Financial Planning & Tax Useful Links

Click on topic of your choice to go to a useful link – they are organized by topic area.  Use of these links is not an endorsement of their products and services.  My goal is only to assist you in finding useful information that is already available on the web.  Blair Corkum Financial Planning Inc. accepts no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of information presented on these sites.   You should do your own due diligence, and discuss options with your own financial institution’s professional financial planner.  If you need a planner, see my article on Investing Strategies for Individuals.

I have organized the Useful Links under the following headings, in order:

• General Financial Planning Information
• Investing
• Statistics – life expectancy, exchange rates, etc.
• Pensions – OAS and CPP (See RRSP and related also)
• Seniors, Estate Planning and Senior Care Information
• Retirement
• RRSP / RRIF / LRSP / LIF Information
• Life Insurance and Annuities
• Education Savings Plans (RESP) and Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSA)
• Savings Accounts – High Interest
• Cash Flow and Debt Management Help
• Tax Information (including some links for U.S. Citizens)
• Disability Program Information
• Housing, Mortgages, Loan Calculators and Info
• Health PEI

General Financial Planning Information

• Request a free financial literacy seminar for your group from a Chartered Professional Accountant
• Financial Planning Info – MoneySense magazine for financial planning info 
• Financial Consumer Agency of Canada – a Government of Canada source of financial planning education and resources/calculators
• Your Financial Toolkit has been designed to help Canadians manage their personal finances. Developed by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC), Investor Education Fund (IEF) and l’Autorité des Marchés financiers (AMF), the Toolkit provides reliable, unbiased and easy-to-use information and tools that people can use to become more capable and confident financial consumers.
• Various useful financial calculators from RetirementAdvisor.ca
• Various useful financial calculators from Fiscal Agents
• Canadian Consumer Handbook published by the Consumer Measures Committee, which is a joint federal/provincial/territorial committee
• Projection Assumption Guidelines issued by the Financial Planning Standards Council of Canada (see summary below under Investing)

Investing

• Learn About Investing from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
• Joint Accounts (Joint Tenancy) – an excellent article prepared for the Continuing Legal Education Society of BC about the legal aspects of joint ownership with right of survivorship.  You need to consider tax implications, legal risks of transferring ownership, effect on probate fees, and whether you are really transferring beneficial ownership.  For example, when you transfer an asset to joint ownership, are you intending to transfer beneficial ownership (full ownership with possible taxes triggered and probate avoided) or only the “legal” interest without beneficial ownership (you retain all benefits of ownership, avoid immediate taxes but will still pay probate fees as the asset will not transfer on death to the joint owner(s)).
• Investment suitability guidelines from the Mutual Fund Dealers Association (MFDA) – Are you being sold the right products by your mutual fund dealer?
• Investor Tools – Canadian Securities Administrators – Articles on topics such as Investing Basics – Getting Started; Working with Advisors; Understanding Mutual Funds, and more
• Investment Research Online – Consider the Morningstar website or TMX Money – For example, type in your security name or symbol at the top of the page to get details on performance, etc.
• Some great common sense advice on how to invest – read this free “The Little Book of Investment Knowledge“, published by MPL Communications Ltd., authors of the Investment Reporter and the Money Reporter.
• Is your financial planner using reasonable assumptions?  See the  Projection Assumption Guidelines issued by the Financial Planning Standards Council of Canada effective July 31, 2017.  There are lots of caveats, which you should read, but in a nutshell, for long-term projections (10+ years), assumptions include 2.0% inflation, 3.0% wage growth rate (including promotional increases of 1% plus inflation), 2.9% short-term savings (e.g. 91-day treasury bills) rate; 3.9% fixed income rates (e.g. long-term bonds); 6.5% Canadian equity rates (assuming 33% dividends and 67% capital gains); 6.7% foreign equities in developed markets; 7.5% emerging market equities and management fees ranging from 0.5% to 2.5%. There is an assumption of no change in foreign exchange rates. Examples provided of overall rates of return before fees include 4.50% for a conservative portfolio (25% equities), 5.17% for a balanced portfolio (50/50 equities and fixed income), and 6.00% for an aggressive portfolio (75% equities).  Projected fees to be deducted from the above rates will vary depending on your particular type of investing advice.  The borrowing rate assumption is 4.9%.  These assumptions are expected to be updated each year.
• Looking for more specific investment recommendations, including which conservative stocks and bonds to buy?  This is a newsletter that I like to follow – and I like their objectivity because they sell no investments themselves – click here for a trial subscription to  the Money Reporter
• RRSP or Tax-Free Savings Account – Which is best for you?  See this calculator by RetirementAdvisor.ca
• Differentiating Exchange Traded Funds from Mutual Funds – an article  by Blackrock, who produce the iShares ETFs
• Understanding Mutual Funds by the Canadian Securities Administrators
• Want to know more about MERs and advisor compensation as trailer fees?  This study from 2012 by Investor Economics for the IFIC is a good education on average fees and compensation by types of funds.
• Financial reports for Canadian Public Companies and Investment Funds – Use the search functions at sedar.com
• Foreign investments – This CRA link gives you a listing of eligible foreign corporation spinoffs for which you can elect to exclude the value of the spinoff as a dividend from your income taxes

