The Tax Chick Podcast

I decided to switch things up a bit for this episode, and invite on 3 people that I have been hanging out with all summer this year - our firm summer students, Blake, Frank and Nick! Don't worry - the word "tax" does get brought up at some point in this episode :)  But the main purpose of this episode was to share a little bit about what it is like to work in a law firm (Hint: it is not like Suits...

Check out this episode for information on upcoming conferences where you can find me as a guest speaker, along with some information on the Tax Court of Canada, including the role of "discoveries" in a tax hearing. RESOURCES DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE Tax Court of Canada - Your Day in Court ATAP Canada Accountex HERE ARE SOME OTHER WAYS TO CONNECT WITH ME: My website!   Email: thetaxchickpodcast@gm...

Have you heard of the "GAAR"???  GAAR stands for the "general anti-avoidance rule" and it gives the federal government broad powers to prevent transactions they deem to be against the purposes of Canadian tax law. Why do we care about GAAR?  Well, it should be a factor to consider each and every time that you engage in tax planning, as if it applies, it can "undo" all of the tax benefits of a part...

What happens when two tax fanatics who are passionate about tax education get together to talk about draft tax legislation??? Check out this episode to find out! So excited to have my friend, and fellow tax enthusiast, Henry Shew, on the podcast today to chat about the draft legislation that the Federal Government released on June 10, 2024 relating to the changes to the capital gains rules in Cana...

Just got home from a fantastic week in Toronto at the STEP National Conference!  In this mini-episode, I provide an overview of what I learned, give a sneak peek at upcoming episodes, and share my favorite restaurant spots in Toronto. Oh, and did you hear that the Federal Government plans to release draft legislation on the capital gains inclusion rate changes on Monday, June 10th???... stay tuned...

I want to let you in on a little secret... you do not have to be a billionaire in order to be philanthropic.  There are many ways to give to charity, including gifts of your time!  But in today's episode, I am chatting with my guests about a specific vehicle for charitable giving - the "donor-advised fund" or "DAF".  It is a really neat alternative to setting up a private foundation, and can open...

Huge thank you to my listeners as we have now surpassed 30K downloads, and have managed to stay in the top 100 business podcasts on Apple Podcasts over the past 5 - 6 weeks! In this episode: I provide an update on what has happened since the Federal Budget - turns out we actually still have zero clarity on the capital gains inclusion rate changes.  Check out the submission of the Joint Committee o...

Anyone else feel like filing your tax return can be a bit anti-climactic?  In today's mini-episode, I am sharing my tips for what you should do post-tax season including: - checking your assessment - making arrangement for payment - organizing your documents - getting ready for next year! RESOURCES DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE: How to make a payment at CRA STEP National Conference! Canadian Money Roa...

The countdown is on... only a few days left to the end of the Canadian personal income tax season!  If you have already filed your return, but not yet received your notice of assessment, have you received a letter from CRA asking for more information? In the last couple of days, a number of my clients have reached out for help after receiving letters from the "Preassessment Review" section of CRA....

You asked for it... an episode on the 2024 Federal Budget geared towards non-tax practitioners!   I fully intended to make this a mini-episode, but there was just SO MUCH to discuss, that I ended up talking for over 30 minutes - I hand-picked a few of the key changes to discuss, but if there are other items you would like me to address in a future episode, please let me know! In this episode, I co...

This is Part 2 of the mini-episodes on all things trusts!  If you have mastered the basics, check out this episode for a discussion of some more advanced topics including: - Adding or Removing Beneficiaries (1:20) - Alter Ego and Joint Spousal Trusts (4:05) - Family law implications (9:13) - Corporate association issues (11:40) - Ongoing maintenance (13:40) ADDITIONAL RESOURCES DISCUSSED ON THIS E...

UPDATE:  March 28, 2024 (1:15 p.m.) CRA just released an update on bare trust filing requirements, and has advised that CRA will not require bare trusts to file a T3 Income Tax and Information Return (T3 return), including Schedule 15 (Beneficial Ownership Information of a Trust) for the 2023 tax year, unless the CRA makes a direct request for those filings. The full notice can be found at this li...

Have you noticed that everyone seems to be talking about trusts these days???  Seemed like an appropriate time to release a few mini-episodes on the topic.  If you are looking for some foundational information on trusts, check out this episode.  I cover topics like: - What is a trust? (2:02) - The three certainties (4:40) - Reasons why a trust may be used (6:15) - Who are the parties to a trust? (...

