General Update

Tax Season

The filing deadline is June 1 (June 15 for self-employed individuals).
The payment deadline is August 31, 2020.
We are working on files in sequence. Our turnaround time is approximately 3 weeks this year.
If you have not done so, kindly submit your documents by the end of the week to ensure your return is completed by June 1.

Our blog on tax season:

Markets & Economy

Markets fell almost 40% and bottomed out on March 23.
Markets rallied in April due to government stimulus, and optimism on the length of COVID-19.
Markets are currently down 17-19% from their pre-COVID peaks.
The debate over the next few months will likely shift focus to the strength and duration of a subsequent recovery, and this will materially depend upon the intensity of any second wave of infection.
The 5 largest constituents in the S&P 500 are all technology giants that have seen positive price appreciation this year. The big 5 now account for one-fifth of the market value of the index, the highest level in 30 years.
Last week, the ADP Research Institute released its unemployment data. They estimated that the private sector in the United States shed 20,236,000 jobs in April. This monthly report has been around since 2002, and the worst employment number before April’s was the 835,000 private sector jobs which were lost in February 2009. Of last week’s total, just over 16 million jobs were eliminated in the service sector with the remainder coming from the goods-producing sector.

Financial Aid

Yesterday, the federal government pledged a one-time tax-free payment of $300 for seniors eligible for the Old Age Security (OAS) pension, with an additional $200 for seniors eligible for the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS).
Anyone taking the minimum annual payment from their RRIF can reduce this payment by 25% for 2020. If you are interested in reducing your RRIF minimum payment, please contact us.
Applications for the Canada Emergency Student Benefit will open this Friday. The benefit is $1,250 for student ($2,000 for students with dependants or a disability), who are not eligible for the CERB/EI, and who are unable to work or find work due to COVID-19.
You can now apply for CERB – Benefit Period #3.