Naca2 Management & Accounting Services

Bouchard (Phoenix pay system) class action: Notice of approval of settlement agreement - Canada.ca Notice of approval of a national settlement agreement in the Bouchard class action concerning the implementation of the Phoenix pay system.

CRA: ONE TIME $1200 EXTRA FOR LOW INCOME SENIORS; NO APPLICATIOPN REQUIRED:

The $1,200 payment is an inflation relief measure provided by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to help senior citizens cope with the financial pressures of rising prices.
Eligibility:
1) Must be currently receiving OAS
2) Must have filed the 2023 T1 return
3) 65 yrs or above
4) Born before December 27’1967
5) In general, a single senior with an annual income of $33,410 or less, and senior couples with a combined annual income of $54,640 or less, may be eligible for a benefit. These income levels are guidelines only and are for seniors whose income includes full Old Age Security pension.
6) This benefit is in addition to the regular OAS benefits that eligible seniors receive.

The $1,200 payment is expected to be distributed later in the year and this benefit is tax-free.

Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses;

What is the Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses:

The Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses is a refundable tax credit announced in Budget 2024 to return a portion of federal fuel charge proceeds directly to eligible Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs).

Who is eligible:
To be eligible for the retroactive payment with respect to the 2019-2020 to 2023-2024 fuel charge years (a fuel charge year runs from April 1 to March 31), a CCPC must:
• Have employed one or more persons in a designated province in the calendar year in which the fuel charge year begins
• Have had 499 or fewer employees throughout Canada in that calendar year
• File a tax return for its tax year ending in 2023 no later than July 15, 2024

CCPCs do not have to apply for this rebate. Once the Minister of Finance has specified the payment rates for each designated province for the applicable fuel charge year, we will calculate and automatically issue the rebate amounts to eligible CCPCs.

How the rebate will be calculated:
This rebate amount will be equal to the number of persons employed by the eligible CCPC in a designated province in that calendar year, multiplied by a payment rate specified by the Minister of Finance for the designated province for the corresponding fuel charge year.

M*F will not be able to provide estimated rebate amounts until the it sets these payment rates.

In addition, it is too early to determine the exact distribution date. We will provide updates on the timelines in the coming months.


Designated provinces by fuel charge year
Jurisdiction2019-2020 2020-2021 2021-2022 2022-2023 2023-2024
Alberta Yes Yes Yes Yes
Saskatchewan Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Manitoba Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Ontario Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
New Brunswick Yes
Nova Scotia Yes
Prince Edward Island Yes
Newfoundland and Labrador Yes

Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses - Canada.ca The Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses is a refundable tax credit announced in Budget 2024 to return a portion of federal fuel charge proceeds directly to eligible Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs).

Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit (MHRTC) explained:

MHRTC is a refundable credit to assist with the cost of renovating an eligible dwelling to establish a secondary unit that enables a qualifying individual (a senior or an adult who is eligible for the disability tax credit) to live with a qualifying relation. The credit is available for qualifying expenditures made or incurred after December 31, 2022, for services performed or goods acquired after that date.

A qualifying renovation is one that creates a secondary unit in your home that will be occupied by your relative. The refundable credit is worth 15 % of the value of your qualifying expenditures, up to a maximum spend of $50,000. So if you spend $50,000 (or more) on the renovation, your credit is worth $7,500.

The relative can be a parent, grandparent, child or grandchild, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew of the homeowner or their spouse or common-law partner.

A “qualifying renovation” is a renovation, alteration or addition made to your home that’s of an enduring nature and integral to the home. The renovation must be undertaken to establish a secondary unit within your home in which your relative may live.

A secondary unit is a self-contained housing unit with a private entrance, kitchen, bathroom facilities and sleeping area. It can either be newly constructed or created from an existing living space that didn’t already meet the local requirements to be considered a secondary dwelling unit.

Expenses can only be claimed in the tax year in which the renovations are completed. So, if you start the renovations this year, but only finish them in 2024, the MHRTC can only be claimed in 2024.

Qualifying expenses:
Pretty much all renovation materials and services, along with the cost of permits and the rental of equipment used in the qualifying renovation will qualify.

Expenses that don’t qualify:
The cost of annual, recurring, or routine repair or maintenance, household appliances, home entertainment devices, security monitoring, gardening, outdoor maintenance and financing costs (i.e. interest on a home renovation loan or line of credit).

In addition, you can’t claim the MHRTC for any goods and services provided by your friend, neighbour or relative unless that person is GST/HST registered.

And, while you’re certainly allowed to do the work yourself, the only qualifying expenditures that are eligible for the credit would be expenses for building materials, fixtures, equipment rentals, building plans and permits — not the value of your labour (nor your tools.)

No double dipping:
Some renovation expenses, such as the purchase and installation of a wheelchair ramp if your relative can’t use the stairs, may qualify for the medical expense tax credit (METC) AND the home accessibility tax credit (HATC). If you claim either (or both) of these credits for those renovation expenses, they cannot be claimed again under the MHRTC.

The Income Tax Act does not require that a home be fully built prior to building a secondary unit in order for qualifying renovation expenses to be eligible for the MHRTC, nor does the Act require a taxpayer to reside in the home prior to adding a secondary unit.
The CRA did warn, however, that there must be a “reasonable expectation” that both the taxpayer and their relative will “ordinarily inhabit” both the home and the secondary unit within one year after the end of the renovations.