April 9, 2024

Dear Client,

As the April 30th deadline approaches, here are some recent developments from CRA:

1. Underused Housing Tax (UHT) vs. Vacant Home Tax (VHT)

Underused Housing Tax (UHT) is a federal tax introduced by the CRA a year ago, affecting residential property owners throughout Canada and is a separate filing to supplement your income tax return; with a filing deadline of April 30, 2024. Similar to 2022, please submit your documents to us to file the UHT return prior to the deadline.

Vacant Home Tax (VHT) is a municipal-level tax specifically implemented by the City of Toronto, impacting residential property owners within the city limits and has to be filed annually via your property tax portal.  Note that this tax filing is not related to your income tax return and must be filed by the owner through their municipal tax portal.

If you have been hit with a non filing penalty, you can file a VHT complaint form using their online portal (if you failed to declare it occupied and received a municipal tax assessment). The deadline to file a complaint for the 2022 tax year, is April 15, 2024 and for 2023 tax year, is December 31, 2024.

For any Toronto property owners that may be affected by a recent assessment, here is a link to the complaint process:  https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/property-taxes-utilities/vacant-home-tax/vacant-home-tax-notice-of-complaint/

1. Bare Trusts

On March 28, 2024, (four days prior to the April 2, 2024 deadline) the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) declared that bare trusts will not be required to file a T3 Trust Income Tax and Information Return (T3) (including Schedule 15) for the 2023 tax year unless the CRA makes a direct request for filing.  Prior to this announcement, bare trusts had to file a T3 for the first time as of the 2023 tax year (due in 2024).  We all share in the frustration caused by this and other changes and delays in the process and thank you for your cooperation as the Canadian tax system continues to evolve.  We anticipate the reinstatement of this filing requirement for the 2024 tax year and with bare trusts filing T3 returns for the first time in 2025. More information on the future of bare trust reporting is expected in the coming months.  Please see the detailed CRA communication

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/news/newsroom/tax-tips/tax-tips-2024/bare-trusts-exempt-from-trust-reporting-requirements-2023.html

If you have any questions about the ongoing changes to trust reporting requirements, winding up a trust, or if you may benefit from a trust, please contact us

1. Submitting Tax DocumentsIf you require access to our portal to submit your tax documents, please send an email request to clientcare@arjcpa.ca

Have a wonderful week ahead!

Best regards,

 

Ali Raza Jaffer, CPA, CGA, MBA, BComm

Partner & CEO, AR Jaffer Professional Corporation

Chartered Professional Accountant

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