The Bookkeeper's Reference Page
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So pour yourself a cup a tea and spend your coffee break skimming this page for items that may be of interest to your business ... or sneak a peek at other bookkeeping pages to book mark to come back to later when you have more time. Notice to Site Visitor I initially developed this page as a handy reference for myself. While I do my best to ensure it is accurate and complete, I make it available for your use with the understanding that I cannot be held liable for errors and/or omissions. Please make yourself familiar with my site policies prior to relying on any of the information on this site. Tax Compliance Reminders and Quick Links
Here are some links to economic and market data which may be useful when putting together your business plan. All the Canadian banks have economic newsletters you can subscribe to as well. Canadian Business Daily Market Wrap highlights the days news, US dollar close, S&P/TSX Composite close and more. Once there, you will find economic indicators on the "Markets" drop down box. CanWest Global Communications Business page (Financial Post, Global TV) has a lot of information including a Market Summary and very useful financial tools. Trading Economics Canada Stock Market Chart - S&P/TSX Composite gives you the monthly historical values. They also have a banner quoting the interest rate, growth rate, inflation rate, jobless rate, exchange rate and more. I like the historical value chart because I can visually see trending. Canadian Business Deposit Rates for financial institutions. ING is my one favorites. Here are links to the Bank of Canada Currency Converter and a World Currency Converter. While I'm discussing banking, a great book by Globe and Mail columnist Rob Carrick is How to Pay Less and Keep More for Yourself - The Essential Consumer Guide to Canadian Banking and Investing. Because it's a few years old now, I'd probably just borrow it from the library.
Bookkeeper's Handy Reference
Click here for CRA 2010 indexation adjustment for personal income tax and benefit amounts.
 Bookkeeper's Handy Reference
Bookkeeper's Handy Reference
Bookkeeper's Handy Reference Source: The Knowledge Bureau
Make sure you discuss your situation with a professional who can give you advice tailored to your specific circumstances. Before you file your tax return, be sure to check out Revenue Canada's web page on "Tax Cuts At Your Fingertips". It provides you with information on some of the tax credits and benefits available to Canadians. If you click on Individuals on the side bar, you will have access to more detailed information. The Individuals side bar has been nicely divided into categories to make it easy to find what is relevant to you:
It's a good review for any Canadian bookkeeper on the latest changes. General News for Small Business BookkeepersWise WordsFour things you can't recover: The stone ... after the throw. The word ... after it's said. The occasion ... after it's missed. The time ... after it's gone. Author Unknown December 2, 2009 Management Fees and Salaries for Incorporated Businesses As a small owner managed corporation, before you book your management fees or bonuses this year end, check to make sure the circumstances meet CRA criteria. In August this year , Andrews & Company Chartered Accountants posted on their website (www.andrews.ca) an excellent tax tip on management fees and salaries. Before reducing the corporation's tax burden by bringing this year's profits down to the $500,000 small business deduction limit through the use of management bonuses and fees, be aware that CRA can challenge the amounts if they are not reasonable. It is important that details be documented. There should be a written contract and the decision to pay the fees / bonuses recorded in the corporate minute book. The fees should be for active participation in and services provided to the corporation and in line with the effort it took to earn the fees. You must have the skills related to what you are being paid for and they should be in line with other similar companies. CRA also looks at whether the profits being distributed in this manner are a regular corporate policy. Speak with an accounting professional before doing anything to avoid negative tax consequences. Your accountant will
Here are some points to consider:
I found an excellent CGA three part series of articles on owner/manager remuneration through google. Although the series is not dated, it is an older series as CRA is referred to as CCRA. This means it was written sometime between December 1999 and January 2004. So keep in mind that although the principles will still be valid, some of the information may not be current. Check with your own accountant before doing anything. Here are the links:
See CRA's publication Technical News No. 22 for their position on CCPC shareholder / manager remuneration. In The Bookkeeping Forum, a question on management fees and T slips was asked. Check it out and give your opinion on how this common situation should be handled. September 27, 2009 Coming Inflation ... Do You Need to Protect Yourself? Patrick McKeough writes daily tips for Canadian investors. In his September 22 tip, he talks about the coming inflation. He says, "Governments have dramatically increased spending in order to pull their economies out of recession. Moreover, central banks have cut interest rates to record lows. These moves will likely help solve the financial crisis. But the cost will be much higher inflation, possibly starting in the next decade. This will have an impact on all stock sectors. Higher inflation would come as a result of the large increase in the amount of money in the global financial system. Inflation can be defined as a persistent rise in consumer prices, or a persistent drop in the purchasing power of money, caused by an increase in currency and credit that is out of proportion with the amount of available goods and services. In other words, if at some point more money is chasing the same amount of goods and services, it will push up the prices of those goods and services." He gives advice on how to protect your investments. You can find the whole article at TSI Network Daily. The Advice Hotline for September 23, 2009, a free newsletter published by MPL Communications, feels there are five factors working against inflation even though governments are running large deficits, have falling tax revenues and placed more money into our economy through infrastructure spending.
