There are plenty of bank savings account options in Canada! Stay on top of the best plans right here.
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When does it make sense to sell real estate in a larger city and buy in a smaller one? + MORE Jun 6th
Q. I am currently living in Saint John, NB, and renting ($1,450 a month + Internet—very expensive for this little town). I also own a condo in Burlington, Ont., worth about $500,000, which I have been renting out for the past two years. With income taxes factored in, the rent just covers carrying .... More »
What Does Silicon Valley Bank’s Collapse Mean for Canadians? + MORE Mar 27th
Update: On March 27, North Carolina-based First Citizens bank said it would buy much of the failed Silicon Valley Bank. The deal means First Citizens will assume US$110 billion in assets, deposits of US$56 billion and US$72 billion in loans from the failed SVB.
The collapse of Silicon Valley Ba.... More »
“My financial advisor overcontributed to my TFSA—now what?” Oct 24th
My financial advisor asked me for more money than the allowable contribution room of my TFSA, causing a CRA penalty. I did tell him that I could only contribute the $6,000, but he asked me for $28,500. I paid a fine of $2,000 to CRA.
What happens now? Do I ask him to repay the commissions he.... More »
Gas Prices Are High. Would a Federal Tax Break Make a Difference at the Pump? Jul 3rd
With U.S. president Joe Biden calling on Congress to pause federal taxes on gas and diesel for three months to help Americans, some Canadians are wondering if a similar initiative may offer a temporary reprieve from high prices north of the border.
As of May, gas prices in Canada are up 48 .... More »
Can you file multiple years of income taxes together in Canada? + MORE Dec 26th
Tax season is approaching. Soon, more than 30 million Canadians will be filing their tax returns. Most Canadians file their taxes every year but according to a paper from Carleton University, as many as 12% of Canadians don’t, and aside from missing out on tax refunds, this is costing many low inc.... More »
The great escape
– moneysense.ca
You’ve probably thought about the best way to get money into your RRSP, but have you thought about the best way to get your money out? If you haven’t pondered this issue, you should. Otherwise, you could run headfirst into a nasty tax bill.
The people who get swiped the hardest are diligent savers. They’re so successful at preparing for retirement that they don’t need to tap their RRSPs the moment they hit 65. They just let their money sit there. Then they’re surprised to discover that when you turn 71, the government forces you to start withdrawing money from your RRSP, whether you want to or not.
What really stings is that you have to pay taxes on the money you withdraw. If you have a seven-figure RRSP, or if your total income is high because of other investments, you could lose more than 40% of your hard-earned RRSP savings to the taxman. Nothing incenses a 71-year-old more.
The good news is that you can avoid this problem by implementing an RRSP “meltdown strategy” long before you hit your 70s…
The people who get swiped the hardest are diligent savers. They’re so successful at preparing for retirement that they don’t need to tap their RRSPs the moment they hit 65. They just let their money sit there. Then they’re surprised to discover that when you turn 71, the government forces you to start withdrawing money from your RRSP, whether you want to or not.
What really stings is that you have to pay taxes on the money you withdraw. If you have a seven-figure RRSP, or if your total income is high because of other investments, you could lose more than 40% of your hard-earned RRSP savings to the taxman. Nothing incenses a 71-year-old more.
The good news is that you can avoid this problem by implementing an RRSP “meltdown strategy” long before you hit your 70s…
What to consider if you still have RRSP contribution room
– moneysense.ca
Registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) have been around since 1957, and each February is commonly referred to as “RRSP season.” The banks and financial media used to make a bigger deal about RRSPs in the new year, but ever since Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) were introduced in 2009, RRSP season has seemed a bit watered down. That does not mean RRSPs are not good tax and investment options, it just reflects the fact that Canadians now have alternatives.