Season 5!!! How did that happen?  Check out this mini-episode for a brief trip down memory lane on the history of this podcast, a sneak preview of what is coming for this season, and a life update. HERE ARE SOME OTHER WAYS TO CONNECT WITH ME: My website!   Email: thetaxchickpodcast@gmail.com @tax.chick (IG)   LinkedIn Be a "Tax Chick VIP"  

Kicking off SEASON 5 of The Tax Chick Podcast with a special guest episode featuring fellow Saskatoon podcaster and Certified Financial Planner, Evan Neufeld!  Tax Free Savings Accounts, or "TFSAs" - such a fun acronym!  You likely have this type of investment, and are aware that one of the perks of a TFSA is that the growth accrues tax free... but are you curious to learn a little bit more?  Chec...

Before you pop the champagne and sing Auld Lang Syne tomorrow night, I wanted to give you one last episode of The Tax Chick Podcast for 2023!  I will be back with Season 5 of the podcast (and debuting some new music!) in March 2024. In this episode, I provide some information on STEP and why I was in London, England earlier this month, and reflect on the craziness of 2023 (remember the CRA strike...

When you hear the acronym "CFO" what do you think?  You might think that your business only needs a "Chief Financial Officer" if you are making millions of dollars... turns out, that is not the case! On today's episode of the podcast, I am bringing back Jordan Brown, principal of Lift Accounting and Copilot Advisory right here in Saskatoon.  We are tackling the following topics:  (1) What is a CFO...

In the spirit of all things spooky, it seemed like an appropriate time to talk about the spookiest tax of all... the income tax to your estate!  So many of my clients focus on probate fees - but fail to consider the "big" tax... the income tax liability. Check out this mini-episode for an update on my visits to the College of Law, a reminder about repayment of your CEBA loan, and a brief discussio...

Drake dropped a new album on Friday, October 6th - which is basically like Christmas in my house :)  Check out this episode for my thoughts on Drake's new album, and some musings on the tax planning he might be engaging in for his son, Adonis. But, the main event for this episode is a discussion on the Canada Emergency Business Account ("CEBA").  On September 14, 2023, the Prime Minister announced...

This is the 50th episode of my podcast!! YAY!!! Happy to have fellow tax chick, Anna Malazhavaya of Advotax Law back on the podcast to chat about the Underused Housing Tax... did you know that this tax could apply to you even if you are a Canadian resident?  Despite what you might have heard in the news, this tax is not just for non-residents. We are chatting about: (1) What is the Underused Housi...

The number 1 question I get asked in DMs is... "If I want to learn about tax, where do I start?"  The answer to that question differs depending on what your goals are for this exciting new tax journey.  Are you a professional who is looking to specialize in tax?  Or are you a professional or a business owner who is looking to learn some foundational information about tax?  In this episode, I break...

Happy birthday to my podcast, Happy birthday to my podcast, Happy birthday, happy birthday, Happy birthday to my podcast!!!! Today marks the 3rd anniversary of my podcast - yay!  Over 22,000 downloads, 4 seasons, and listeners in over 50 countries - I am so proud of what this podcast has become! I thought this might be an appropriate time to talk about the origin story of the podcast... it starts...

"Who cares if I owe a lot of money to CRA?  I can just go bankrupt!" I have heard this statement quite a few times in my career... but unfortunately, there are a lot of misconceptions about bankruptcy, and in particular the interception of bankruptcy and tax debt.  Now that CRA has ramped up their collections action again, I thought it might be an appropriate time to bring on an expert to help cha...

The CEO of Shopify (Tobias Lutke) tweeted last week that the company intends to fight a request from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to turn over six years of records of more than 121,000 Canadian stores using the firm’s platform.  If you use Shopify in your business, this tweet should have made you sit up a little straighter in your chair... What is a "requirement" and can Shopify be required to...

If you owe penalties and/or interest to Canada Revenue Agency, you might be able to get some relief - on today's "Musings" I break down the top 6 things you need to know about Taxpayer Relief Applications!  (I also remind you about some things you should be doing now that the CRA strike is over, and give a sneak peek of the next guest episode of The Tax Chick Podcast!)   RESOURCES DISCUSSED ON THI...