While this post does not pertain directly to being a bookkeeper or bookkeeping, it's a reminder not to forget about managing your personal assets while you are running your business.
July 24, 2009 Less Paperwork for Bookkeepers? The Campbell government announced yesterday that BC will be switching to a harmonized sales tax beginning July, 2010. It is being done so that BC can remain competitive. BC will have the lowest HST in Canada at 12%. The change over will be revenue neutral to the province. I'm not sure how I feel about this as it seems to have come out of the blue although I was expecting it to happen at some point. It will be less work for business owners and bookkeepers in the long term ... which is good ... not sure about how much work will be involved during the transition though. I would love to hear from bookkeepers in other provinces on how the switch to HST went during the transition period ... more work? What will the effect be to business owners and consumers? It will be a direct cost of living increase for the end customer pertaining to SERVICES as they were PST exempt before ... but under HST they won't be. It will affect things like personal services such as hair care, dry cleaning, repair services, home renovations and painting, real estate fees, membership fees, movie and theatre tickets, funeral services, professional services such as accounting and home care, and airline fares within Canada. Some GOODS will lose their tax exempt status, so their cost will go up. Some of the goods that will be affected are residential fuels, cable and residential phone, all food products, non-presecription medication, vitamins and dietary supplments, bicycles, school supplies (except books), magazines and newspapers, work related safety equipment, smoke detectors and fire extinguishers, safety helmuts, life jackets, first aid kits, and energy conservation equipment. Oh and of course, eating out will be higher as restaurant meals do not currently attract PST. There will be some point of sale rebates that are different than GST. They will be gasoline and diesel fuel for motor vehicles, books, children’s-sized clothing and footwear, children’s car seats and car booster seats, diapers and feminine hygiene products. As I understand it, all other goods and services will be treated the same as GST. The BC HST credit will offset some of the impact of the tax for people with low incomes. It will benefit businesses as they can now claim the ITC on the PST portion which they couldn't before so they will pay less tax. It is my understanding too that if businesses in Alberta were to sell goods to a BC resident, then they have to charge the 12% HST. However, if a BC resident were to drive to Alberta to pick them up, then they only have to pay the GST. I'm going to assume that services would be treated the same way. October 1, 2009 addendum. The Taxtips.ca October newsletter said the BC September budget update announced the government is proposing to provide a provincially administered HST exemption for residential energy use. The Globe Investor HST: What you should know September 30, 2009 article is worth a read if you are a small business owner or a bookkeeper. Go to CRA HST notices for BC and Ontario. July 19, 2009 Commonly Used Passwords This is not new news. In PC Magazine's May 8, 2007 issue, they posted the 10 most commonly used passwords. password A strong password should contain and combine a minimum of 8 characters that include small and UPPERcase letters, numbers, and special characters. It should not contain words found in the dictionary or be based on personal information. Always keep sensitive passwords for online banking unique and private. Consider using different passwords for the different sites you visit to keep them secure. Not changing your passwords for various sites increases your risk of a hacker obtaining access to your information and accounts. I read one blog (can't find where though) that says a good way to create a strong password is to take a word you know and insert numbers/special characters that you have designated to represent SOME letters. Combine this with a numerical sequence that you know but when you type it in, hold the alt key down. For example: bookkeeper2009 would be b()()KkeEpEr™ººª. In another blog there was a suggestion that instead of creating a strong password, create something long and memorable ... such as "This summer the weather is COLDER than normal in Canada." Another suggestion I came across a while back was to create a phrase and use the