Statistics

• Statistics – Life Expectancy Tables from Statistics Canada
• Statistics – Bank of Canada for Statistics on Exchange Rates, Interest Rates and other matters

Pensions

• Pensions – Old Age Security (OAS) and Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) Calculator
• Pensions – Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Information
• Request for Direct Deposit for your CPP and OAS using this form on the Service Canada web site
• Ask to reduce the taxes withheld from your OAS using form T1213 if your income has reduced this year compared to last year.
• “My Account” – Your Personal Service Canada Account – to Access or Setup your own Account 
• Do you want to calculate your own CPP – see this web site

Seniors, Estate Planning and Senior Care Information

• Pensions – Old Age Security (OAS) and Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) Calculator
• For free information about Wills, Powers of Attorney, Health Care Directives, assisted living resources, seniors’ matters, and a wide variety of legal issues, visit your provincial legal information association web site.  In PEI, visit the Community Legal Information Association (CLIA).  For others, visit the Canadian Bar Association directory for each province.
• Health Care Directives.  After visiting the Community Legal Information Association website noted above and reading their booklet, see this form for use in PEI from the government website, and see this sample wording to help you reach decisions by the Volunteers of America, Minnesota.
• Downsizing a Home: A Checklist for Caregivers – Information on downsizing / moving from your home by the Family Caregiver Alliance
• Hiring In-Home Help for senior’s assistance – a how-to article by the Family Caregiver Alliance
• And, lots of more useful caregiving information from the U.S. based Family Caregiver Alliance, the National Center on Cargiving
• Seniors’ Guide for PEI – by the Seniors’ Secretariat of PEI
• Looking for information and support services, housing, etc. for seniors – Try the Careguide website, but note that it may not be a complete listing of facilities available.  Click on your province on the map for specific provincial information.
• Long-term Care and Nursing Home Information for PEI – See the links on this government web site for further information on the right hand side.  There are links to home care, community care, private nursing homes, as well as related services.
• Home Care Information for PEI from Health PEI – for helping seniors to stay in their home.
• Information about Funeral Planning from the Office of Consumer Affairs (Industry Canada)
• Information about the Prearranged Funeral Services Act in Prince Edward Island from the provincial government web site
• Canadian Consumer Handbook section on Funerals (published by the Consumer Measures Committee, which is a joint federal/provincial/territorial committee)
• CRA Information on Frequently Asked Questions – What to do following a death and Questions and Answers about What to do When Someone has Died
• Registered Retirement Income Fund and Life Income Fund withdrawal minimums / maximums – see Retirement below
• Taxes and Caring for Parents – see my article
• TEMPORARILY NOT WORKING —->Joint Tenancy and Other Shared Ownership – an excellent article on the Seniors First BC web site about the legal aspects of shared ownership, although not particularly well written in plain language.  You need to consider tax implications, legal risks of transferring ownership, effect on probate fees, and whether you are really transferring beneficial ownership.  For example, when you transfer an asset to joint ownership, are you intending to transfer beneficial ownership (full ownership with possible taxes triggered and probate avoided) or only the “legal” interest without beneficial ownership (you retain all benefits of ownership, avoid immediate taxes but will still pay probate fees as the asset will not transfer on death to the joint owner(s)).

