Dog days of summer

With the dog days of summer in full swing, what a great time to ensure your corporate accounting matters are in order.

Summer is a great time to relax and enjoy family and friends.  Throughout summer you may find a little extra down time.  If you are a small business owner what a great opportunity to ensure your corporate finances are being dealt with efficiently and in a manner that ultimately benefits you.

Many small businesses wait until their year end has come and gone, to work on their accounting and financial strategy.  Doesn't it make sense to address those issues as the year is in progress and not after the fact, when it is too late to make a difference.

We encourage you to contact us and to be pro active and address any financial matters that you personally or your business may have.

Common issue to consider are:

• Bookkeeping being processed correctly and timely to produce the reports and tools that allow you to make effective business decisions.
• Compensation from the company to the owners.
• Meeting all deadlines for reporting and payments to avoid interest and penalties.
• Tracking expenses and revenues to ensure the company is on track
• Ensuring the company is deducting all expenses that may be available and done correctly.

Enjoy those dog days.

Happy 100th

Happy 100th birthday Stampede

No more Pennies. The 2012 federal budget.

So looks like spring is coming around the corner.  What a great time of year.  The birds are coming back, patios opening up, and we don't have to wear 15 layers to get to work.

Tax season is in full gear.  The firm is busy as ever.  So on the topic of taxes and finances.  The 2012 federal budget was presented today. 

This is a link to the CBC's highlights.

Enjoy

http://www.cbc.ca/news/interactives/budget-2012/

Questions or need some clarification? Have some taxes to complete? Or just want to get in touch.

Give us a call.

Children's art amount

Happy spring.  At the office we are busy meeting personal clients, completing corporate year ends and excited for yet another personal tax season. It's nice to see everyone this time of year and do a little catching up.

With the 2011 personal tax season here, there are some additional credits available in 2011.  Probably the most common credit will be the children's art amount. 

All the details can be found by following this link: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/tpcs/ncm-tx/rtrn/cmpltng/ddctns/lns360-390/370/menu-eng.html

For clarification or just to arrange a personal tax meeting please get in touch with us.

Have a great week

Qualified accountant

Winter is here. What a wakeup call. -30 this morning in Calgary.

As a result we are staying close to the office and getting lots of work done. The holidays were great for both partners. We have been getting out and skiing, relaxing and of course eating. We hope everyone enjoyed the season and have has a wonderful start to 2012.

Over December on of our Partners, Paul was featured in the University of Lethbridge paper.  He is an Alumni with the university and was interviewed regarding his career and path to starting Henderson Campeau.  Check out the article. http://www.thisismyu.ca/stories/alumni-focus/2011/12/achieving-success-his-own-terms

Enjoy the winter and the start of a great 2012.

The 12 days of Christmas, a time for giving

To continue on with my theme of giving during these holidays, this post is about donations and their tax treatment.

With the 12 days of Christmas here, it is time to be giving presents.  Those presents could be a donation to a charitable organization. 

For personal tax purposes a charitable donation gives rise to a tax credit.  The credit obtained,
is 15% federally and 10% provincially (Alberta) on the first $200 of donations.
The credit then increases to 29% federally and 21% provincially on any amounts above $200.

Another benefit of donations is that you can claim both your own and you spouse's donations on one return, therefore benefiting from the higher credit on the amount above $200.

As a household if you contributed a total of $500.  The tax dollars you would receive back would be:
($200x 25%) = $50  plus ($300 x 50%) = $150.  Total = $200.     So on a donation of $500 you would be giving to a great cause; then at tax time reducing your tax bill by $200.  You only have to pay a net $300 and the charity gets $500.  Everyone wins,  awesome.

If you own and operate a corporation.  Charitable donations are a fully dedcutible expense for tax purposes.

So if you are thinking of giving these season,  from a tax perspective it is a smart thing to do.  Any donations made before December 31, 2011 would be credits on your 2011 tax return.

Have a great giving season

Christmas is around the corner

Here at Henderson Campeau we are getting excited for Christmas and all the fun  that it brings.

It's great to see the city glowing with Christmas lights, the atmosphere in the neighborhood joyous, and the snow starting to fall.

Skiing season is here and we are excited about that. I'm sure many Calgarians are excited as well.

With it being the holiday season it is a great time to come down to Kensington and support the local businesses. 

Henderson Campeau is a big promoter of supporting local businesses and events.  We are proud to be apart of the Kensington Business Revitalisation zone. 

We encourage everyone to support the local small businesses in your community and getting involved these holidays to help grow Calgary neighborhoods.

Here is a recent article on Kensington in the herald.  http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Kensington+ramp+excitement+factor/5781654/story.html

Have a great week and enjoy the snow.