first letter of each word as your password ... so if we used "This summer the weather is COLDER than normal in Canada.", the password would be TSTWictnic. Whatever you pick, I hope it isn't one of the ones listed above! As a bookkeeper, you are responsible for ensuring financial information remains confidential. This is especially important when you work from home. One way to protect the information, is to password protect your computer and data files so that family members, friends, or visitors cannot inadvertently obtain access to it. Consideration should be given to using an encrypted e-mail service such as e-Courier for confidential emails. Using such a service meets PIPEDA standards. Inspiration Trust that still, small voice that says, "This might work and I'll try it." DIANE MARIECHILD I found this quote on page 133 of The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. Something about it makes me exhale ... and I didn't even know I was holding my breath! More Inspiration "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars." Les Brown April 2009 Self-Employed Parents - Here's a tip Do you have kids attending post secondary school? My recommendation for students needing to prepare their tax returns - Online QuickTax Student Edition. It leads you through an interview and is free if your income is $20,000 or less. It's good for your kids to learn how they are being taxed and how to reduce the tax they are paying while their return is still simple. Maybe they will be future bookkeepers! Canadian Business Magazine and KPMG have a 4-part series on Sustaining Value in a Changing Economy. Part 1 Staying ahead of the storm It is available in podcasts or downloading at canadianbusiness.com/kpmg "Endurance is like tax, [he said]. "You're silly to pay more than you have to, but you can't always escape it." from the fictional novel Risk by Dick Francis The Bookkeeper's Reference to CRA NewsLooking for 2009 and 2010 CRA Mileage Rates? Here are your options:
February 20, 2010 HST and Recapture of Input Tax Credits (RITC) On February 19th, the BC Ministry of Finance released HST Notice#4 Temporary Recapture of Input Tax Credits (RITC) Requirement for large businesses. This will not be an issue for most small businesses and I present it only for informational purposes for bookkeepers. The Ontario Ministry of Revenue released HST Notice#5 Temporary Recapture of Input Tax Credits (RITC) Requirement for large businesses in February 1. The RITC rules for both provinces appear to be similar. It is applicable if your taxable sales (including zero rated) are greater than $10 million (large business) and certain financial institutions. It does NOT apply to public service bodies or people who make their chief source of income from farming. The recapture applies to the provincial portion of HST only ... and will be reported on a separate line of the HST return. Unless purchased for resupply, the restrictions apply to (1) road vehicles weighing less than 3,000 kg (plus fuel in Ontario), (2) energy (not energy used directly for manufacturing), (3) telecommunication services (not internet, web hosting, or toll free service), ... and (4) meals, beverages and entertainment which are currently subjected to a 50% repayment rate in the Excise Tax Act. The rate of recapture is 100% for the first five years, then phased out over the next three years to no restrictions by July 1, 2018. The requirements were modeled after Quebec's Sales Tax Act which was introduced in 1992 as a temporary restriction ... and is still in place. It is my understanding that the temporary recapture is being put into effect because the provincial governments can't afford to refund their portion of the ITC just yet. The BC HST Notice can be found at www.sbr.gov.bc.ca > Harmonized Sales Tax Proposed Transition Rules > Temporary Recapture of Input Tax Credits Requirements. The Ontario HST Notice can be found at www.rev.gov.on.ca > Forms and Publications by Client > Accountants, Lawyers, Tax Professionals > HST Information Notice 5: Temporary Recapture of Input Tax Credits Requirements ... or a summary can be found under Harmonized Sales Tax Tips - Tax Tip 1. Deloitte's has an excellent summary of Ontario's RITC at www.deloitte.com > tax > indirect tax and customs > featured content article "Ontario HST input tax credit recapture rules". Again, this will not be an issue for most small businesses and I present it only to keep bookkeepers informed on HST transitional rules. Large businesses subject to RITC must self assess HST as well.
