Personal Finance essays, stories, case studies and how to articles with a distinctly Canadian Point of View, from the Chief Kibitzer of Personal Finance. Paying it forward as best I can.
After posting my taxes on Sunday, I was wondering how things would go with my return. I am currently in a reassessment for the previous tax year, so what would the CRA do about this?
It did not take long, as they replied on-line with a message asking for receipts for the tax year for the exact areas where I am being reassessed for the previous tax year. This actually makes perfect sense, to me. This process is called a pre-assessment, which seems to imply, they want to verify my claims before processing.
Given my previous year reassessment is still in process, I will include all the information from that process, just to be thorough. I am attempting to make the same claims that I am having reassessed, so it is better to give too much information, than not enough.
Remember, in these
situations, always have a complete cover letter. The cover letter must identify
the process identifier, and should inventory all the documentation you are
sending. I am also having my wife check
what I am sending, it never hurts to have another set of eyes check things for
you.
The only interesting part is that they are asking for receipts for my charitable donations, which has nothing to do with my reassessment. The value has gone up, but I am curious as to why they are asking for that as well.
What to Do?
I will be submitting
them all on-line (for speed), and shall see what comes of this.
This is all part of the whole tax process, but does seem to be how this year is going for me as well (i.e. things that can get complicated, do get complicated).
Given the initial assessment refused my son’s Medical Claim for his schooling to be a medical expense (for last tax year), I have asked for a reassessment. The bill for the initial refusal is not insignificant, however I am hopeful that we will prevail in the end.
Given I currently owe the CRA a significant amount of money, and my taxes are due, what to do?
First question: Do I do my taxes this year assuming my son’s schooling expenses are a medical expense or not, given the CRA has denied this for the past year? My call is that I will try to claim it this year, assuming we prevail with our re-assessment. If this thing backfires, I assume I am going to have a world more problems with the CRA, but let’s remain optimistic.
Next question, given I should be getting a refund from the CRA, should I file before I hear about the re-assessment results? If I file, with no resolution, the CRA will simply take my refund to pay my “debt” to them.
If the reassessment ends up against my claim, I receive whatever is left from my refund, and the CRA is paid
If the reassessment ends up for my claim, and the CRA has already taken their “payment” I must then ask for my money back, which will mean delays and more paperwork.
We decided to simply file and see what happens. Currently my life is a bit chaotic (to say the least), so it would be better to tie off loose ends before things possibly go pear shaped.
Better to Act Sooner
Given I may be very distracted soon by other issues, it is better to file my taxes, and let the CRA decide how things will transpire.
Medical Expense Resources
Here are a few of the articles I have written about if your child has a valid Disability Tax Certificate (DTC), how you can claim their training or schooling as a medical expense.
March Madness is in high gear with the Elite 8 going on this weekend. As usual my bracket cannot win even though I still have 4 possible victors in the final four. My ability to prognosticate is pretty bad.
Gas prices are rocketing up in Ottawa, which suggests Inflation (or at least a higher CPI) is coming very soon. With the Carbon Tax there is talk of gas in Ottawa being $1.40 this summer. Maybe it is time to start looking at the Tesla again. We might all need to get a more frugal lifestyle, and soon.
With Brexit causing the UK no end of despair and confusion, this could be a very interesting summer financially. I don’t pretend to understand it all, but it does seem to be a “no win” scenario.
Remember that it is Tax Season, time to get all your documentation and get your return in to the CRA. If you owe money, you don’t have to pay until the deadline and if you are owed money, the sooner you get that money back, the better. Be patient if you call, wait times can be long this time of year.
Recent Articles
I am slowly getting back into the swing of things, but life is still quite interesting for me these days. 3 Ways To Pull Off This Season’s Coolest Financial Trend was really just a bit of click-bait. I really hate to think this is how folks are finding out information, but unfortunately click-bait continues to rule.
RDSP : A Really Long-Term Savings Plan points out with an actual example how big the penalties are for RDSP early withdrawals. I do have a few other examples of how the RDSP system works, so stay tuned.
I’d like to thank the Liberals for this easy tap-in story, RDSP and Budget 2019. They were kind enough to put in a clarification and a change of rules in their latest budget. I still haven’t got a definitive statement that this is now the law of the land, but we shall see.
Troubling and True
Kerry from Squawkfox has a very good point with this answer to a Tweet. Literacy is very important, but sometimes life serves up a big feces sandwich.
You can be financially literate and still lose your job, have health issues, get renovicted, and deal with the massive cost of raising kids. https://t.co/Hffken72FR
Interesting that two of my favorite reads had articles on spending habits in retirement. It is interesting to see life-time savers and frugal folk suddenly realize they have to change a habit they have had their whole life.B
Michael James (who surprisingly is not the most frugal person in his family) brings us Compensating for Your Money Personality. The word cheap could be used to describe someone as frugal as MJ and his wife, but that is not the right word. I think the word I’d use is driven, which explains things much better.
