2023 Personal Income Tax Return Checklist

December 21, 2023

Please check all boxes that apply and provide supporting information.

1. All information slips, such as: T3, T4, T4A, T4A(OAS), T4A(P), T4E, T4PS, T4RIF, T4RSP, T5, T10, T2200, T2202, T101, T1163, T1164, TL11A, B, C and D, T5003, T5007, T5008, T5013, T5018 (subcontractors) and corresponding provincial slips.

2. Details of income or receipts for which no T-slips have been received, such as:

other employment income (including any severance or termination pay, retiring allowance, tips or gratuities received, details on stock option plans and Form T1212),
business, professional, partnership, farm and rental income, including all amounts received from the sharing economy (such as Airbnb, VRBO, Uber, etc.), and internet-based provisions (e.g. payments from social media subscribers, product placement, advertising, etc.),
alimony, separation allowances, child maintenance (including divorce/separation agreement),
pensions (certain pension income may be split between spouses),
interest income earned but not yet received (such as amounts from Canada savings bonds, deferred annuities, term deposits, treasury bills, mutual funds, strip bonds, compound interest bonds),
scholarships, fellowships and bursaries, and
any other income received (e.g. director fees, executor fees, etc.).

3. Details of other investments, such as:

capital gains/losses realized (this may be obtained, in some cases, from your investment advisor),
bitcoin or other cryptocurrency transactions, and
any other investments.

4. Details of deductible expenses, such as:

business, professional, farm, investment and rental expenses (including capital purchases, such as vehicles and equipment, including the invoice or bill of sale), and
employment-related expenses – provide Form T2200 (signed by your employer) and the invoices/receipts for the employment expenses. See item 5 for details on working from home.

5. Details related to working from home. If you worked from home in 2023, in limited cases, you may be able to make a claim based on actual expenses incurred. (NOTE: The temporary flat rate method whereby employees could deduct $2/day that they worked from home in 2022 is not available in 2023.)

To claim a deduction for the actual costs related to working from home, one of the following criteria has to be met:

the home was where you mainly (more than 50% of the time) did your work for a period of at least four consecutive weeks in the year, or
you used the space exclusively to earn business/employment income, and used it on a regular and ongoing basis for meeting clients, customers or other people in respect of the business/employment.

In addition, if you are an employee, your employer must have required you to work from home and they must have also provided you with a T2200 (please provide it to us).

To make a claim, please provide details on the portion of your home that was used as a workspace (e.g. approx. square footage of work space versus other space). If the space was not used exclusively for business/employment purposes, provide the approximate time it was used for business/employment purposes. Also, provide the expenses incurred that are related to working from home. Such expenses include, for example, home internet access fees, rent, utilities and office supplies. Self-employed individuals (but, not employees) may also deduct part of their property taxes and mortgage interest.

6. Details and receipts for other deductions and tax credits, such as:

alimony, separation allowances, child maintenance (including divorce/separation agreement),
adoption-related expenses,
charitable donations and political contributions,
childcare expenses (if an individual provides the services, their SIN should be on the receipt),
clergy residence deduction information (including Form T1223),
digital news subscription tax credit receipts,
disability support expenses (speech, sight, hearing, learning aids for impaired individuals and attendant care expenses),
eligible educator school supply tax credit – if you are a teacher or early childhood educator, please provide receipts (up to $1,000) for eligible school supplies purchased in the year. Please also provide a certification from your employer attesting to the eligible supplies expense,
film and video production expenditures eligible for a tax credit,
NEW! first home savings account (FHSA) contributions and withdrawals (including any associated slips),
UPDATES! flow-through share expenses:
expenditures for flow-through shares regime for oil, gas and coal activities under flow-through share agreements entered into after March 31, 2023 can no longer be renounced to share purchasers, and
a new 30% critical mineral exploration tax credit for expenditures renounced under eligible flow-through share agreements entered into after April 7, 2022; the specified minerals in which the new enhanced credit is available are copper, nickel, lithium, cobalt, graphite, rare earth elements, scandium, titanium, gallium, vanadium, tellurium, magnesium, zinc, platinum group metals and uranium,
home accessibility tax credit – certain expenditures (up to $20,000 for 2023) may be eligible for a tax credit if made for a renovation or alteration to your home to enhance mobility or reduce the risk of harm for an individual who is either, eligible for the disability tax credit, or 65 years of age or older at December 31, 2023. Examples of eligible expenditures include amounts relating to wheelchair ramps, walk-in bathtubs, wheel-in showers and grab bars,
interest paid on qualifying student loans,
labour mobility deduction – a deduction for up to $4,000 of certain personally-incurred travel and temporary lodging expenses is available for employed tradespeople and apprentices in the construction industry that performs duties at a temporary work location. To qualify, the employee must not also receive a non-taxable allowance or be reimbursed by their employer for these costs.
NEW! – multigenerational home renovation tax credit – certain expenditures (up to $50,000) incurred in 2023 may be eligible for a tax credit to assist with the cost of renovating an eligible dwelling to establish a secondary unit that enables a qualifying individual (a senior or an adult who is eligible for the disability tax credit) to live with a qualifying relation,
medical expenses for you, your spouse and any dependent persons,
moving expenses (please advise us if you have, or may have, immigrated or emigrated to/from Canada),
professional and union dues,
tuition fees for both full-time and part-time courses for you or a dependant – including mandatory ancillary fees and Forms T2202, TL11A, B, C and D where applicable,
registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) and any other pension plan contributions and withdrawals (including withdrawals and repayments for the home buyers plan and lifelong learning plan),
scientific research and experimental development expenses, and
tools acquired by tradespersons and eligible apprentice mechanics (NEW! For 2023, the maximum deduction for tradespeople’s tools has increased to $1,000 from $500).

