The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will start accepting electronic tax filings for the 2023 tax year from February 19, 2024. A checklist for the 2023 tax year has been compiled to help you organize your tax-related documents.
You can email your documents to info@aylcpa.ca. Once your tax forms are completed, you will receive a confirmation and an electronic signature document.
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Personal and family member information in tax filing
- New immigrants or new clients filing taxes for the first time need to provide personal information including SIN numbers, names, birth dates, home addresses, and contact numbers for themselves and their family members, including dependents.
- New immigrants or Canadian citizens/PRs returning to Canada need to provide the date of arrival and overseas income before arrival.
- Those leaving Canada to become non-residents should provide the date of departure.
- Changes in marital status within the year require the specific date of change.
- For direct deposit of tax refunds, provide account details or a blank cheque.
- Immigrants not filing taxes for the first time should provide the previous year’s Notice of Assessment (NOA) if possible.
Income-related documents for tax filing
- Employment or self-employment income (T4, T4A forms).
- Employee Profit Sharing Plan (EPSP) earnings (T4PS form).
- Small business income.
- Interest and dividend income (T3 or T5 forms).
- Employment insurance or maternity benefits (T4E form).
- Old Age Security (OAS) income (T4A(OAS)) and pension income (T4A(P)).
- RRSP withdrawals (T4RSP form).
- Social assistance income (T5007 form).
- Partnership income (T5013 form).
- Overseas income (e.g., Chinese personal income tax return, tax settlements from Hong Kong/Taiwan, U.S. Form 1040, W8, etc.).
- Stock investment income (Trading Summary, T5008 form).
- Alimony received from divorce or separation (excluding child support).
The list of documents for income deductions
- RRSP contribution receipts, with minimum yearly repayment amounts for Home Buyer’s Plan (HBP) and Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP).
- First Home Savings Account (FHSA) contributions (limit for 2023 is $8,000).
- Amount refunded for COVID-19 grants in 2023.
- Childcare expense receipts.
- Interest on loans for investment purposes.
- Professional association or union dues paid personally.
- Self-employed individuals should summarize relevant expenses (contact for a template).
- Commission-based employees or those working from home need a signed T2200 form from the employer and summary of related expenses (contact for a template).
- Alimony paid to a former spouse after separation or divorce (excluding child support, with signed separation/divorce agreement or court order).
- Moving expenses for work, business, or education (refer to articles on public accounts for details).
- Expenses for assistive devices and services for disabled persons for work or study.
- TL2 form for truck drivers declaring meal and accommodation expenses (employer signature required).
- Allowable business investment losses (ABIL).
Documents for tax credits
- T2202A forms for tuition fees for yourself, spouse, or children, and TL11A for foreign universities.
- Receipts for charitable and political donations.
- Student loan interest.
- Medical expenses or insurance premiums exceeding 3% of net income or $2,759 (whichever is lower).
- Full year’s property taxes or rent for primary residence (provide landlord’s name, rental months, and address).
- Indication of first-time home purchase.
- T2201 form signed by a doctor for care of a patient or disabled person at home.
- Multi-Generation Home Renovation Credit for creating a secondary living unit for elders or disabled, up to $50,000.
- Adoption expenses, including agency, legal, court, and travel costs.
Rental properties and real estate transactions
- For selling primary residences, provide the address, sale price, year of purchase, purchase price, other costs like land transfer tax, lawyer’s fees, and designate the years it was your primary residence.
- Changing primary residence to rental property is treated as a sale. Provide similar information, and an appraisal report for valuation. Consider tax options like Section 45(2) election; consult an accountant for personal advice.
- Changing rental property to primary residence is also treated as a sale. Provide an appraisal report or consider a Section 45(3) election; consult an accountant.
- For selling investment property, provide address, purchase year, Statement of Adjustment, land transfer tax, legal fees, brokerage fees, advertising costs, prepayment penalties, staging costs, renovation expenses, and relevant receipts.
- For rental property, provide address, total annual rent, property tax, mortgage interest, insurance, management fees, advertising costs, brokerage fees, maintenance, utilities (if paid by landlord), and rental area proportion if partially rented (templates available for clients).
Reporting overseas assets
- New immigrants in their first year in Canada don’t need to report overseas assets but must declare if they have assets over CAD 100,000.
- Returning Canadian citizens or PRs must report overseas assets in the year they return.
- For assets below CAD 250,000, provide asset type and country, specific income or profit numbers, but not the asset value.
- For assets over CAD 250,000, provide details like bank names, maximum yearly deposit, year-end balance, interest income, overseas stocks, funds, financial products, debtors’ names, amount of debt, interest income, property addresses, market value at arrival, rental income, sale price if sold, and other asset types like partnerships, cash-value life insurance, patents, and copyrights.
Choosing a professional accountant as a tax advisor is a wise financial decision for individuals and families. Timely filing is essential for low-income families and students to receive benefits and tax refunds. Reminder: Late filings incur penalties and interest (10% annual rate for Q1 2024). Key dates for the 2023 tax year include:
- RRSP contribution deadline: February 29, 2024
- General tax filing deadline: April 30, 2024
- Self-employed tax payment: April 30, 2024
- Self-employed personal tax and HST filing: June 17, 2024
- Overseas asset reporting and tax option deadlines: April 30, 2024
- Main residence sale reporting: April 30, 2024
- Non-resident property sale in Canada: April 30, 2024
- Toronto vacant property tax: February 29, 2024
- Federal underused housing tax: April 30, 2024