2023 Personal Tax Filing Information
Preparation
It’s that time of year again! Please read the information below thoroughly and complete our 2023 personal tax checklist to ensure efficient and timely preparation of your tax filings.
Information Required
Please accumulate your 2023 tax information slips, summarize where appropriate and separate for each individual before submitting to us.
We are unable to begin your tax return until we have all of the required documents. Additional details can be found below.
2023 Tax Information and Receipts
- Please complete the 2023 personal tax checklist.
- For 2023:
- Organ and tissue donor registry: If you want to receive information
about the organ and tissue donation program in Ontario tick “yes” on our 2023 Personal Tax Checklist. - Tax-Free First Home Savings Account (TFHS): In Budget 2022, the federal government committed to introducing a Tax-Free First Home Savings Account (FHSA) —a new registered plan to give prospective first-time home buyers the ability to save up to $40,000 on a tax-free basis. Like a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), contributions will be tax-deductible, and withdrawals to purchase a first home—including from investment income—will be non-taxable, like a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA). Tax-free in; tax-free out. For further details see: First Home Savings Account (FHSA) – Canada.ca
- Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit (MHRTC): The Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit (MHRTC) is a new refundable tax credit that can be claimed on your 2023 tax return. This new tax credit is intended for families wishing to create a second dwelling so that a senior or a disabled person can live close to a parent. This second dwelling must accommodate a relative over the age of 65 or living with a disability. This may be a grandparent, a parent, a child, a grandchild, a brother or a sister, an aunt or an uncle, or a niece or a nephew. The tax credit is 15% of the lesser of qualifying expenditures and $50,000, up to a maximum credit of $7,500 per qualifying renovation. For further details see: Multigenerational home renovation tax credit (MHRTC) – Canada.ca
- Residential and Rental Property Flipping: Starting in 2023, profits from property flipping of residential or rental property held for less than 365 consecutive days prior to the resale will be subject to full taxation. Accordingly, profits from property flipping are considered to be fully taxable business income and are not eligible for the 50% capital gains inclusion rate or the principal residence exemption. In addition, business losses with respect to property flipping are deemed to be nil. For further details see: Residential Property Flipping Rule – Canada.ca
- Organ and tissue donor registry: If you want to receive information
- Sort your information into categories (donations, business income and expenses, medical expenses).
- Where you have numerous medical receipts, please request an annual statement of your expenses from your pharmacy, dental or other health professionals.
- For electronic submission, group receipts rather than scanning or taking photos individually.
- For all electronic documents, please ensure the image is easily read and includes all relevant elements of the original document.
- Documents that are hard to read or cropped will delay the commencement of your tax file preparation.
- Visit CRA’s website for details on acceptable electronic files.
- If you own a rental property, or are self-employed, you could tally your expenses or provide a summary – just be sure to keep the original receipts for future CRA review requests.
- Please only include your personal tax return information, do not include your corporate or trust return information.
2024 Tax Facts for Ontario Residents
- We’ve compiled the 2024 tax rates on corporate income, RRSP limits, CPP & EI Limits, prescribed interest rates, automobile amounts, personal tax brackets for salary & dividends, clawback of old age security, pension splitting and other tax credits for your convenience.
- Don’t forget to check out the second page of the document for important tax dates you should remember!
Employees Working From Home in 2023
- Employees who have worked from home more than 50% of the time for at least four consecutive weeks in 2023 may be eligible to claim a deduction for home office expenses.
- Eligible employees who are looking to claim home office expenses for 2023 must use the detailed method. To do so, they need to have a completed Form T2200, Declaration of Conditions of Employment, reviewed and signed by their employer.
Note: The temporary flat rate method available from 2020 to 2022 is not available for the 2023 tax year.
- How much to claim? To help employees determine how much they can claim, they can use the CRA calculator to calculate eligible expenses. For more information, go to CRA’s Expenses you can claim.
- An additional fee may apply to include this deduction on your return. Please complete the following checklist if you wish to make a home office deduction claim. See Canada Revenue Agency website for a list of deductible expenses.
New Reporting Requirements for Trusts, including Bare Trusts
- Unless specific conditions are met, all trusts must file a T3 Income Tax and Information return for tax years ending on or after December 31, 2023. Many trusts, which previously were not required to file, including bare trusts, will need to file for the first time.
Set Up Your “My Account” with CRA
CRA is strongly encouraging people to use electronic communications, including adding us as representatives for your business, yourself and your family. If you do not already have a “My Account” please review the attached link or the following videos for more information.
Sending Your Documents To Us
Our offices currently remain open to the public, however, we continue to encourage our clients to use electronic means for delivering their documents to us and we are committed to providing our valued clients with the high-quality of service you have been accustomed to.
