Tag Archives: roundups

Rounding Up Info on 2012 Income Taxes

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This week I spent some time reviewing the two software products you can use to calculate and NETFILE your 2012 Canadian income taxes for FREE even if you make over $35,000 per year. You can read the results and, if interested, follow the instructions to download and install the programs yourselves at:

With great relief, I burst free from under the pile of T3s and CCAs to see what other writers have put out there about 2012 taxes. Here are some interesting bits I found:

Boomer and Echo wrote about why even stay-at-home-working-but-not-earning-an-income parents need to file a tax return in Tax Considerations for Single Income Households.

Evelyn Jacks provides some guidance on whether to check that box beside “Did you own or hold foreign property at any time in 2012 with a total cost of more than CAN$100,000?” in her article Report Your Foreign Holdings.

And to answer that pesky question nagging some of us, NO, if you hold US and other foreign stocks, ETFs and mutual funds in an RRSP, you do not have to report that as part of your $100,000 Cdn limit. See the info on the CRA website at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/5000-g/5000-g-02-12e.html  which says:
“Foreign property does not include: property in your registered retirement savings plan (RRSP), registered retirement income fund (RRIF), or registered pension plan (RPP).”

Big Cajun Man wrestled TurboTax to the ground in order to claim the new Family Caregiver Amount.

The Money Puzzle lists some odd ways people use their tax returns in Tax Return Madness. One of them even appears to have a crush on Donald Duck.

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I’m sure there are even more Tax Facts out there. If you’ve found an interesting one, please share a link with us in a comment.

TFSAs or TFIAs or TFRAs by Any Name Should Smell Sweet

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There was a bit of debate recently about whether Tax Free Savings Accounts should be re-named to emphasize that you can invest in many options in an account not just in a cash savings account. The word “savings” was also challenged because for some investors it doesn’t emphasize the possibility of retirement saving enough. So maybe they should be Tax Free Investment Accounts or Tax Free Retirement Accounts. Personally, I think compared to “Roth IRA” the name TFSA is at least short and sweet.

Some of my recent posts have been about TFSAs:

Other websites have been writing about TFSAs too, including:

Michael James on Money suggests Renaming the TFSA: TFSP. On a more serious note, he also suggests that choosing a RRSP or TFSA Depends on Your Money Personality.

Gordon Pape reports in the Globe and Mail a few times When RRSPs are better than TFSAs.  Personally, I think people should max out their TFSA first but I can understand his logic.

Adam Mayers in the Star tells us why Mr. Flaherty invented TFSAs in Tax free Savings Account Turns 5.  Have they achieved his goals?

Robb Echo, er, Engen at Boomer and Echo has some suggestions for Using Tax Free Savings Accounts in Retirement. It includes a timely reminder to designate a Successor Holder on your TFSA if you haven’t already done so.

The Blunt Bean Counter suggests TFSAs are a bit too sweet and may entice investors to spend their savings before retirement in The Kid in the Candy Store: Human Nature, RRSPs, Free Cash and the Holy Grail.

Happy Reading!

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Do you have a favourite TFSA article? Please share it with a comment.