Maybe you’ve run some preliminary numbers on your 2020 tax return software, and discovered that you owe the CRA; or perhaps life simply got in the way of your organizing a contribution earlier (and if that’s the case, here are some tips on making last-minute RRSP contributions). Whatever the reason, if you are planning to make an RRSP contribution before the deadline, here’s a quick-reference roundup of key facts and myths to guide you.
RRSP facts
RRSP deadline for the 2020 tax year: March 1, 2021.
Maximum RRSP contribution for 2020: $27,230 (requires $151,278 of earned income in 2019 and no pension adjustment), plus any accumulated RRSP room the contributor has from past years…
Maybe you’ve run some preliminary numbers on your 2020 tax return software, and discovered that you owe the CRA; or perhaps life simply got in the way of your organizing a contribution earlier (and if that’s the case, here are some tips on making last-minute RRSP contributions). Whatever the reason, if you are planning to make an RRSP contribution before the deadline, here’s a quick-reference roundup of key facts and myths to guide you.
RRSP facts
RRSP deadline for the 2020 tax year: March 1, 2021.
Maximum RRSP contribution for 2020: $27,230 (requires $151,278 of earned income in 2019 and no pension adjustment), plus any accumulated RRSP room the contributor has from past years…
The best TFSAs in Canada for 2021
– moneysense.ca
A tax-free savings account, known better as a TFSA, is a savings vehicle available to Canadians aged 18 and up who have a valid social insurance number (SIN). It was launched by the federal government in 2009 as a way to encourage Canadians to save and invest.
As the name suggests, TFSAs offer a tax break on contributions—meaning that, unlike with a regular savings account or non-registered investment account, what you earn inside your TFSA isn’t taxed, even when you make a withdrawal. TFSAs are flexible, too, allowing you to hold cash, guaranteed investment certificates (GICs), stocks, bonds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds, so you can tailor your account to different financial strategies and goals. The TFSA contribution limit for 2021 is $6,000, but keep in mind that if you qualified to make a contribution in 2020, but didn’t that contribution room is still available to you. For those who turned 18 in the year 2009 or prior, the lifetime contribution limit is $75,500…
As the name suggests, TFSAs offer a tax break on contributions—meaning that, unlike with a regular savings account or non-registered investment account, what you earn inside your TFSA isn’t taxed, even when you make a withdrawal. TFSAs are flexible, too, allowing you to hold cash, guaranteed investment certificates (GICs), stocks, bonds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds, so you can tailor your account to different financial strategies and goals. The TFSA contribution limit for 2021 is $6,000, but keep in mind that if you qualified to make a contribution in 2020, but didn’t that contribution room is still available to you. For those who turned 18 in the year 2009 or prior, the lifetime contribution limit is $75,500…
How to maximize your last-minute RRSP contribution
– moneysense.ca
Mark your calendars: the deadline for Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) contributions for the 2020 tax year is March 1, 2021. But before you rush to deposit your money in a GIC or high-interest RRSP savings account at a local bank and call it a win, you should know there are other options that are just as simple and convenient—and better for your bottom line. Here’s how you can get the most out of your retirement savings all year long.
Get more than a tax deduction
Sure, it’s great that you can deduct allowable RRSP contributions (up to 18% of your previous year’s gross earnings) from this year’s taxable income—which will fatten up your tax refund—but that’s just the beginning. You also want your hard-earned savings to grow over time and compound into a nice retirement nest egg. Unfortunately, the amount of interest you can earn on a GIC is quite low, sometimes even lower than the rate of inflation. So, by the time you’re ready to spend those funds, they won’t buy you as much as they could today…
Get more than a tax deduction
Sure, it’s great that you can deduct allowable RRSP contributions (up to 18% of your previous year’s gross earnings) from this year’s taxable income—which will fatten up your tax refund—but that’s just the beginning. You also want your hard-earned savings to grow over time and compound into a nice retirement nest egg. Unfortunately, the amount of interest you can earn on a GIC is quite low, sometimes even lower than the rate of inflation. So, by the time you’re ready to spend those funds, they won’t buy you as much as they could today…