Our Secure Portal
At this time we are strongly encouraging our clients to use the client portal to transfer information to us. It is designed to provide a safe and easy way to exchange information.
- If you are interested in creating a portal account, please email portal@davismartindale.com with your permission and include your name, address and telephone number.
- Free scanning software is available online or in App stores for your smart phone – try these how to videos Adobe Scan, Microsoft 365.
- Genius Scan, Camscanner, Turboscan can easily convert pictures to PDFs that can be emailed or uploaded to our secure portal.
- To sign PDF documents electronically – try these how to videos Adobe Acrobat Reader or iPhone/iPad/iPod touch.
- For electronic submission, group receipts rather than scanning or taking photos individually.
- For all electronic documents, please ensure the image is easily read and includes all relevant elements of the original document. Documents that are hard to read or cropped will delay the commencement of your tax file preparation.
- Visit CRA’s website for details on acceptable electronic files.
We cannot guarantee filing your taxes by the April 30th, 2024 deadline if your documents are submitted after April 15th, 2024.
We prefer to receive your documents through our secure portal, but you may scan and email your documents to your Davis Martindale contact if you do not wish to use the portal. We encourage you to password protect all documents containing confidential information.
We cannot guarantee filing your taxes by the April 30th, 2024 deadline if your documents are submitted after April 15th, 2024.
Hard Copy Documents
At this time we are strongly encouraging our clients to use the client portal to transfer information to us. It is designed to provide a safe and easy way to exchange information. If using our secure portal is not an option for you, please ensure all documents are in a sealed envelope before placed in our drop box.
- You will find our secure document drop box just outside our reception door on the 2nd floor at Westmount Commons.
- The drop box is accessible during Westmount Mall opening hours. Please note, Entrance 5 has limited access hours as noted below.
- Westmount Mall Entrance #1, 2, 3 Hours:
- 7am to 9pm Monday to Friday
- 7am to 1pm Saturday
- 12pm to 5pm Sunday
- Westmount Commons – Entrance #5 Hours:
- 7am to 7pm Monday to Friday
- 7am to 1pm Saturday
- Westmount Mall Entrance #1, 2, 3 Hours:
We cannot guarantee filing your taxes by the April 30th, 2024 deadline if your documents are submitted after April 15th, 2024.
Drop Box Location & Hours:
- Westmount Commons – Entrance #5 Hours:
- 7am to 7pm Monday to Friday
- 7am to 1pm Saturday
- Westmount Mall Entrance #1, 2, 3 Hours:
- 7am to 9pm Monday to Friday
- 7am to 1pm Saturday
- 12pm to 5pm Sunday
Filing and Payment Deadlines:
*Extension to next business day as due date falls on a Saturday or Sunday.
Deadlines For Submitting
Your Documents To Us
April 15, 2024
We cannot guarantee filing your taxes by the deadline of April 30th, 2024, if your documents are submitted to us after April 15 (hard copy or electronic).
2023 Personal Tax Filing & Payment Deadline
April 30th, 2024
Note, it can take CRA at least 30 days to process cheques for tax owed – we recommend paying CRA online.
Self-Employment
Filing Deadline
Individuals or spouses with self-employment income must file their return by June 17, 2024*.
Tax payment is due by
April 30th, 2024.
GST/HST Filing & Payment Deadlines
GST/HST returns for self-employed individuals must be filed by June 17, 2024*.
GST/HST payments are due by April 30th, 2024.
Completed Tax Packages
In order to keep our pricing competitive and to lessen the impact on the environment, we are encouraging our clients to make use of our secure portal for delivery of your personal tax package. Through the portal, we can electronically deliver your forms for signature, a copy of the return for your records and our invoice.
- We will be delivering your personal tax package electronically, unless you advise us otherwise.
- If you are interested in creating a portal account, please email portal@davismartindale.com with your permission and include your name, address and telephone number.
Mandatory Electronic Filing
We are required to file most personal tax returns electronically. After completion of your tax return, we will provide you with a form “T183 – Information Return for Electronic Filing of an Individual’s Income Tax and Benefit Return” which authorizes our office to electronically file your return. You must sign this form and return to us as soon as possible after receiving your package. We cannot file your return until we receive it.
The CRA is now recognizing electronic signatures on form T183.
Confirm my Representative
Starting in 2022, CRA expanded the Confirm my Representative service, which helps individuals taxpayers and business owners to protect their tax information using My Account. Confirm my representative is a two-step verification process that allows you to easily and securely control who has access and what level of access your representative has to your personal and tax information. As an individual taxpayer or a business owner, you can confirm certain authorization requests submitted by your representative. You can do this easily and securely using the Confirm my representative service in CRA’s My Account or My Business Account. If you need help accessing your account, please contact Davis Martindale.
Other Reminders
Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Reviews
The CRA routinely requests supporting documentation after your return has been electronically filed. Any requests will be sent directly to us.
