Last night, Managers and Partners from GSE attended the Uplift – Your Voice, Your Business, and Your Community event, presented by Elgin-St. Thomas Small Business Enterprise Centre. This amazing event featured guest speaker Jam Gamble, and focused on gaining confidence and finding your voice to help elevate your life, business, and community. This was a great opportunity to gather with business and community leaders, and spend time together as a team!
This past Monday marked the end of Personal Tax Season for us at Graham Scott Enns LLP. GSE marked the occasion with our usual end of tax season party. This year, we held our tax party at the wonderful Wildflowers Farm in St. Thomas. It was a great opportunity to socialize outside of the workplace and de-stress after a busy few months. There were lots of games, good food and great company. We’ve missed the opportunity to gather as a large group over the last two years, so we all enjoyed the opportunity to spend time together. A big thank you to Wildflowers Farm for hosting our party!
Did you work from home in 2021? If the answer is yes, you may be eligible for a tax deduction on your 2021 tax return.
CRA has provided two options when claiming employment expenses related to working from home due to COVID-19.
Temporary Flat Rate Method
To qualify for the temporary flat rate method, the taxpayer must meet all the following conditions below:
If you meet all the above conditions, you can claim $2 per day up to a maximum of $500 (250 days is the maximum number of days you can claim under this method). If you choose to claim home office expenses using this method, please inform your advisor of the number of days you worked from home in 2021. Please note, there is no certification required from your employer if you choose to use this method.
Detailed Method
To qualify for the detailed method, the taxpayer must meet all the following conditions below:
If you meet all the above conditions, you can claim a portion of electricity, heat, water, maintenance/repair costs, the utilities portion of condo fees, common office supplies (such as toner and printer paper) and rent related to the use of the workspace in the home. Reasonable repair and maintenance costs are light bulbs, repairing walls of the workspace or broken desks etc. Expenses that are not deductible include mortgage interest, principal mortgage payments, furniture, equipment, computers, and accessories. All the allowable expenses must be prorated to the portion of the house you are using for the office workspace, which is computed on a square footage basis. In addition, the office workspace will have to be prorated for hours used for employment purposes (i.e., personal use hours of the workspace vs. employment use hours of the workspace). If you are using this method, please be sure to send your advisor information pertaining to the square footage of your home office workspace as well as the total square footage of your home, along with a ratio of personal vs business use of the home office workspace. Under this method, you are required to keep supporting documents related to the allowable expenses in case CRA requests to review them.
If you are wondering what option would result in a better tax deduction for you, CRA has created a calculator online which can be accessed using this link: Compare the claim methods – Home office expenses for employees – Canada.ca
If you have any questions, please reach out to your advisor who can assist you in making sure you claim the deduction that works best for your situation.
The Partners and Staff of Graham Scott Enns LLP would like to congratulate Jonathan Zettler on his promotion to Senior Staff Accountant, effective January 1, 2022!
Jonathan started with GSE as a co-op student in 2019. He then started full time a year later, in 2020, and has been an integral part of the GSE team, focusing on bookkeeping and payroll. Jonathan is currently working towards his Payroll Compliance Practitioner certification, where he can continue to put his payroll skills to great use! He is also highly involved in personal taxes, and compilation engagements, as well as a member of our Health and Wellness Committee.
“Jonathan provides excellent client service and is able to provide guidance on payroll, bookkeeping and personal tax questions. Jonathan embodies professionalism, diligence and technical excellence.”
Courtney Vachon, CPA, CGA & Kelly Ward, CPA, CGA
Managers
Congratulations Jonathan of your promotion to Senior Staff Accountant, and best of luck as you take on this new and exciting opportunity!
Last night GSE staff and Partners attended the 30th Annual Community Living London Night of Heroes! It was an inspiring event full of fun and fashion to celebrate an incredible cause!
Although they could not hold the event in person, it was still fun to watch together virtually and support all of the Heroes!
This personal tax season, here are some things to remember to share with your accountant as you may be eligible for related tax credits.
The Canada Revenue Agency requires that all income is reported on your personal tax return. Here are some types of income that you want to remember to talk to your accountant about if they apply to you:
Other items to share:
If you are a GSE client, please complete a client questionnaire and bring it in with your personal tax return – it helps us to identify changes in your life that may impact your personal tax return.
The “2021 Personal Income Tax Return Checklist” also identifies further items to consider and share with your accountant.
Both documents can be found in our Client Document Library.
Was 2021 the year you became interested in cryptocurrency? Did you buy and sell to see if you could make some money? Perhaps you decided that mining cryptocurrency would be a good side gig. If you have been involved in cryptocurrency transactions, it is likely these could be taxable transactions.
Transactions involving cryptocurrency that result in income will result in either business income or capital gains, depending on the circumstances.
If you have costs associated with your cryptocurrency business, such as computer hardware used in mining, you should also track those costs and plan to claim them against the related income.
The Canada Revenue Agency’s guidance on cryptocurrency continues to evolve. Please reach out to your trusted tax advisor to discuss your situation in detail and ensure you are appropriately reporting income relating to cryptocurrency transactions.
