A proactive advisor can cut your taxes
Clients are often unaware of investment alternatives, credits, loss-recovery options
I ask every new client to sign a Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) form T1013 – Authorizing or Cancelling a Representative. This authorizes CRA to release tax related information to me, referred to as a “representative.” It is an invaluable tax tool to proactively help clients.
Canada Revenue Agency’s website (cra-arc.gc.ca) is a great resource for general information. On this website, representatives can access their client’s tax information. When I have clients sign the T1013, I request Level 1 authorization which enables me to view information only. There is no ability to make changes. The most obvious benefit for clients in signing the T1013 is that they no longer have to bring in a copy of their annual tax returns and applicable notices of assessments. This information is available online. I use it for a variety of purposes, primarily to give proactive advice to save tax dollars. Here are a few situations clients have encountered to which I was able to provide solutions as a result of having the T1013 on file.
Situation 1: In examining Mr. Red’s tax return, we noted he had to pay $456 in interest and penalties to CRA for not making his quarterly instalments on time.
Solution: We brought this to Mr. Red’s attention and provided automatic solutions that could help him. The first was that we could begin withholding tax on his RRIF payments. The second was that we could contact Service Canada and request that withholding tax be taken on CPP and/or OAS payments. A manual option was that we could make his quarterly instalment payments to CRA for him directly from his non-registered investment account.
Situation 2: Mrs. Brown is a new client who transferred in a non-registered investment account. During our initial conversations, she said she prepares her own tax return. My evaluation of her past returns showed there was no carry-forward information for realized gains or losses on her investments. I confirmed that she had sold many investments over the years, but had not recorded these on her tax return.
Solution: I explained that all dispositions in a taxable account must be manually reported on Schedule 3 (no tax slip is issued for this). We assisted her in obtaining previous annual trading summaries to calculate the numbers needed to adjust her previous tax returns.
Situation 3: Mr. Black has been contributing to his RRSP for many years. In the last year, his income dropped substantially and he was comfortably in the first marginal tax bracket. Mr. Black said he projected that his income would continue at the current level or decline as he approaches retirement.
Solution: It no longer made sense for Mr. Black to continue to contribute to his RRSP account. His savings should be directed to a Tax Free Savings Account.
Situation 4: Mr. Orange received penalties for over-contributing to his TFSA accounts. In our first meeting, he explained that he had several TFSA accounts and had lost track of his withdrawals and contributions.
Solution: We outlined the rules with respect to TFSA accounts and any replenishment for a previous withdrawal must occur in the next calendar year. I also had him sign the T1013 form. I printed out all of his TFSA contributions and withdrawals from the online service. I recommended that he consolidate his TFSA accounts. I also provided copies of the CRA reports, including a report which shows his current year contribution limit.
Situation 5: Mrs. Yellow has been a long time client whose health has deteriorated over the years. In reviewing her tax returns, I noted that he was not claiming the disability tax credit.
Solution: I provided her with a copy of the Disability Tax Credit form T2201. I advised her to bring this to her doctor to have the form signed and submitted. A few months later, Mrs. Yellow received a letter back from CRA with their approval for her application. They also approved backdating her eligibility to 2009. In assisting Mrs. Yellow and her accountant with the T1-Adjustment form, we projected that she would receive a tax refund of $12,490. From now on, Mrs. Yellow will be able to claim the disability tax credit every year, resulting in significant tax savings.
Situation 6: Mr. White has, in the last few years, completed his own tax return using Turbo Tax. He has correctly reported the taxable capital gains on line 127 of his tax return during this period. Unfortunately, Mr. White did not initially key in his loss carry-forward information. Many years ago, Mr. White had a significant net capital loss on a real estate investment, and was not aware that he could apply his net capital losses to reduce his taxable capital gains on the stock sells.
Solution: I arranged a meeting with Mr. White and explained to him the importance of keying in the carry-forward amounts when starting to use Turbo Tax. I also showed him how he can use a T1-Adj form to request CRA change line 253 – Net capital losses of other years. Mr. White had to submit four T1-Adj for each year he missed applying his net capital losses. Combined Mr. White received a refund of $47,024 after all reassessments.
Situation 7: Mrs. Green has recently transferred her investments to us. We noted a few investments with significant losses that she has held in her account for many years. There is little hope that these investments will recover in value. In reviewing Mrs. Green’s online account with CRA, I looked up all of her previously reported taxable capital gains and net capital losses. In this analysis, I noted she had substantial taxable capital gains three years ago that brought her income into the top marginal tax bracket. Net capital losses can only be carried back up to three years. Mrs. Green was unaware net capital losses could only be carried back up to three years.
Solution: I recommended that Mrs. Green sell most of her investments that were in an unrealized loss situation. By selling these she triggered the tax situation and created the net capital loss. I printed off the T1A – Request for Loss Carryback form and explained to Mrs. Green how the form works. Mrs. Green was able to recover $29,842 after CRA carried the loss back and reassessed her tax return from three year ago.
Situation 8: Mr. Blue had stopped working at the age of 62, but his spouse was continuing to work a few more years. In looking at his CRA online reports, I noted he was collecting CPP and that this represented most of his income, which was below the basic exemption. He had not thought about taking money out of his RRSP early as Mrs. Blue was continuing to work and they had enough money flowing in from her income and in the bank to take care of the bills. Mr. Blue had a sizeable RRSP account and Mrs. Blue will have a good pension when she retires that can be shared.
Solution: I explained to Mr. Blue that when he starts collecting OAS, pension splitting with his spouse, and having to withdrawal from his RRIF that his taxable income will increase significantly. We recommended that he convert a portion of his RRSP to a RRIF and begin taking income out on an annual basis immediately. We mapped out a plan to keep his taxable income around $35,000. With these early withdrawals, our projections would keep both Mr. and Mrs. Blue in the top end of the first marginal tax brackets throughout retirement.
Situation 9: Mrs. Purple is extremely busy with work and has a great income. It is definitely advisable for Mrs. Purple to maximize her contributions to her Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP). Unfortunately, Mrs. Purple never seems to find the time to photo copy her notice of assessment and provide this to her advisor. She was frustrated that last year, she missed contributing to her RRSP because her advisor did not phone.
Solution: When Mrs. Purple came to see me I explained the benefits of the T1013 form. One of the main benefits is that I can go on-line and instantly obtain her RRSP contribution limits and unused portions for the current year. I proactively contact each applicable client and advise them of their limits and recommended contribution level based on projections of current and future income levels.