Retirement

• Retirement Income Calculator from Service Canada – this one is very good because it is more thorough than many, and if you are doing your own retirement planning, it is a good starting point.  Retirement calculators are used for planning – remember than none of them can reflect what will really happen because no one can predict the future.  IMPORTANT – Many simple retirement calculators require you to tell them how much income you need in retirement – Income needed will be the amount required to pay all of your living expenses, including loan payments and periodic vehicle purchases, as well as occasional unexpected costs (e.g. helping children, paying medical bills, unexpected house repairs) and also income taxes.  Do your expense budget, and figure out how much pre-tax income you need to pay those expenses using an average retirement tax rate.  Average tax rates can be calculated at the E&Y website here.  You will also need to estimate your sources of retirement income – typically being your CPP and Old Age Security (available from Service Canada), company pension, investment income and annual RRSP withdrawals.
  • Other, typically more basic, retirement calculators are prolific on the Web.   A few of these, which you should only use after understanding their limitations, include:
    • Retirement savings calculator from Manulife
    • Retirement Calculator – ESPlanner BASIC Canada provided by Univ. of Calgary (Be sure to read the instructions as you go, and then the assumptions and result descriptions by clicking on the topics listed at the left of the screen)
    • Retirement and Financial Calculators from RetirementAdvisor.ca (various calculators)
    • Retirement and Financial Calculators from Fiscal Agents – various calculators
• RRSP / RRIF / LRSP / LIF Information
  • Should you pay down your mortgage or make an RRSP deposit – read this MoneySense article and try one of their recommended calculators.
  • RRSP or Tax-Free Savings Account – Which is best for you?  See this calculator by RetirementAdvisor.ca
  • Minimum Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) withdrawal requirements – a RRIF is typically created by money transferred from your RRPS, which is required by the end of the year in which you turn age 71, but may be done earlier (such as at age 65 to access the pension amount tax credit and pension income splitting opportunities for persons without other eligible pension income.)  See the withdrawal rates at  GettingSmarterAboutMoney.ca by the Ontario Securities Commission, or use this minimum payments RRIF calculator, not only to determine the amount but how long your RRIF may last – see  VanCity RRIF calculator
  • Minimum and maximum Life Income Fund (LIF) withdrawal rates – a LIF is similar to a RRIF, but is typically created by transfer of funds from a Locked In RRSP or a Registered Pension Plan.  The maximum withdrawal rates are set by either federal or provincial legislation, depending on the type of pension plan from which the funds originated.  A useful site for minimum – maximum withdrawals is provided by Kudsia | Leith | Sanchez, Financial Advisors.  And/or, see this TaxTips web site for more info and follow the links to find the rates for which you are looking.
  • Unlocking (getting money out early) of your Locked-in retirement accounts – see the options explained at the TaxTips.ca web site.
• Financial Calculators from RetirementAdvisor.ca – various calculators that may help you make financial decisions.

Life Insurance and Annuities

• Learn about all of your Insurance Needs from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
• Life Insurance Needs Analysis – Term4Sale – this calculation is based solely on replacing your income on the assumption that the same replacement income will also provide enough cash flow to pay your existing debts
• Life insurance price comparisons by Term4Sale – an independent organization not directly selling insurance
• Life Insurance Needs Analysis from Sun Life – this calculation is based on replacing income plus also providing you with lump sums desired for mortgage payout, etc.   This result should reduce your family’s need for income to a lower level than it is now because the debts will be repaid
• Other Financial Planning Calculators from Sun Life
• Obtain annuity estimates from:
  • Cannex for selected ages and various companies, or
  • Life Annuities.com or
  • from RBC – Annuity Calculator from RBC Insurance
• Statistics – Life Expectancy Tables from Statistics Canada

