On March 24, 2021, the Ontario government released its 2021 budget. The deficit for 2021-2022 is projected at $33.1 billion, down from $38.5 billion last year, with deficits of $27.7 billion and $20.2 billion projected for 2022-23 and 2023-24. Although the deficit is significant, the government understands the importance of supporting healthcare and jobs. Please read our
summary to learn more about:
- Tax Rates
- Tax Credits and Benefit Programs
- Grants
- Investments
For additional information you can view the full 2021 Ontario Budget at this
link.
2020 Personal Tax Reminder and Resources
The deadline for filing your 2020 personal income tax return is April 30, 2021. If you or your spouse are self-employed, your filing deadline is June 15, 2021. All taxes payable are due by April 30, 2021.
As highlighted in our January 2020 newsletter, we have recently made an investment in a new practice management software – CCH iFirm. One of the new features of this software is the introduction of Client Portals which provide a secure channel for the two-way exchange of documents between us and our clients. Invitation requests for this feature were sent out last month, and you should have received the automated email from
hvgp@cchifirm.ca. If you did not register for the portal at that time, please contact admin@hvgp.ca to have the invitation sent to you again. For the 2020 tax season, the CRA has temporarily allowed electronic signatures. We will be leveraging our new Client Portals to facilitate the exchange of documents with electronic signing capability.
2020 Personal Tax Information Checklist
The information provided in our
2020 Personal Tax Information Checklist will help you assemble and organize your 2020 personal tax records and information slips. You will be receiving these slips in the near future, and the checklist provided will help you identify which documents apply to you. Once you have compiled your information, you can then load them directly into the client portal, and our staff will begin to assemble your return. For certain situations if you are unable to upload your tax documents, you can either mail in your paperwork or arrange a time with our receptionist (9am to 4pm Monday to Friday) so we can ensure we are limiting the number of people in our office per the Public Health Guidelines.
What’s New for 2020 and Reminders
There have been a number of updates to eligible tax credits in 2020. We have highlighted a few keys ones below and you can read the full list of CRA Updates and additional Tax Reminders in our
2020 Personal Tax Changes and Updates
- COVID Emergency or Recovery Benefits – If you received amounts under the following programs, Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB), Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB), Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) or Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB) in 2020, you will receive a T4A or T4E slip. You must report these amounts on your 2020 income tax return.
- Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) Clawback – Amounts received under the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) program are subject to a clawback of $0.50 for every dollar of your Net Income in excess of $38,000.
- COVID Emergency or Recovery Benefits Repayment – Amounts repaid under the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB), Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB), Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) or Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB) are deductible if the repayment was made before December 31, 2020. If you repaid the amount after January 1, 2021, the repayment will be adjusted after you file your 2021 tax return.
- Other employment expense – If you worked from home in 2020, more than 50%, due to COVID-19, you may be able to claim certain employment expenses. The CRA will allow employees working from home in 2020 due to COVID-19 to claim up to $400 of expenses, based on the amount of time working from home, without the need to track detailed expenses, and will generally not request that people provide a signed form T2200 or T2200S from their employers.
If you have any questions regarding your return, please feel free to contact our office at 905 891 5339.