7. Details on repayments of COVID-19 support payments in 2023. This includes both individual support benefits and benefits received for a business. A deduction may be available with respect to the repayment.

8. Details on the disposition of your principal residence, other real property or any assignment sales (i.e. where the purchase contract is sold/assigned to another party). Please provide the proceeds of disposition, the cost of the property, a description of the property, and the year the property was acquired. This information is required even if there was no gain on the disposition of the property.

In addition, please indicate if you have a change-in-use of your property. This could include, for example, converting some or all of your principal residence into an income-earning property, such as a rental suite. It could also include converting a property used for short-term rentals, such as Airbnb or VRBO, to long-term rentals.

NEW! Effective January 1, 2023, all gains arising from the disposition of residential property (including rental property and assignment sales) owned for less than 365 days are deemed to be business income unless a particular exception is met (such as the disposition being due to a death, separation, birth, safety issue, illness/disability, employment change, insolvency or involuntary disposition). If a disposition occurred within 365 days, please provide a reason for the disposition.

9. Details of foreign property owned at any time in 2023, including cash, stocks, digital currency (such as Bitcoin), trusts, partnerships, real estate, tangible and intangible property, contingent interests, convertible property, etc. The following details are necessary: description of the property, related country, maximum cost in the year, cost at year-end, income and capital gain/loss for each particular property.

For property held in an account with a Canadian securities dealer or Canadian trust company, please provide the country for each investment, fair market value of the investments at each month-end, income or loss on the property, and gain/loss on disposition of the property.

10. Details of income from, or distributions to, foreign entities such as foreign affiliates and trusts.

11. Details regarding residence in a prescribed area that qualifies for the northern residents deduction.

12. Internet business activities – If you have business, professional, farming or fishing income, please indicate whether you have Internet business activities. According to CRA, Internet business activities include any activity where you earn income from your webpages, websites or apps. Information-only webpages and websites like directories or ads will not generally trigger this information requirement.

If you have Internet business activities, please provide:

the number and address of webpages or websites that your business generates income from. If you have more than 5, provide the 5 that generate the most income, and
the percentage of income generated from the Internet (if you do not know the exact percentage, provide an estimate).

13. If any of the following changed in the year, please provide the relevant details:

province/territory of residence,
address, name or SIN,
personal relationship status (single, married, common-law, separated, divorced or widowed; please include date of change), and
dependants/children (please provide their income, birth date and SIN).

14. Details of any 2023 income tax instalments or tax payments made in the year.

15. 2022 notice of assessment/reassessment and any other correspondence from CRA, including correspondence received after filing this personal tax return.

16. Copy of any foreign tax returns filed and any associated tax assessments.

17. If we are not preparing your spouse or common-law partner’s personal tax return, please provide their return for review and tax planning.

B. Questions to Answer

Please provide the relevant details if you answer yes to any of the questions below.

1. Do you want your tax refund deposited directly into your account at a financial institution?

2. Are you a Canadian citizen?

3. Do you authorize CRA to give your name, address, date of birth, and citizenship to Elections Canada to update the National Register of Electors?

4. Did you receive interest, dividends, or benefits from a business where a relative is a key party (in terms of ownership or involvement)?

