Derek de Gannes

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Derek A. de Gannes: Senior Director, Private Client Services of RSM Canada. RSM Canada is committed to the highest level of integrity, quality and professionalism and provides clients with solutions in the area of Audit, Tax and Transaction Services. Email: derek.degannes@rsmcanada.com

Joint accounts – continued

Several years ago, I wrote about probate planning involving the use of joint accounts. At the time, my father-in-law had just passed away and my mother-in-law, who survived him, was intent on paying the least amount of Estate Administration Tax (EAT). Jointly held property with a spouse or with one or more children, with a right of survivorship may not form part of the deceased’s estate and may be effective….

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Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Planning, Executors, Family Conflict, Investments, Joint Tenancy, Probate Tax, Trustee, Trusts, Uncategorized, Wills

Business purpose, source of income, and sham gets a thorough review

In a recent court case (Paletta Estate v. The Queen) the estate successfully appealed that it was entitled to $55 million in losses in the 2000 to 2006 taxation years generated through forward foreign exchange trading. The estate purchased straddled forward foreign exchange contracts – one long and one short. The taxpayer closed the loss leg of the straddle before the end of the year (realizing a loss in the….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Tax Issues

Inconsistency in CRA policy for dividends paid to a deceased beneficiary

A recent article discussed taxation anomalies that occur due to timing differences between when a trust receives a dividend and subsequently pays and allocates a dividend to a beneficiary. CRA view 2016-0647621E5 provides that when a trust receives a dividend in the year and subsequently pays and allocates the dividend to a beneficiary in the same year, the allocation of the dividend for tax purposes occurs on December 31 of the year because….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Estate Administration, Estate Planning, Executors, Tax Issues

Disability Tax Credit

The 2021 Federal Budget included proposals that would see an expansion of the Disability Tax Credit to more Canadians. The Disability Tax Credit (DTC), with a value of $1,299 for 2021, is a non-refundable credit intended to offset the impact of disability-related costs. In order to claim this credit, a taxpayer must have a certificate confirming they have a severe and prolonged impairment in physical or mental function, or be….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Capacity Law, Caregiving, Disability, Elder Care, Estate Administration, Estate Planning, Executors, Tax Issues

Tax returns for deceased persons

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will occasionally post requests to help improve the Agency’s processing efficiency. Recent posts caught my attention given their application to returns for deceased individuals. Date of Death The CRA noticed that tax preparers occasionally include a deceased person’s date of death on the living spouse’s tax return. This may result in the CRA mistakenly recording the living spouse as deceased. This error can cause major….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Executors, Tax Issues, Uncategorized

Death Benefit Payments

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) recently released a translated technical interpretation with helpful guidance on the tax treatment of a death benefit payment in certain specific situations. A death benefit is income of either the estate or the beneficiary who receives it. Up to $10,000 of the total of all death benefits paid (other than CPP or QPP death benefits) is not taxable. The CRA had the following to say….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Estate Planning, Executors, Small Business, Tax Issues
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