By Olev Edur
Tax-return time is upon us once again and, yes, assembling and completing all those forms can be a perennial headache. Nevertheless, it is an essential inconvenience.
What’s new for the 2023 return? The following is a summary of what could be of interest to most retirees.
No more Guide
First and foremost, the big change applicable to all tax-return filers is that the Guide, which previously accompanied the tax return itself, is no longer there, although you can view it on or download it from the CRA website. For information on specific items, you can also go to canada.ca/line-xxxxx. (The x’s represent the five-digit line numbers in the return.)
Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit
Another big change is the new Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit. This is a refundable tax credit (meaning you can get cash back if the credit exceeds your tax bill) for certain renovation costs in creating a secondary unit for a qualifying family member within an existing dwelling. If all requirements are met, you can get up to $50,000 in total credits. For more information and to make a claim, see Schedule 12, Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit.
Canada Workers Benefit
Also, advance payments of the Canada Workers Benefit (which is for low-income workers, including part-timers, retired or not) will now be issued automatically to those who received the benefit in the previous tax year. As a result, Form RC201, Canada Workers Benefit Advance Payments Application, has been discontinued.
Climate Action Incentive payment (CAIP)
The rural supplement to the Climate Action Incentive payment (CAIP) has been doubled to 20 per cent, starting in April 2024. If this applies to you, be sure to tick the box on page 2 of the return.
Property Flipping
As of January 1, 2023, the sale of housing units in Canada (including rental properties) owned or held for less than a year is deemed to be a “flip,” and any resulting profit will be taxed as business income rather than as a capital gain, with certain exceptions. For more information on flipped property and life-event exceptions, go to canada.ca/cra-property-flipping or see Schedule 3, Capital Gains (or Losses).
In Ontario
Also, for residents of Ontario, the personal-income levels used to calculate provincial tax have changed, as have the amounts of most provincial non-refundable tax credits. In addition, the Ontario Senior’s Home Safety Tax Credit has been eliminated.