5. Are you a U.S. citizen, green card holder, or were you, or your parents born in the United States? You may have U.S. filing obligations.

6. Are you an Indigenous person? Special tax rules may apply.

7. Are you or any of your dependants disabled? If so, provide Form T2201, Disability Tax Credit Certificate. The transfer rules allow claims for certain dependent relatives. In addition, are you, or would you like to provide support to a disabled person? Tax planning opportunities may be available, such as establishing a registered disability savings plan.

Persons with disabilities may also receive tax relief for the cost of disability supports (e.g. sign language services, talking textbooks, etc.) incurred for employment or education. If you or your dependant are disabled but do not have a Form T2201, please provide details so we can explore whether you are eligible for special credits or benefits.

8. Are you the caregiver for any infirm family members? Did you provide in-home care for an infirm dependent relative?

9. If you have children up to the age of 17, have you received the Canada child benefit (CCB)? The CCB is a tax-free, income-sensitive, benefit paid monthly to help with the cost of raising children.

10. Have there been any other significant life events in the past year, such as the death or impairment of a loved one? There can be tax planning opportunities.

11. Did you purchase a new home in 2023? If so, you may be eligible for the new residential property GST/HST rebate. Also, are you a first-time home buyer in 2023? A federal tax credit based on $10,000 (@15% = $1,500) may be available.

12. Have you made any contributions to a gifting tax shelter?

13. Did you receive any significant prizes or awards from your or a related person’s employment?

14. Did you receive a retroactive lump-sum payment over $3,000 (for example, spousal support)? In certain cases, some tax relief may be available.

C. Additional Information – New Clients Must Provide

Please check all boxes that apply and provide supporting information.

1. Name, address, date of birth, social insurance number (SIN) for yourself, spouse/common-law partner and any dependants.
2. All CRA correspondence for the past three years.
3. Details of previously claimed capital gain exemptions, business investment losses and cumulative net investment loss accounts.
4. A listing of income-earning assets (such as rental properties) and investment accounts.
5. Details of amounts carried forward from previous years (ex. losses, donations, RRSP).

D. Other

1. Underused Housing Tax (UHT) – The UHT is an annual 1% tax intended to apply to the value of residential real estate owned by non-residents that is considered to be vacant or underused. However, many Canadian individuals on the title of a residential property on December 31 may also need to file UHT returns. This can occur if a person is holding the property in trust for another (such as when a person is on title but is not the true owner) or if a person is holding the property as a partner for a partnership. NEW! The government has proposed changes that would exclude many of these individuals from filings for the 2023 year (i.e. for those on title as of December 31, 2023). However, the relieving measures are not proposed to apply to those on title for the 2022 year. Filings for both the 2022 and 2023 years are due on April 30, 2024.

2. NEW! First Home Savings Account (FHSA)– As of April 2023, FHSAs could be set up by first-time home buyers, allowing annual contributions of up to $8,000, to a lifetime limit of $40,000. Like an RRSP, contributions are deductible from income. If FHSA funds are withdrawn to acquire an eligible property, the withdrawal is not taxable. If you are planning to buy your first home in the near term, contact us before the purchase for planning possibilities.

3. Canada Dental Benefit – The Canada dental benefit provides an up-front, tax-free payment to cover dental expenses for children under the age of 12 without dental coverage. The benefit is only available to families whose adjusted family net income is under $90,000. Applications for this benefit can be made online on CRA’s My Account. If no benefit was claimed for the first application period (ending June 30, 2023), an additional payment may be available for the second period (ending June 30, 2024).

4. Instalments required for 2024 – A pre-authorized debit arrangement is an online service-payment option which authorizes CRA to withdraw a pre-determined payment amount directly from a bank account on a specific date to pay taxes. This may help avoid penalties on late and/or missing instalment payments. CRA interest rate on late or insufficient instalments for the beginning of 2024 is 10%. Such interest is not deductible.

5. MyCRA mobile App – This web app allows you to access and view key portions of your tax information, such as your notice of assessment, tax return status, benefit and credit information, and RRSP and TFSA contribution room.

6. CRA’s My Account – Taxpayers can set up an online account with CRA that provides tax filing information and communications in addition to the information in MyCRA mobile App.

7. CRA Online Services – Account alerts – Individuals can register with CRA to be notified by email when CRA’s record of an individual’s address has changed, banking information for direct deposit has changed or if mail sent by CRA was returned.

8. Additional provincial/territorial credits and programs may be available.