May Day

So the tax season is officially over.  Yahooooooo.  Bring on the summer.

We enjoyed the busy time of year and are very pleased with the last several months.  It is a great time of year to see and get to know our clients a little better.  Thanks to every one of our clients for stopping by and meeting with us.  A big thank-you to all those who stuck with us from previous years and to all those new clients who came and met with us this year.  It is a pleasure to get to know all of you, it is fun to be involved in the community and interesting to keep a pulse on the Calgary economy.

We look forward to meeting more people as the our firm grows and helping you out in any way both personally and corporate.

We finished up the season with a gathering at the Kensington Pub with family and friends to celebrate the end of the tax season.  It was a good time had by all.  As you can see a cake was in order.

So thanks for being a part of Henderson Campeau we were glad to help out with your financial matters and look forward to seeing all our personal clients again next year. As well as meeting more people in this great city as time goes on.

2010 tax filing and decision time

Today is a big day for Canadians.  It is the last day to get your personal income taxes filed and paid.  Hooray.

It is also a big day to have a say and the chance to influence your future taxes. It's a great opportunity to choose the future of this marvellous country. Get out and make this great country even greater. VOTE.

Deadlines, Deadlines Deadlines and Easter

Happy Easter!

I hope you all get out this weekend and enjoy what looks like to be a nice spring weekend in Calgary and area.  Take time enjoy yourselves, have fun with family and friends, and be grateful for life.

We will be very grateful when the tax deadlines have come and gone.  I'm sure you will be too, having your taxes caught up and filed on time is something to be proud of.

With that being said I just wanted to point out how the CRA charges interest and penalties on taxes owing. 

If your taxes are not filed and paid by the income tax deadline you may have to pay the following penalties and interest.

-Interest. CRA charges a compound daily interest on any overdue amounts starting May 3, 2011. The current interest rate is 5%. 

-Late-filing penalty. Additionally if you do not file your tax return on time, the CRA will charge a flat penalty of 5% on the balance owing, plus 1% additionally for every month that the return is late.

-There are additional penalties if you continually file late, if you have other years still outstanding, and if you fail to report amounts on your return.

-Instalments.  If you are required to make instalments throughout the year there are also penalties and interest for not making the appropriate instalment payments or fail to make them on time.

On a much more positive note. If you simply file your taxes on time and accurately. If you are organized and responsible, it will save you a lot of money and give you piece of mind to fully enjoy weekends like this one.

Have fun

Enjoying the Calgary weather

In my last post I was excited for the warm weather and spring like conditions here in Calgary. 

Well yesterday I couldn't resist to snap a few photos of my walk into work in the morning of this beautiful spring we are having.  The winter spring of 2011 continues.  Here is a look at the beautiful spring conditions in Calgary.

ENJOY THE WEATHER

The final countdown

Well dare I say it, spring is here.  Or is it?

With only 3 weeks remaining in the personal tax season, we strongly recommend getting in touch with us to get your tax return completed before it is too late.

The streets in Kensington are getting busier, people are getting out and the smiles are plentiful.  What would feel even better is having your taxes out of the way for another year.

With the upcoming Canadian election, you’ve heard many promises or lack thereof.   Most of them involve taxes and tax credits.  There might even be a few you never even knew existed.  It’s a good time to ensure you are getting the most of all credits and deductions available.  Awareness is key. A good accountant can help you capture everything available on your annual tax return.

A common situation we see on personal tax returns and tax planning is the treatment of a rental property.  There are many deductions available against rental property income.  Examples of expenses that can be deducted towards rental income include:

·         Advestising

·         Property taxes

·         Interest

·         Management and administrative fees

·         Utilities

·         Travel

·         Insurance

·         Even certain motor vehicle expenses

These must be all related to generating income and within reason.

Even more importantly is to plan for the eventual sale of the property.  Since the rental property is no longer your principal residence it is subject to gain/loss when you sell the property.  To ensure you minimize the tax implications it is important to ensure the property is dealt with in the most tax advantageous method.

Get out and enjoy the spring weather while it lasts.

Birds and the Bees

Ok, so this time I think spring is on the way for real.  The sun over the last couple of days has been nice and getting everyone giddy after a long, long, long Calgary winter.  Here at Henderson Campeau we are putting in the time to ensure you are getting your tax refunds back in your pocket and ensuring you are not overpaying for fun things like elections.

We are still managing to enjoy life amongst all the busy office hours. Paul got out with his brother's family to do some cross country skiing at the Canmore Nordic Centre.  I have much more respect for those cross country skiing athletes.

Will has been enjoying the spring thaw right here in Calgary and Kensington getting out and enjoying the city.

Seeing it's spring it's a good time to talk about children and dependents.

The CRA has several tax credits in place for children and dependents. Here is a brief description of them:

Eligible dependent amount:  If at any time in the year you were single and cared for a dependent in your home you would be eligible for this tax credit.  This credit can be up to $10,382 federally.

Child amount tax credit : For each child under the age of 18, one person can claim a child amount for $2,101.

Caregiver and amount for infirm dependents : If you maintain a dwelling for a infirm dependent or a parent over the age of 65, you may qualify for the caregiver tax credit.  If you care for a dependent over the age of 18 and is infirm there is also an amount for infirm dependents.

Disability amounts and medical expenses : If you care for a dependent and they qualify for the disability tax credit you can transfer that amount to you. Also if you incur certain medical expenses to care for a dependent some of those medical expenses may be deductible on your return.

Childcare Expenses and fitness amount: I discussed these in a previous posting, check out the archives for more specifics. If at any time you paid for child care or fitness for your children these expenses may be deductible on your return.

Universal Child Care Benefit and Canadian Child Tax Benefit :  Once you have your child please fill out the Child Benefits Application to ensure you are not missing out on any child benefit payments. The UCCB is for any child under 6 years of age and the CCTB is a benefit for lower income families.  Here is a link to the application to ensure you are not missing out: Child Tax Benefits.

Having an accountant to advise and ensure you are taking advantage of all your available tax credits in regards to children or dependents can save you a lot of hard earned money.

Enjoy the start to April.

Family fun

So we are now in mid March, the snow is melting and the sun is shining.  We are getting very busy at the office and looking forward to having you come in and get another year of taxes completed.
It was a week to celebrate the Irish, March Madness and spring time.

Also we have now started a facebook account check it out the name is of course, Henderson Campeau Chartered Accoutnants.

This week to build on the tax credit posting last week. I'll inform you that if you have a spouse,common law partner or dependants; and they don't use all of their tax credits, certain amounts can be transfered to you.

These credits include:

• Tuition credits (up to $5,000 federal and provincial)
• Disability credit
• Personal credit of $10,382
• Child amount (can be used by either parent)
• Age amount if you are over 64
• Pension amount (If you are receiving a pension the income can be split between spouses)
• Donations (the amount of donations between spouses can all be used by one individual)
• Medical expenses (family medical expenses can be optimized on one return)

These are a few examples of tax credits that can be strategically used to reduce a family's overall tax.
Therefore it is in your best interest to file the entire family's returns at the same time to ensure all the credits are optimized.

Additionally if you are single and have children, infirm dependants, elderly parents and maintain a dwelling for these dependants you may qualify for additional credits, such as eligible dependant amount or the caregiver tax credit.

Another confirmation that discussing your entire family situation with your accountant and for accountants getting to know their clients personal situation is very important.