- If you have purchased Audit Shield Fee Waiver Service, we will respond to the request and forward a copy of the response to you.
- If you do not have Audit Shield, we will contact you to determine if you would like to respond directly. The minimum fee for this service is $500 and is dependent on the complexity of the information requested from the CRA.
- Please contact us at auditshield@davismartindale.com if you are interested in learning more about Audit Shield, a tax audit insurance policy that protects against additional professional fees in the event you are subject to a post assessment audit, enquiry, investigation or review by the CRA or other Canadian provincial or government revenue agencies.
Reporting the Sale of your House
- After 2015, all dispositions related to the sale of your principal residence must be reported in order to benefit from the principal residence exemption.
- If you sold your home in the year, please provide us with details of the dates of purchase and sale, as well as the original cost and sale price.
- The maximum penalty for a late election on the sale of a principal residence is $8,000.
Tax on Split Income (TOSI)
- For 2018 and later years, there are new rules surrounding distributions from privately held corporations. Unless the payments received fall into one of the specific exemptions, distributions will be taxed at the highest marginal rate. If you think this may affect your tax filing, please bring it to our attention and we will be happy to discuss with you.
Investment Accounts
- Certain tax reporting slips (T3 and T5013) are not required to be issued until March 31st. If you do not anticipate having any of these slips, we request that you send in your information by March 15th to ensure faster filing of your return, due to volume.
- If you have investment accounts that will issue you T3 or T5013 slips, please send in your information by April 15th. If not received by then, we cannot guarantee filling by April 30th.
* CRA has started to assess penalties on unreported income due to missed slips. It is recommended that you contact your investment advisor to ensure that you are in receipt of all reporting slips.
Foreign Reporting
- Foreign Income Verification Statement: If you own foreign property at any time during the year with an aggregate cost of $100,000 or more, you are required to report this property, as well as any income earned during the year from outside the country on form T1135. Vacation properties, or properties held for personal use only, are not caught by these requirements. Failure to file this form when required can result in a penalty of $25 per day up to a maximum of $2,500. The responsibility for ensuring that this form gets filed rests with you. Please let us know if you believe that this requirement applies to you.
- U.S. Filing: If you are a U.S. citizen or are a green card holder you have U.S. filing obligations. If you have spent significant time in the U.S. you may have U.S. filing obligations. There are significant penalties for failure to comply with these requirements. Please let us know immediately if one of the above situations applies to you. There are steps which can be undertaken to become compliant without incurring penalties which may be available to you. These procedures are not available if the IRS “finds” you first.
- Foreign Tax Credits: If you claim a foreign tax credit on your tax return that is NOT reported on a T3 or T5 slip, CRA will request support to verify the deduction. It is imperative we have copies and you retain copies of Notice of Assessments from other countries, proof of payment, refund cheques, slips with income claimed and other important information.
- Underused Housing Tax (UHT) related to Foreign Reporting: In Budget 2021, the government announced that it would introduce a national, annual 1-per-cent tax on the value of non-resident, non-Canadian owned residential real estate that is considered to be vacant or underused. The Underused Housing Tax (UHT) took effect on January 1, 2022. There are two types of owners for the purposes of the Underused Housing Tax:
- Affected owner – must file an annual UHT return for each residential property and pay the tax unless qualify for an exception.
- Excluded owner – does not have to file a return or pay the tax.
- NEW for 2023 – Elimination of UHT Filing Requirement for Certain Owners:
- In the 2023 Fall Economic Update, the federal government announced proposed amendments to the UHT that include the following owners in the definition of “excluded owner” such that they will not be required to file a UHT return for 2023 and later years:
- “Specified Canadian corporation”, which is generally a Canadian corporation having less than 10 per cent of its votes or equity value owned by foreign individuals or corporations;
- A partner of a “specified Canadian partnership”, which is generally a partnership whose partners are exclusively “Canadian”; or,
- A trustee of a “specified Canadian trust”, which is generally a trust whose beneficiaries are exclusively “Canadian”.
- In the 2023 Fall Economic Update, the federal government announced proposed amendments to the UHT that include the following owners in the definition of “excluded owner” such that they will not be required to file a UHT return for 2023 and later years:
HST Requirements
- Self-employed individuals are required to register for, collect, and remit HST as soon as their taxable sales in any year exceed $30,000. If you have reached this milestone for the first time this year, and have not yet registered for HST, we can assist you with this.
- If you believe that you should have registered in a previous year, please let us know. GST/HST returns for self-employed individuals are required to be filed by June 17th, 2024*; however, if there is a balance due, the payment must be made by April 30th, 2024 to avoid late filing penalties and interest.
*As June 15th, 2024 falls on a weekend.
Questions?
Please do not hesitate to contact our team, we look forward to working with you.