Foreign Bank Account Reporting

US Citizens and Residents are reminded that the FinCEN Form 114 is due on April 16, 2018 for the 2017 year. Failing to file this report carries significant penalties.

You may apply for an extension before the deadline. You can’t apply for the extension following that deadline.

Donating

Making a charitable donation is a means of reducing your tax owing. For the first $200 of your donation, you receive a federal credit of 15%. After that, you receive a federal credit of 29%. (Provincial credits will also apply.)

If you want to check out your favourite charity at the CRA, please look at the Charities Listing on their website. You may check out the annual Charitable Returns of any charity at the Canada Revenue Agency’s Charities. Their tax return is public information and is available for any individual to look at.

(Any charity mentioned here is one of 80,000 registered charities in Canada. No endorsement is intended or implied. Please feel free to suggest other charities.)

Deducting Legal Fees

It is permitted to deduct legal fees under the Income Tax Act, but only in specific cases and you must ensure that you hold the correct documentation.

If you are using the services of an electronic filer (efiler), you must present the documentation to them prior to the tax return being filed. If you are filing your own return, either paper or electronic, you are required to retain the documentation for six years past the date of the last Notice of (Re)Assessment for that return.