2025 Federal Budget Highlights

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The 2025 Federal Budget focuses on stability and long-term growth, with no new broad tax increases. Key updates include GST relief for first-time home buyers, new credits for caregivers, and expanded incentives for clean-tech and manufacturing investment. The budget also clarifies how the 21-year rule applies to trusts and delays the new bare-trust reporting requirements to 2026. Overall, the plan aims to balance fiscal discipline with practical support for Canadians and small businesses.

Supporting Your Aging Parents Without Sacrificing Your Own Stability

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As your parents age, stepping in to help can feel overwhelming. This guide walks you through how to talk about money, gather important documents, secure legal authority, and create a flexible support plan. Learn how to manage caregiving without compromising your own financial well-being.

OAS Clawback 2025: What Retirees Need to Know About the Recovery Tax

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The OAS recovery tax in 2025 is based on Line 23400 income and can quietly claw back your benefit. Learn how the clawback works, how much you could receive, and what strategies can help reduce or avoid it—like pension splitting, using a TFSA, managing RRIF withdrawals, and tax-efficient investing.

Retirement – Are You Prepared?

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Whether you are decades away from retirement or if it is just around the corner, being aware of the planning opportunities will take the fear and uncertainty out of this major life event.

How is Your Retirement Shaping Up?

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If you are one of the lucky ones who participate in a pension plan, consider yourself to be very fortunate. Statistics show that only approximately one-third of paid workers in Canada are covered by a registered pension plan. * If your plan is a Defined Benefit Pension Plan (DBPP) you can consider yourself even more fortunate as this is considered to be the crown jewel of pension plans. The other type of plan available is a Defined Contribution Pension Plan (DCPP). So, how do these plans differ?

Understanding Early CPP: When and Why to Consider It

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New Rules governing the Canada Pension Plan took full effect in 2016. Under these rules, the earliest you can take your CPP Pension is age 60, the latest is 70. The standard question regarding CPP remains the same - should I take it early or wait?

TFSA vs RRSP – 2024

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When looking to save money in a tax-efficient manner, Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSA) and Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSP) can offer significant tax benefits. The main difference between the two is that TFSAs are ideal for short-term goals, such as saving for a down payment on a house or a vacation, as its growth is entirely tax-free, while RRSPs are more suitable for long-term goals such as retirement. When comparing deposit differences, TFSAs have a limit of $7,000 for the current year, while RRSPs have a limit of 18% of your pre-tax income from the previous year, with a maximum limit of $31,560. In terms of withdrawals, TFSAs have no conversion requirements and withdrawals are tax-free, while RRSPs must be converted to a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) at age 71 and withdrawals are taxed as income.

Are You On The Right Track?

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In bull markets, some investors develop unhealthy expectations as to the long term yields their investments should provide. Ten years ago, some came to accept returns as high as 15% to 20% per annum as the base return their fund and portfolio managers were expected to provide. Of course, these expectations came crashing back to earth in 2008 as the bull was chased away by a very large bear. Today, many fund managers are of the opinion that double digit returns are going to be very difficult to achieve with any consistency over the long term. Is it time for us to lower our expectations?

Prepare in Advance for Next Year’s Tax Filing

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Was last year’s filing of your income tax return a satisfying experience for you? Did you have a sense of accomplishment or dismay? For many, the April 30th deadline seems to arrive way too soon. If this is the case with you, starting the process much earlier would seem to be the answer. The process should include proper record keeping, taking advantage of the tax-saving methods available to you, and, perhaps, finally getting a professional to complete and file your return on your behalf.

Do you have enough for retirement?

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Many of us dream of the day that we can retire and have the time to ourselves that we have dreamed of for so many years. But, to have a genuinely contented and relaxing retirement, you need to ensure that you have the means to afford it. So, now's the best time to consider the three critical stages of retirement planning. 1) Accumulation 2) Pre-retirement 3) Retirement