Financial Services Definition Clarified by CRA On February 11, 2010, CRA released GST/HST Notice 250 Proposed Changes to the Definition of Financial Servies. Financial services are exempt from HST GST. This notice proposes to specify services that are not considered financial services. They are:
I understand this to mean HST GST applies after December 19, 2009 ... once parliament has enacted the proposed amendments put forth by the Department of Finance. The notice gives excellent laymen examples of what each service means. January 31, 2009 Ontario and BC GST/HST Info Sheets Released CRA has released GST/HST Info Sheets GI-053 through to GI-059 dealing with the Ontario and BC transitioning to HST in July. The Info Sheets cover the following topics in numerical order:
January 6, 2009 New GST/HST Reporting Requirements Bookkeepers and small business owners should be aware that the CRA released new GST/HST reporting requirements this week along with the publication Notice 249 Questions and Answers on the New Reporting Requirements for GST/HST Registrants. The proposed changes go into effect July 1, 2010 ... the same date Ontario and BC are scheduled to switch to HST. In the past, online filing of GST was restricted by certain criteria. The criteria has now been loosened so that more registrants qualify to file their GST/HST returns electronically through GST/HST NETFILE. Electronic filing for the following registrants is proposed:
Failure to comply could result in penalties. More information can be found at www.cra.gc.ca/gsthst-filing. The Notice 249 Q&A publication addresses the following areas:
December 18, 2009 2010 TD1 Forms Available 2010 T1 Personal Tax Credits Return Form are now available on the CRA website. The form must be completed by employees and returned to you. You should retain the completed forms on file. You do not send a copy to CRA. A new form is not required every year ... only if there is a change to the employee's personal tax credit amounts. You can find the forms for all provinces and territories on the CRA website at Businesses>Payroll>Calculating deductions>Form TD1, Personal Tax Credits Return . December 18, 2009 Electronic ROE Improvements Two changes were made to the EI regulations back in March, 2009 that affect users who file ROEs (record of employment) electronically using ROE Web. The changes do NOT apply to employers still filing paper ROEs.
You can find the Service Canada announcement at www.servicecanada.gc.ca under publications and reports>records of employment>Changes to Regulations Concerning Electronic ROEs or Pamphlet - Changes to Regulation 19. December 14, 2009 (Revised December 18, 2009) 2010 Payroll Tax Tables for Canada CRA website (www.cra-arc.gc.ca/payroll) now has the online 2010 Payroll Deductions Online Calculator available. The rates are effective January 1, 2010. The manual payroll deduction tables (T4032) and the supplementary tables (T4008), effective January 1, 2010 are also available. The 2010 CPP and EI rates were released in November. I've listed the information on "The Rates" pages. I know this not CRA news but while we are on the topic of 2010 payroll tax tables ... QuickBooks payroll tax tables for 2010 will be released about mid week this week as well. If you are using the 2010 version, they will also be releasing R2 at this time. CRA has released the 2010 indexation adjustment for personal income tax and benefit amounts in a fact sheet. The chart reflects an indexation increase of 0.6% for 2010 and compares the indexed amounts to the 2009 tax year. December 2, 2009 Proposed Revisions to TFSAs On October 16, 2009 the Minister of Finance proposed technical changes to TFSAs due to recent tax planning schemes involving TFSAs. It is proposed that these changes be effective October 17, 2009.
