How Sintra Wealth Can Help You
How Sintra Wealth Can Help You
Products & Services
Need help with your taxes?
The tax experts at Sintra Wealth can help you file your tax returns quickly and effectively.
Income Tax Returns processed and filed easily!
- Professional and experienced Service; we are qualified to accurately prepare your personal tax returns, current with the latest tax guidelines
- We complete returns for past years as well as adjustments for previously submitted returns.
- We provide fast and easy electronically filed (E-Filed) directly to Canada Revenue Agency. Most refunds are received within days
- We offer personalized advice regarding RRSP and other tax planning strategies
- 10% Military, Student and Seniors' Discount
- Competitive pricing
- We prepare and complete returns for all provinces and territories except Quebec
- Home pickup and delivery available at a nominal additional cost
Top 5 Reasons to file - ON TIME
- Late-filing penalty and interest. If you owe money and do not file by the deadline, you are hit with a 5-per-cent late-filing penalty and 1-per-cent interest every month. Even if you don't have the money, file on time to avoid the penalty and pay what you can.
- CRA will do it for you. You may not owe money, but the Canada Revenue Agency can ask you to file your past tax returns within 30 days or they will complete them for you. Miss the deadline and the CRA will file your past tax returns for you with only the information they have on file.
- Applying for a loan or mortgage. Banks or financial institutions will ask for a copy of your last notice of assessment to prove your income. If you can't produce it, it could cause a problem.
- It's your money. If you are expecting a tax refund, it is money you have overpaid the government during the year. And there is no interest paid on it. So not filing extends your interest-free loan to the government.
- Triggering benefits. Payments such as the quarterly GST/HST credit, Canada Child Tax Benefit and Guaranteed Income Supplement are calculated based on your last tax return filed. Failure to file by the deadline means that these payments will stop.
RDSPs:
People with challenges ... they are like anybody else. You have to plan for your future. When the caregiver is gone, who is going to care?
Canadians with a disability should open a registered disability savings plan (RDSP).
The RDSP is a tax-deferred registered savings plan open to Canadians eligible for the disability tax credit. One of the attractive aspects of the RDSPs is the ability to supplement the plan with matching Canada Disability Savings Grants (CDSGs) and Canada Disability Savings Bonds (CDSBs) for beneficiaries age 49 and under.
CDSGs and CDSBs are based on family income. If the beneficiary is under 19, it is his or her parents’ family income. At age 19, it’s the beneficiary’s own family income. CDSGs are equal to 300% of the first $500 of annual contributions and 200% on the next $1,000 for a maximum annual entitlement of $3,500, subject to a lifetime maximum of $70,000. If family income is over $89,401, the CDSG is 100% on the first $1,000 of annual contributions.
CDSBs of up to $1,000 annually up to a lifetime maximum of $20,000 can also be paid into RDSPs for lower-income families. No contributions are required. Up to $200,000 can be invested in the plan. While contributions are not tax-deductible, all earnings and growth accrue tax-deferred.
Retroactive CDSGs and CDSBs can now be collected based on new contributions, although the government has informed RDSP issuers that payments for retroactive grants and bonds will be forthcoming within a specified timeframe.
As a result of this retroactive change, CDSGs and CDSBs will ultimately be paid on unused entitlements for the preceding 10 years (but no earlier than 2008) up to an annual maximum of $10,500 and $10,000, respectively when an RDSP is opened.
Final Thought:
Opening an RDSP is something that everyone who qualifies HAS TO DO. It is that important and many people are missing the boat.
Statistics show:
- 12,000: Average number of RDSPs created each year since program became active
- 118,000: Total number of RDSPs created since 2008
- 3,800,000: Approximate number of Canadians aged 15 and older who have a disability, according to Statistics Canada
- 625,000: estimated number of disabled individuals in Canada eligible for RDSP
- 19 per cent: uptake rate for RDSP
Disability Insurance:
Most people will spend a lot of money protecting their home and car, but when it comes to protecting their biggest asset, THEMSELVES, this is often overlooked.
In Canada one in every three people will be disabled due to an injury for 90 days or more before they turn 65. This will have a significant impact on their lifestyle now and in the future.
Having the ability to earn an income is important to maintain your quality of life. It provides stability for your family, planning for retirement and any other goals you may have.
Disability insurance provides a source of income should you become ill or injured and can’t work. A disability can be a result of an injury, a serious illness or even a mental health issue. It can be for a short or long period.
There are various types of disability insurance, ranging from group insurance, individual insurance and government plans such as worker’s compensation.
Disability insurance is an essential part of any financial plan. If you are not able to work, how would you be able to provide for yourself and your family?
You could dip into your savings and how long would that last?
You could dip into your retirement investment account. The problem with that is you would be paying taxes on the withdrawals and would most certainly affect your retirement plans.
You could borrow from your family and friends assuming they are in a position. What are the possibilities a bank would lend you money if you are not working?
If you have group insurance are you eligible and how much are you covered for? Does it have the comprehensive coverage you need? If you change employers or become self-employed will you be covered?
We all know you can’t buy house insurance when your house is on fire, so look at making sure you are protected!
So what is Education Planning?
It is a program to help children continue with their studies after completing high school. A child can attend a college, a university or any other program as long as it is recognized by Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). This can be anywhere in the world.
With the cost of a post-secondary education rising every year it is vital children and parents of children take full advantage of a government program called Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP)
An RESP is a great way to grow money tax free for your child’s post-secondary education. There are many companies offering RESP. Be sure you get the one that is right for you. Some companies will allow you to contribute to a wide variety of investments where others have some restrictions and fees to set up. There is a lifetime maximum contributions of $50,000 per beneficiary. The government will contribute a minimum of 20% on the first $2500 per year in the form of a grant. Ask us how to maximize the grants that are available.
