefit provided the employee pays a reasonable charge. This charge should be sufficient to cover the cost of the food, its preparation and service. Where the charge is less than the cost, the difference would be considered a taxable benefit and should be…

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Donation Receipts: How Complete is Complete?

Donation Receipts: How Complete is Complete?

Charities should ensure that any donation receipts issued are fully compliant with the tax rules. Failure to do so may result in the donor being denied a charitable donation if reviewed by CRA. This could cause operational and goodwill problems for the charity. Receipts for cash gifts must have the following: a statement that it is an official receipt for income tax purposes; the name and address of the charity as on file with CRA;…

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Home Buyers Need to Check Residency of Home Sellers If They Suspect the Seller Is Not Canadian

Home Buyers Need to Check Residency of Home Sellers If They Suspect the Seller Is Not Canadian

When Canadians purchase a home, they are required to withhold part of the purchase price should the seller be a non-resident of Canada. A recent Tax Court of Canada decision (Kau v. the Queen [2018 TCC 156]) should serve as a warning to clients and professionals alike, to watch for any red flags that might suggest the seller is not a resident of Canada. As a result of this recent court decision, the home buyer…

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Personal Use of Business Aircraft: How Big of a Taxable Benefit Is It?

Personal Use of Business Aircraft: How Big of a Taxable Benefit Is It?

A CRA communication dated March 7, 2018 provided updated commentary on taxable benefits arising from the personal use of a business aircraft. CRA categorized the types of flights into three groups, as follows: Mixed-use flights – If a shareholder or employee takes a flight which has a clear business purpose, they would not generally be subject to a taxable benefit. An individual’s purpose is a question of fact. If others take the same flight (such…

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Construction Activities: Reporting Obligations for Subcontractors

Construction Activities: Reporting Obligations for Subcontractors

A July 17, 2017 Technical Interpretation examined the conditions which would require the filing of a T5018, Statement of Contract Payments. Where a person or partnership primarily derives their business income from construction activities for a reporting period, a T5018 should be filed for any subcontractor payment or credit made relating to goods or services received in the course of construction activities. The reporting period may be a calendar or fiscal year but cannot be…

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US Citizens: Risks of Tax Non-Compliance

US Citizens: Risks of Tax Non-Compliance

Commencing January 1, 2016, the US State Department was able to deny or revoke passports to US citizens having a “seriously delinquent tax debt” or no Social Security Number associated with their passport. A “seriously delinquent tax debt” is one where the taxpayer owed more than $51,000, after January 1, 2018 (indexed going forward), in tax, interest and penalties. An Alert on the IRS website recently noted that commencing January 2018 the IRS will begin…

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Reasonable Vehicle Allowances: GST/HST Claim

Reasonable Vehicle Allowances: GST/HST Claim

A travel allowance paid to an employee for the use of their personal vehicle for business purposes will be non-taxable if it is reasonable. Where such reasonable allowances are paid, an input tax credit (ITC) may be claimed by the employer. The ITC is computed as the imputed GST/HST in the allowance, without adjustment for the fact that some costs likely did not attract GST/HST. In non-harmonized provinces/territories (such as Alberta and BC), the ITC would be 5/105 of the allowance. The ITC in a harmonized province is different.…

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