 Tax Season
Alert! - Getting 2004 Taxes Organized
By Debbie Patterson - Odessey Business
Services Getting organized for taxes always sounds like such a
big undertaking, but if started now and done in small doses, your business receipts will
be organized in lots of time for your tax preparer.
First organize receipts by category and if you use a spread-sheet
program, you can enter receipts in there to get some totals. Vehicle expenses and home
office expenses should also be together in categories so that when the personal percentage
is determined, the totals for the tax return are easily calculated. The start of the
vehicle expenses deduction of course is checking your total km reading in your vehicle as
of December 31. This gives you the base number to work from for 2005.
By getting your paperwork in order, you can also determine if you might
need to register for GST this year, if you haven’t already reached that 30k threshold
of gross income.
Also this is the best time of year to do some tax planning and review
changes in your life that have affected your tax position. Did you move, get married, have
a child, get divorced, go to school, become or assist someone who became disabled? Many
useful deductions from personal income are missed because people don’t know they are
available to use.
Medical receipts are tax deductible, including premiums paid to a third
party health care provider such as Blue Cross or Liberty Health, but Alberta Health care
is not deductible. Seniors benefit from these medical deductions most because of their
lower income bracket, but families may find that these deductions really add up. Even if
you paid into an extended health plan, any portion of a medical expense that was not
covered by the plan (for example, the 20% paid personally) can be used. In 2005, there is
a new deduction available to people caring for aging relatives.
Have you made an appointment with your financial advisor to top up your
RRSP contributions for the year?
Many people think that if they trade stocks but come out even with
losses and gains that they don’t have to claim the trading on their return. Wrong!
Revenue Canada is starting to clamp down on people not claiming their trading activities.
The brokers who deal with your transactions report to Revenue Canada so all they are
waiting for is your return.
Having your receipts organized is not just so you know what you have to
claim, but also so you know what you may have missed that you can claim.
Debbie Patterson is the owner of Odessey Business Services & offers
services to consult & educate in the growth & understanding of your business.
Visit www.odesseybusiness.com
for details on the services that suit your company’s growth stage best.
Or call directly at 403. 816.5098. |
