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| Financial |
 Making a
List...Checking It TwiceBy Debbie Patterson, owner of Odessey Business Services There are the fun lists coming up - the Christmas lists, the holiday party list, etc. Then there are the not so fun lists - the end of the year pre-tax planning lists. Probably the most important and easiest task on your list is confirming that everyone has your new address if you have moved during the year. Your T-4s, investment info, and bank slips such as RRSP contributions will be sent out in February. If you forgot to provide a change of address, you could miss using that RRSP contribution because you will not have the slip to remind you. Another check mark on the list is to set up an appointment with your tax planner, financial advisor, investment broker and/or your bank regarding your year-end financial decisions. Do you need to sell some low stock to balance out some of the gains you made this year? This is very important as we are moving into a bull market and it might be the last time in quite while that you will be able to utilize these losses. Losses can also be carried forward to better years. Do you need to contribute to a spousal RRSP this year to balance out your retirement funds? Do you need to max out your RRSPs or set up a RRSP loan this year? A big check mark on the list has to do with your level of organization of your company’s records for the year. Is there some kind of filing system for all those receipts? If not, manila envelopes, an accordion file or some file folders is a great place to start. Separate receipts into categories such as office supplies, materials, promotion, travel, contracts and casual labour, as well as home and vehicle expenses. The home and vehicle expenses can be broken down further into their separate categories such as gas and oil, repairs, insurance, utilities, mortgage interest, rent, property taxes and condo fees. If you are very well organized (or want to be), enter receipts on a spreadsheet with the GST broken out. This will make yearly GST remittance go that much more smoothly. Another item to organize is medical receipts. If you are missing receipts, call your medical practitioner and get a list of the charges for the year. This is a great deduction and many people don’t use it because they are not organized enough to take advantage of it. It’s not a long list, but it saves time in the spring when it may be too late to take advantage of the benefits of organized financials. Debbie Patterson is the owner operator of Odessey Business Services, specializing in income tax. Visit her at www.odesseybusiness.com for more tax tips or contact her directly at 403.816.5098 |