With the end of the 2012 calendar year a mere few weeks away, we thought it an opportune time to remind our clients of deadlines which are fast approaching.
Conversion of an RRSP to a RRIF
- If you turned 71 in 2012, you must convert your RRSP to a RRIF by December 31st of 2012. Furthermore, if you want to make one last RRSP contribution to your own RRSP, you must do so by December 31, 2012. You don’t get the extra 60 days like you do in all other years.
Charitable Donations
- If you wish to claim charitable donations on your 2012 income tax return, you must make the contribution by December 31.
RESP Contributions
- You must make RESP contributions by December 31 if you wish to maximize your entitlement to the government grant for 2012. For most of you, the maximum Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) is $500 (per child) on a contribution of $2,500. If you are behind, however, you could be entitled to as much as $1,000 (per child) on a contribution of $5,000.
Lump-Sum Mortgage Payments
- Most mortgage contracts allow you to make a once annually lump-sum payment on your mortgage, most often between 10% and 20% of your original loan. This is normally a calendar year deadline, so it’s fast approaching.
Personal Income Tax Installments
- The last personal income tax installment deadline is December 15, 2012.
2012 Corporate Payroll Remittances
- The deadline for the last calendar 2012 corporate payroll remittance is January 15, 2013. Note, the deadline is January 10, 2013 if your average monthly withholding amount is over $15,000.
Tax-Loss Selling Deadline
- If you sell securities at a loss, you can use this loss to offset any capital gains made earlier in 2012 or the three previous tax years, i.e., 2011, 2010 or 2009. This means you can use this loss to either save taxes in 2012 or recover previously paid taxes in the last three years. Alternatively, you can carry forward capital losses indefinitely to offset capital gains made in the future.
If you wish your trade to be completed in 2012, you must inform yourCFO Advisory Group of any sell orders no later than December 14.