Welcome to Tax Season 2024.
The Vaive and Associates’ team hopes you and your loved ones are staying safe and well.
Your 2024 Personal Income Tax Return Welcome Package.
We are continually working on improving and streamlining our processes to ensure that work on your tax returns runs as smoothly as possible. Here are some things to note for this year:
Normally, we mail out our tax organizer envelopes in early February. To better streamline this process, we’ve included a fillable version of the organizer with this welcome package. For your convenience, you can either print and return the filled organizer with your tax materials to us in-person or upload all the documents to our secure portal.
If you would like to have the physical organizer envelopes like in prior years, let a member of our team know and we will send them out to you.
We’re encouraging you make use of our electronic document delivery this year. You can submit your documents to us through our secure client portal. We can also provide you with copies of the tax returns and supporting schedules in PDF format on through the portal.
If it’s easier or more convenient for you to send documents in paper format, we are perfectly fine with that. We understand that sometimes there’s just so much material that it simply isn’t practical to scan everything.
At the present time, our building is closed to the public. We will have someone in our office Monday to Friday from 8am to 3pm. If you would like to drop off your tax materials and the front entrance is closed, please call us at 613-369-5064 ext 0 or check the phone number posted on the front door at street level. Our team will give you a code to buzz yourself in.
In previous years, we have either emailed, mailed, or uploaded to our portal, the T183 Efile authorization form to be signed and returned. We require this form to be completed before we can electronically file your personal tax return(s) with the Canada Revenue Agency. We recognize that in the past there were some difficulties with the process, and we are taking steps to make this easier. After our successful trial last year, we will continue to offer an electronic signature option through DocuSign. As before, a member of our administrative team will send an email to inform you that your return(s) have been completed with instruction on how the return is being delivered (via portal, email, courier, or ready for pickup).
Going forward a second email will be sent from DocuSign with instruction leading you to electronically sign. DocuSign requires an email address for every taxpayer/individual who is signing. This means that we will need a unique email address for every member of the family for whom we are preparing a return (unless the returns are for minor children, or other family members for whom you have Power of Attorney and can legally sign on their behalf).
If you would like to use the electronic signature option, please send us all email addresses to be used for this purpose (spouses, children, parents, grandparents, etc.) on the enclosed ‘DocuSign’ form. We will continue to accept signed T183 forms via portal upload, email, and on paper if the DocuSign method does not work for you.
You may notice that the engagement letter included in your welcome package is more comprehensive than in previous years. The letter has been updated to set out the obligations of both the firm and our clients more clearly, and we require that clients complete the form as agreement for us to complete work on their tax returns. All family members can be included on a single engagement letter. One adult family member should sign the form, and he names of other family members covered by the agreement should be included where indicated on the letter.
If you need help or have questions, you can reach our amazing support staff:
Gemma Baldwin (gbaldwin@vaiveandassociates.ca or 613-369-5064 x236)
Faith Castonguay (fcastonguay@vaiveandassociates.ca or 613-369-5064 x233)
With those procedural things in mind, here are some important things to note:
New for 2023 and subsequent taxation years, individuals who sell their residential property within 12 months will be subject to new anti-flipping rules. Under these rules the profits from the sale will be full taxed as business income (with few exceptions). This means that individuals selling a home they have owned for less than 12 months will no longer be able eligible to claim capital gains treatment (50% taxable) or the principal residence exemption on the sale.
Canada’s underused housing tax (UHT) is now in force, which implements an annual 1% tax on the value of vacant or underused residential property owned by non-residents. Although the tax targets non- residents, some Canadian citizens or permanent residents will be required to file a declaration if they are the owner of the residential property in their capacity as trustee of a trust (other than a trustee for a deceased individual) or as partner of a partnership. Additionally private corporations which own residential property will have to file a declaration. The penalty for failing to file these forms is a minimum of $1,000 for an individual ($2,000 if the person is not an individual).
If applicable, the deadline to file the 2022 and 2023 UHT return(s) or declaration(s) is April 30th, 2024. If you believe the Underused Housing Tax (UHT) applies to you or if you wish to learn more, please see our most recent blog post on the UHT.
Starting January 1, 2024, taxpayers are required to remit tax payments that are in excess of $10,000 to the Canada Revenue Agency electronically or they will be assessed a penalty of $100 per payment. Payments made physically at a bank with a remittance voucher are considered to be made electronically.
Did you sell your house in 2023 or turn it into a rental property? If so, the CRA requires that the sale be reported on your tax return in order to claim the principal residence exemption. Failure to report may result in penalties and the CRA may apply the penalty outside of the normal three-year reassessment period. Please include the statement of adjustments for the sale, closing date, along with a note describing the house and when you bought it.
Have you found some donation receipts that haven’t been claimed? You can claim any donations missed since 2018 on your 2023 return.
If you own foreign assets with a cost greater than $100,000 (CAD) you are required to file a T1135 Foreign Income Verification Statement on or before the due date of your income tax return. Penalties will apply if this return is filed late. If this applies to you, or if you are unsure, please contact us to review your situation and confirm your reporting requirements.
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is moving towards direct deposit for all payments. If you wish to sign up for direct deposit, or your banking information has changed, please include a void cheque with your tax information.
The CRA is pushing electronic delivery of Notices of Assessment. By signing up for the CRA Online Mail, you will no longer receive paper notices and must sign up for MyAccount with the CRA in order to view this information. By default we are not enrolling our clients in this program. Please take a moment to indicate on the organizer envelope if you want to register for this service.
We would also like to take a moment to reaffirm our commitment to protect the privacy of your information. Our practice has always been fully compliant with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). Any personal information contained in our files will only be used for income tax filing purposes and will only be communicated to the Canada Revenue Agency as required to file your personal income tax return. We will not disclose any information to third parties unless we are specifically authorized by you to do so. In short, we will continue to protect your personal information as if it were our own.
We look forward to working with you again this year. If you have any questions about the process or any tax matters, please feel free to call us at any time.
Yours very truly,
Vaive and Associates Professional Corporation | Chartered Professional Accountants