A few things to consider:
How much is needed to save for an education?
How much can you afford given other goals you may have already?
What investment will achieve this goal?
Things to look for:
- How easy is it to start and stop the regular contributions?
- Choice of investments available
- Beneficiaries can be changed
- What happens if the beneficiary does not pursue a post-secondary education? What happens to the growth and grants in the account?
Be proactive ... Invest in your child’s future!
What is it? It is the preparation for the efficient transfer of a person’s wealth and assets after his or her death.
Investments, life insurance, pensions, real estate, personal belongings and debts are all considered one's estate.
Many people think that 'estate planning' is for the affluent only. As long as one has a simple will, everything will be looked after. Although wills legally describe your wishes after your death, such as burial instructions, and distribution of assets, a judge has to 'sign off' on the procedure. This is known as 'probate' and allows relatives or any third party to contest the will. This can tie up an estate in court for years at an enormous cost in money, time and health of the beneficiaries.
So... an 'estate plan' should be considered by everybody (not just the wealthy!)
Many have said "Oh, that's what you do when you're wealthy".
People don't do the right thing because they are wealthy; they are wealthy because they do the right thing!
Why consider a plan? Without a proper plan (written signed and notarized) friends and relatives can spend endless time, money and energy fighting over your assets.
Discover how this can affect you and your family and friends!
Retirement has taken on a different meaning from 30 years ago. In the past people would go to work until they turned 65 and then live out their golden years. In some cases they were forced to retire. Now people are changing when and how they retire. Some will retire sooner, others are working beyond 65.
Thanks to medical advancements many Canadians are living longer which means our money needs to go further. Even if retirement is far off in the distance or right around the corner, there are things you can do now to achieve financial independence.
How much you need depends on what kind of lifestyle you would like at retirement. A plan will help you figure out how much you need to save and how to manage your money after you stop working.
The first step is to decide at what age you would like to say ‘Enough is enough I don’t want to work anymore’
In order to maintain your lifestyle you should plan on 80% of your current salary.
Take inventory of all your assets and the different sources of income at retirement. Sources could be comprised of a company pension and various government pensions
Identify what you are currently spending your money on and consider what your lifestyle will be in your retirement years.
Determine a realistic annualized rate of return on your investments. This should be net of inflation. An average inflation rate would be 3%.
Retirement planning is a long term commitment and should be reviewed annually to account for changes such as retiring earlier, change of jobs, or pay increase.
People don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan.
Your passage through life will be filled with twists and turns, and you can’t always see what lies ahead. But you can ease your journey by preparing yourself for the unexpected.
Unanticipated early retirement
If you encounter a "downsizing" or other occurrence that results in the loss of a job, or even the end of a career, before you expected it, would you be able to avoid major disruptions to your lifestyle?
Disability
Even a short-term disability can seriously harm your finances — and a long-term disability could prove devastating.
Changing family situation
Changes in your life — marriage, divorce, remarriage, children, stepchildren — can drastically affect your estate plans and the type of legacy you want to leave. Review beneficiary designations on your investment accounts, update your estate-planning documents — will, living trust and so on — as needed.
Outliving your money
Once you reach retirement, your greatest concern may be that you’ll outlive your money. To help prevent this from happening, create a sustainable withdrawal strategy — that is, determine how much you can take out each year from your investment and retirement accounts, and stick to this amount.
Need for long-term care
You can't predict whether you will ever need to enter a nursing home or require the assistance of a home health care worker, but one thing is for sure — these services can be extremely expensive.
Untimely death
Your absence could jeopardize your family's financial security, particularly if you passed away while your children were still at home. To help ensure that your family could remain in the home and that your children could go to college, if they choose, make sure you have adequate life insurance.
Good Tax Saving Strategies go hand in hand with good Investment Planning.
Start with:
Take a longer view.
Don’t just think about your taxes at tax time - plan from the beginning of the year and look ahead. Life events, such as having children, buying a house, paying for education or caring for elderly parents can trigger significant tax opportunities.
Invest in a tax-wise way
When it comes to tax planning, it’s important to be aware of what’s in your portfolio and the tax implications. By continually looking at your short, medium, and long term goals you’ll be able to make tax-wise decisions.
Work with an advisor on an overall financial plan which includes tax planning
Elements of financial planning are best considered together — whether it’s your investments, taxes, or insurance, ask us to help you build a cohesive strategy so decisions are not made in isolation.
Keep in mind the 3 "D’s"
3 important functions in order to do effective tax planning.
- Defer – A deferral strategy is to try to push having to pay tax now into future years. Deferring tax means you might eliminate the tax this year but you will eventually have to pay the tax down the road. Generally tax deferral has 2 advantages: (1) It is better to pay a dollar of tax tomorrow than it is to pay a dollar of tax today and (2) Tax deferral typically puts the control of when you have to pay the tax in the hands of the tax payer instead of in the hands of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). RRSPs and various investment income strategies are the most common forms of tax deferral for the ‘average’ Canadian.
- Divide – Often called income splitting, dividing taxes implies the ability to take an income and spread it among a number of different taxpayers.
- Deduct – A deduction is a claim to reduce your taxable income. A deduction will reduce your tax bill by an equal amount to your marginal tax rate.
Did you know that you can deduct:
- Interest expense
- Union/professional dues
- Alimony/maintenance payments
- Employment expenses
- Moving expenses
- Professional fees
- Child care expenses
- Pension plan contributions
Final Thought
Sometimes tax planning will bring immediate benefits but often the benefits of tax planning take time to feel the rewards. Many people are scrambling to get their taxes done for the current year but it is probably too late to do any planning for the previous year.