You can find the announcement and more in depth information on the Department of Finance Canada website - www.fin.gc.ca. Look under news dated 2009-10-16. November 21, 2009 Payroll Deductions Formulas for Computer Programs 91st Edition T4127-JAN Draft payroll deduction formulas for computer programs effective January 1, 2010 have been released by CRA. The payroll tables have not been released yet. The publication includes 2010 federal tax rates, income thresholds, and personal amounts in addition to CPP and EI amounts. T4127-JUL Payroll Deductions Formulas for Computer Programs - 90th Edition effective July 1, 2009 is also available on the CRA website. Payroll tables effective April 1, 2009 revised for January 27, 2009 Federal Budget can be found on The Rates page. November 20, 2009 HST Rebates and Exemptions in Ontario More on New Housing Rebate and New Rental Housing Rebate You can find a list of the rebates and exemptions where the proposed HST will not apply on the Ontario government website. The Bookkeeper's Tip (added February 17, 2010) The rebates are the same as BC with these exceptions:
Yesterday, HST Notice #4 was released. It discusses Additional Information for Homebuyers and the Housing Industry under Ontario HST. New Housing Rebate and New Rental Housing Rebate along with transitional rules were discussed in HST Notice#2. Houses $400,000 or lower would be subject to 2% additional tax up to $400,000 and 8% over $400,000. The rebate is 75% of the provincial portion of HST up to a maximum rebate of $24,000. As there will not be a phase out, housing over $400,000 is eligible for the maximum rebate. In effect, I think it is saying that homes prices in Ontario currently have RST embedded in them. HST will not be more than the embedded RST on homes priced up to $400,000. The rebate would be 6% (75% of 8%). Interpreting what the bulletins actually say is not my area of expertise, so please read the notices for yourself or find an expert in the housing market to explain the new rules. CBC has a good page on Tax Harmonization: FAQ you may also be interested in. October 17, 2009 Point of Sale Rebates for BC HST BC Ministry of Finance released HST Notice#2 on Point of Sale Rebates for BC HST. The notice does not deal with the residential energy rebate. The notice does look at the 7% POS rebate on:
CRA will administer the POS rebates. The retailer will not have to show the POS rebate on its invoice ... which means it does not need to be reported on the HST GST return. Purchases at BC retail stores and internet purchases are eligible for the POS rebate. Imports of designated items will not be required to pay the 7% portion of the HST. The Bookkeeper's Tip (added February 17, 2010) The rebates are the same as Ontario with these exceptions:
October 29, 2009 HST for Ontario and BC - More Transitional Information CRA released Notice 247 Harmonized Sales Tax for Ontario and British Columbia - Questions and Answers on General Transitional Rules for Personal Property and Services. This notice provides general information pertaining to Ontario HST Notice #3 and BC HST Notice #1 released last week. As discussed earlier, HST generally becomes due on or after May 1, 2010 for prepaid goods and services to be delivered on or after July 1, 2010. Although it shouldn't apply to most small business owners, be aware that non-consumers will be required to self-assess amounts that come due or are prepaid between October 14, 2009 and May 2010 with the goods and services being delivered after July 1, 2010. More information will be provided on prescribed reporting forms in the coming months. October 22, 2009 Harmonized Sales Tax for British Columbia Transitional Rules Yesterday, CRA released Notice 246 Harmonized Sales Tax for British Columbia - Questions and Answers on Transitional Rules for Non-Residential Real Property Situated in British Columbia. It covers sales and leases of non-residential property, progress payments and holdbacks. You can locate the document on the CRA website under Businesses>GST/HST>Forms and publications>GST/HST Notices. BC's plan to implement HST still has to be approved by the legislature, but plans are moving forward. On October 14, 2009 a notice was released from the BC Ministry of Finance entitled HST Notice #1 General Transition Rules for British Columbia HST. The transition will be handled in the same manner as Quebec and the Atlantic provinces. HST will apply to pre-payments beginning May 1, 2010 for services and products to be provided after June 30, 2010 with some exceptions. The transitional rules would not apply to prepaid subscriptions and publications, round trip tickets for passenger transportation services that started before July 1, 2010, prepaid funeral services, and the PST inventory rebate for residential contracts. The rules for transitioning new residential real property are still being worked out. You can visit the BC Government website for additional general HST