2nd Career Search has returned from a stay in Florida, and he also writes on the same subject. Saver to Spender Transition explains how he and his wife had to learn to “loosen the purse strings”. If you don’t understand this, think of the chronic overspenders you know, and how hard it would be for them to become frugal.
Hoyes Michalos has made a documentary about Millennials & Debt – No Room to Maneuver. I am concerned about the life my children will be able to lead, and this does not help me sleep any better.
The Blunt Bean Counter gets into the spirit of Tax Season with The Top Tax Tips for Students. If you don’t take tax tips from an accountant, who should you take advice from?
Budget 2019 is finally out, and it has a whole treasure trove of goodies. It is truly an election year budget with promises of the future (if you reelect the current government).
“Unlike RRSPs, amounts held in RDSPs are not exempt from seizure by creditors in bankruptcy. To level the playing field, Budget 2019 also proposes to exempt RDSPs from seizure in bankruptcy, with the exception of contributions made in the 12 months before the filing.”
I assume the bankruptcy laws may be changed one day, but this seems quite clear. The past 12 months of payments being not exempt makes sense as well.
RDSP Pay Back if DTC Lost
This has always been a big problem, and with the CRA cancelling DTCs left and right this is a good thing.
“To address concerns that this treatment does not appropriately recognize the financial impact that periods of severe, but episodic, disability can have on individuals, Budget 2019 proposes to eliminate the requirement to close an RDSP when a beneficiary no longer qualifies for the DTC. Doing so will allow grants and bonds otherwise required to be repaid to the Government to remain in the RDSP. To ensure fairness for DTC-eligible beneficiaries, some restrictions on access to these amounts will apply. The estimated cost of this measure is $109 million over five years, beginning in 2019–20, and $33 million per year ongoing. “
Previously you had a short period of time where you had to pay back all grants and bonds, now you can leave the money there. I assume if you try to take money out you would have to pay back grants and bonds (and pay tax on any growth). There still is a few fine points to clarify here.
RDSP Not Forgotten
Glad to see the RDSP is not forgotten in the budget. Curious to see what the Loyal Opposition has to say about these areas come election time?
The buzz-phrase for investing has always been, “Invest for the long-term”. The RDSP (Registered Disability Savings Plan) is actually designed with that concept in mind. It is a really long-term savings plan, and the penalties set up for early withdrawals enforce this vision.
The way the system is set up, money should go in until the beneficiary reaches age 5759, and then it can act as a source of income for the beneficiary at age 60.
With my latest Statement of Benefits update from the Government, came a very useful example of how early withdrawals work. Given the RDSP is 10 years old, some folks may start thinking about withdrawing money, so they gave an example of how that might work.
I don’t suppose they would mind if I borrowed it to show how early withdrawal penalties work:
Reminder Notice -10-Year Anniversary
From the RDSP statement of benefits I received in 2019, most likely written by the Government of Canada, so blame them if the example seems a little confusing.
As of 2019, some beneficiaries will have had an RDSP for 1O years, and may be starting to think about taking money out of the plan. It is important to remember that the money the government deposited into an RDSP must remain there for at least 1O years after the last government contribution was made to the plan. If money is withdrawn before this time, all or part of the government contribution must be repaid to the government.
Whenever you take money out of the plan, you will be subject to one of the following repayment rules:
return $3 of government grant and bond for every $1 that you withdraw from the plan (proportional repayment rule), or
return all the government grant and bond you have received in the last 10 years; whichever of these two amounts is less.
Example of Grant and Bond Repayment:
James opened an RDSP in January 2009 and contributed $1,500 that year and for each subsequent year. He also received the maximum grant and bond in 2009 and for each subsequent year. As of January 1, 2019, there are total assets of $65,000 in his plan, which consists of $45,000 in grant and bond, $15,000 in personal contributions and $5,000 in interest/earnings. The assistance holdback amount for his RDSP is $45,000, which is the total amount of grant and bond that the Government has contributed in the past 10 years.
On February 1, 2019, James wants to withdraw $10,000 from his plan. Given the proportional repayment rule, if he withdraws the $10,000 in February 2019, then $30,000 of the grant and bond amount must be repaid to the government. Therefore, if James withdraws $10,000, the grant and bond that would remain in his account after the repayment would be $15,000 ($45,000 – $30,000). This means that the total assets in James’ plan would be reduced to $25,000 (i.e. $65,000 total minus $10,000 withdrawal and less
$30,000 in grant and bond repaid to the government). Below is a graphic representation of what would happen to the overall total assets before and after the $10,000 withdrawal.
You Lose A Lot With an Early RDSP Withdrawal
As you can see, a $10,000 withdrawal will cost $40,000 in this example.
Don’t Take Out Money Early?
There are exceptions for early withdrawals, that I will outline soon. Once the plan recipient turns 60 withdrawals are controlled as well. As usual none of this is straight forward.
For now view the RDSP as a very long-term savings plan.
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