Education Savings Plans and Tax-Free Savings Accounts

• Education Savings Plans – Info from the founder of Education Savings Plans  – CST Scholarship Trust Plans 
• Education Savings Plans – Info from the Canada Revenue Agency RESP .  And use this RESP Checklist to ask the right questions of the sales person.
• See your favourite financial institution for other information and options
• To estimate your savings required for a college education, see My Financial Calculators on the left if you know the estimated costs
• Savings – Tax Free Savings Accounts Described by the CRA
• Tax Free Savings Account detailed information for Individuals – T4466

Savings Accounts – High Interest  (examples only)

• Online banks often pay significantly higher rates than your traditional financial institutions.  You may wish to check some of these out, but always look at more than rates – for example, are they CDIC insured or covered by other deposit insurance (e.g. through the provincial credit union association); are there limits on how much you can withdraw at any one time; how often will rates change or are current rates time limited offers; etc.
  • Tangerine Bank (owned by the Bank of Nova Scotia)
  • Manulife Bank
  • AcceleRate Financial  (part of Crosstown Civic Credit Union, with insurance by Deposit Guarantee Corporation of Manitoba)
  • Motive Financial (part of Canadian Western Bank)
  • Hubert Financial (part of Sunova Credit Union in Manitoba)
  • Presidents Choice Financial (affiliated with CIBC)
  • EQ Bank (part of Equitable Bank)

Cash flow and Debt Management Help

• Calculate loan, mortgage, and lease rates using My Financial Calculators on the left
• Mortgage Payment and Amortization Calculator from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
• Finding a credit card to suit your needs – whether rewards, balance transfer deals, low interest rates, etc., try using this site at Ratesupermarket.ca or at the MoneySense website
• Comparing mortgage rates, bank accounts, credit cards, GIC rates (investing), etc., you may want to use the search and comparison features of Ratesupermarket is useful – I am not sure if it is complete, or if it just lists “paid” sponsors, but it is a place to start.
• Credit Counselling and More – Family Service PEI 
• Credit Counselling Services of Atlantic Canada
• Learn about budgeting from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
• Where is your cash going?  Maybe start tracking it using an app like this one – Cash Trails
• Bankruptcy Canada – Information about a Consumer Proposal – a way to reduce you debts and maybe avoid bankruptcy
• Bankruptcy Canada – Frequently asked questions about bankruptcy