information. See also CRA Notice 247. Revised October 22, 2009 Harmonization of the Ontario RST with the GST An Update CRA has revised Notice 244. The title was also changed to better reflect what is being covered. It is now called Harmonized Sales Tax for Ontario –Questions and Answers on Housing Rebates and Transitional Rules for Housing and Other Real Property Situated in Ontario. It contains a new section of questions and answers on non-residential real property. You can locate the document on the CRA website under Businesses>GST/HST>Forms and publications>GST/HST Notices. The Ontario Ministry of Revenue has online information on Ontario's HST transitional rules. The transition rules are similar to BC's transitional rules. See also CRA Notice 247. September 27, 2009 CRA released Notice 244 on September 15. It has questions and answers pertaining to the transitional rules for housing and other real property situated in Ontario. It is based on information presented in the 2009 Ontario budget. This information may be useful if you are a bookkeeper in Ontario. You can find the notice by googling "CRA Notice244" (no space between Notice and 244). It is located on the CRA website under forms and publications. August 1, 2009 Income Earned Online is Taxable CRA sent a reminder out on July 30, 2009 that Canadian electronic income is treated the same way as traditional commerce income. Both are taxable. You still have time to amend 2008 personal tax returns, if this income was omitted. If a CRA audit uncovers the unreported income, penalties will occur along with the possibility of prosecution. eBay sellers were used as an example. CRA has a list of all eBay sellers due to a recent Federal Court of Canada decision. Beginning late this summer, this information will be used to determine if they properly reported their income on their personal tax returns. Under the Voluntary Disclosures Program, penalties and prosecution will not be applied it the taxpayer takes the initiative to correct returns already filed. eBay sellers can learn about what business deductions they are eligible for in "The Tax" section. Read more here on unreported income and which tax form to use to file your amendment with CRA. You may also be interested in reading information about GST/HST and Electronic Commerce. July 23, 2009 Mandatory E-filing Starts in 2010 CRA announced today, that beginning in January 2010, mandatory e-filing is required for anyone who submits more than 50 information returns. An information return are returns like T3 slips, T4 slips and T5 slips. You can find more information on the CRA website Mandatory Electronic Filing of Information Returns. If you have less than 50 information returns, you can still file electronically. It is quick and easy to do ... and you get instant confirmation for your records that the returns have been received. I found it a lot more convenient and efficient than paper filing the returns. July 2009 Computers CCA Class 52 - 100% Tax Deductible Computer The Tax Detective newsletter reminds us that any business computer purchased from January 28, 2009 to January 31, 2011, is eligible for a temporary 100% capital cost allowance (CCA) in Class 52. This applies to computer hardware and system software but NOT operating software. The half year rule will not apply. This tax relief was part of the 2009 Economic Action Plan to stimulate business investment. If you are interested, there was an update on Canada's Economic Action Plan, released June 16, 2009. May 26, 2009 The Bookkeeper's Reference Bookkeepers and small business owners may be interested to know that changes announced earlier this week will likely push out any plans you had for early retirement ... but will give more flexibility to baby boomers whose retirement savings took a dive over the past months. The proposed changes that will start as of 2012 have been summarized very nicely by the Canadian Capitalist. Here they are in less elegant prose:
You can find the Department of Finance Canada Information Paper "Proposed Changes to the Canada Pension Plan" on their website fin.gc.ca. October 1, 2009 addendum Taxtips.ca October newsletter made a good point I missed. The proposed changes will not affect people already receiving CPP or if they start to collect it before 2012. Bookkeeper Alerts - Let Your Friends Know About ThisFebruary 17, 2010HST Self Assessment for BC and Ontario Non-consumers must self assess. Persons required to self assess will need to report the tax on either:
Who must self assess? "Non consumers acquiring the goods and services for consumption, use or supply otherwise than exclusively in the course of their commercial activities (ie an exempt business)"... non consumers who use the simplified method of calculating their sales tax ... non consumers who are subject to the large business ITC restrictions. Non consumers would be corporations, not for profits, registered charities, and individuals such as doctors and dentists who purchase for business use. My understanding is ... the general rule is ... if you can't claim input tax credits, then you must self assess. Bookkeepers take note ... self assessment date begins October 14, 2009. So if you receive a bill in January 2010 for an annual membership, the invoice will be billed out, correctly, at the 5% GST rate. However, as a non-consumer, you will have to self assess the July to December portion for the provincial component of the HST. If this invoice was prepared after April 30, HST should be applied by the vendor on services provided after June 30. You will not have to self assess in this situation. The self assessed portions do not get reported or remitted until after June 30. This means when you or your bookkeeper prepare your second quarter GST report, do not include self assessed amounts at this time. Personal Consumption As of May 1, 2010, HST applies to all billings/invoices for services and products provided on or after July 1, 2010. If you invoice your customer on April 30 for a service for personal consumption for the entire season (lawn mowing service was the example given) ... and some of the service happens after June 30, the entire season is taxed at 5% GST. However, if you were to prepare this invoice on or after May 1, then you would have to charge GST on the portion up to June 30 and HST for the period July 1 forward. So bookkeepers, here is an opportunity to save your customers some money by pre-billing before May 1, 2010. Resource: IPBC webinar February 3, 2010 by Garth Steele, Welch LLP Chartered Accountants. February 17, 2010 HST Pointers for BC and Ontario Here are some things to be aware of as we move closer to the July 1 deadline: Hotel Room Tax - After June 30, 2010, the HRT will be at 13% for both provinces. Currently Ontario is 10% = 5% HRT + 5% GST while BC is 13% = 8% HRT + 5% GST. Insurance - There will be NO input tax credits (ITCs). BC and Ontario are going to retain their tax on insurance ... that is currently in place. Alcohol - After June 30, the new rate will be 8% for Ontario and 7% for BC. The rates currently are 10% (restaurant) and 12% (liquor board). To make up for the shortfall, adjustments will be made to existing alcohol fees and levies. Private Transfer of Motor Vehicles - Ontario ... There will be NO input tax credits (ITCs) ... the 13% sales tax will be retained. BC ... has not decided yet what they will do. Resource: IPBC webinar February 3, 2010 by Garth Steele, Welch LLP Chartered Accountants. October 29, 2009 Intuit QuickBooks Security Issue Intuit announced an advisory warning for 2007- 2009 versions of QuickBooks that could allow hackers to access a user's computer through 2 activex files. Their latest updates fix the problem. Anyone who has already switched to version 2010 are fine. To make sure you have the fix, all QuickBooks users should make sure they have the latest release. If you have automated update turned on, you should be fine. If you don't, you can do a manual update. To see what version you have, just press your F2 key while in the program. The latest versions that have the fix are: Canada
United States
UK and Australia
Intuit no longer supports 2006 and prior product years so no fix is available for these years. You can find out more details at Intuit QuickBooks Support. May 2009 The Bookkeeper's Alert Eileen Reppenhagen, CGA sent out an alert that there are currently businesses that are actively contacting people to encourage them to adjust up to 10 years of their tax returns for the disability tax credit. The fee they charge for this is a very large percentage of the refund you receive back from the CRA ... and they generally don't review your returns for possible risks, errors or omissions. There are a few problems with this. One - The fee percentage is too large. A reputable accountant will do it for less. They will probably look for other error and omissions on these 10 years so you understand the full implication of filing the adjustment. Two- Adjusting a past tax return opens it up to the possibility of being audited again for the next three years of ALL the parties involved. Normally after three years, CRA is statute barred from auditing those returns unless fraud is suspected. Three - Worst part of all ... if they close up shop after they have been paid and CRA audits you and doesn't agree with the requested changes ... they will want some money back. Problem is ... you don't have it to give back because the business took their cut. Think twice before you give these businesses Level 2 access (on form T1013 Authorizing or Cancelling a Representative) to your CRA account. Best bet, say thanks but no thanks or get a second opinion from another professional like a bookkeeper, accountant or professional tax preparer. Shhhhh ... DIY bookkeepers ... Intuit Canada is giving away free software to Canadian small businesses ... read more
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