Tax Information

• Access Your Own Tax Information (or set up you own account access)
• Canada Revenue Agency Forms and Publications
• Income Tax Information – Canada Revenue Agency Home Page
• Canada Revenue Agency – Individual Tax Main Page 
• Tax Free Savings Account information for Individuals – T4466
• A useful site for tax information from the Intuit – the makers of TurboTax software – click here
• Useful Tax forms:
  • T1013 – Authorizing or Cancelling a Representative – for access to your personal tax information with CRA
  • RC325 – Address Change Request.  If you have a “My Account” set up with CRA, you can change your address online.  You can also telephone 1-800-959-8281 with last year’s tax return in hand for authorization purposes.  However, telephone early in the morning to avoid constant busy signals – our tax agency sees no need to make it easy to phone them.
  • T1-ADJ – T1 Adjustment Request form and other instructions – to correct or amend a tax return
  • T2201 – Disability Tax Credit Certificate – to claim a disability credit for you or a dependant.  It should be prepared and submitted before tax season for speedier processing.  Read RC4064 Disability Related Information also.
  • T1170 – Capital Gains on Gifts of Certain Capital Property – to exempt taxes on capital gains for gifts of investments and certain other properties to charity
  • T2200 – Declaration of Conditions of Employment – to claim employment expenses
  • T1-M – Moving Expense Deduction – to claim moving expenses
  •  T1213 – Request to Reduce Tax Deductions as Source – to reduce tax withholdings from your income if you have deductions or credits known in advance of the end of the year (e.g. RRSP, spousal support payments, changes to income affecting Old Age Security, etc.)
  • T1135 – Foreign Income Verification Form – to report ownership of foreign investments and property
  • RC66 – Canada Child Benefits Application – if you have not electronically applied upon birth of your child, use this form to apply for the Child Tax Benefit, Universal Child Care Benefit and the GST/HST Credit
  • T1158 – Registration of Family Support Payments – required for agreements involving taxable/deductible support payments (e.g. separation and divorce)
  • RC65 – Marital Status Change – file this upon separation to notify CRA so that your Child Tax Credit, GST/HST credit, and other payments based on your income can be changed promptly, avoiding later adjustments or repayments.
• RC4064 Disability Related Information for information about credits if you or your dependants have a disability.  Get the application form T2201 here – it should be prepared and submitted before tax season for speedier processing.
• RC4065 Medical Expenses for a good overview of possible medical credits.  See also the list of qualifying doctors and medical practitioners below.
• Qualifying Medical Practitioner listing by Province – Not everyone can claim the same type of doctor or medical services – it varies by province.  Examples include naturopathic doctors, massage therapists, podiatrists, but many more.  Check first.
• CRA Prescribed Rates – Interest, Exchange, CPP/EI, Travel allowances, Indexation, Tax, RRSP limits, etc.
• Tax Calculators for Personal Taxes – Ernst & Young
• Common errors and audit adjustments by CRA – see this CRA web site.
• Listing of eligible foreign corporation spinoffs for which you can elect to exclude the value of the spinoff as a dividend
• HST / GST on land sales – CRA GST Memorandum 19.5 Land and Associated Property for information on the complex answer to the question, “When is a land sale or transfer subject to GST/HST?”  To find the statute for GST, see Part IX of the Excise Tax Act (and the related Schedules for such things as Exempt Supplies (Sch. V) and Zero-Rated Supplies (Sch. VI)
• Estates – CRA Information on Frequently Asked Questions – What to do following a death and Questions and Answers about What to do When Someone has Died
• U.S. Citizens – If you are not filing U.S. tax returns and reporting foreign assets to the U.S. government, you should contact a tax professional immediately.   As explained on the IRS web site, you may possibly avoid penalties if you qualify for the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures (which, in essence, means you did not know you needed to file), or you may wish to consider  the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program.   Information about filing requirements is available here – U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Living Abroad.  BDO Canada LLP has an excellent article from March 2015 on U.S. Tax Consequences for U.S. Citizens and Other U.S. Persons Living in Canada.  To find the electronic form for filing your Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, click (FinCEN Form 114 / FBAR).  In  addition to reporting your asset holdings, if you hold RRSP, RRIF, RESP, RDSP and TFSA accounts, or are involved in any kind of a trust, there may be additional reports to file.  Professional advice is critical – then penalties can be severe.

Disability Program Information

• Disability Savings Plans Canada Revenue Agency Info  
• Disability Savings Plans – Employment and Social Development Canada Info 
• RC4064 Disability Related Information for information about credits if you or your dependants have a disability.
• Disability Tax Credit Application – PDF form

Housing, Mortgages, Loans Calculators and Inf

• Looking for a house – try the listings at Realtor.ca
• Mortgage penalty calculator from RateHub.ca  (Click on the RateHub home page for other mortgage information)
• For a mortgage calculator, see Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
• Simple loan calculator with amortization printout

Health PEI

• 811 in PEI for non-emergency health advice for free – see the PEI 811 web site for more info.
• PEI Generic Drug Plan – Apply if you are under age 65 and have no health insurance – see this site for more details
• PEI Catastrophic Drug Plan – This plan assists all residents if their medical costs exceed a certain percentage of their income.  See this site for more details and an application.
• PEI Pharmacare – See this web site for lots of info about PEI Health care coverage and PEI drug plans, including a list of all plans linked at the bottom of the page, and also a link to all covered drugs for eligible individuals.
• Long-term Care and Nursing Home Information for PEI – See the links on this government web site for further information on the right hand side.  There are links to home care, community care, private nursing homes, as well as related services.
• Home Care Information for PEI