Ultimquest Knowledge

This is a fast paced course on the preparation of T1 personal tax returns for those who have a good knowledge of personal tax concepts. We take the knowledge you have gained from introductory tax courses and put it to work in a “bootcamp” style delivery.

This course is perfect for accountants, business students or bookkeepers looking to get into tax preparation or public practice by helping you check three critical elements of the “To Do” list towards addressing the personal tax learning curve.

First, the modules are developed and delivered to provide you with a full review of the tax rules and issues pertaining to each type of tax return category. In this course I methodically take you through more than 15 tax returns curated from real world situations. Additionally, many of these returns go through different “What If” scenarios to help you build your knowledge of important tax rules and concepts. This will help you better understand the intricacies and details of certain tax rules particularly with respect to tax credits.

Second, I provide you with the best practices in each of these areas, including the most frequently encountered questions, mistakes and issues encountered in a real world practice. You will save yourself frustration and stress when dealing with both clients and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) by implementing these best practices developed over 20 years of practice and thousands of personal tax returns.

And finally, a thorough review of tax software and related worksheets is provided to enable you to easily navigate all the forms and schedules so that you can become as quick and efficient. As part of this course, you will be able to register with Intuit as a student and download a fully functional student version of their Profile professional tax software that you will have access to until the end of 2021.

MODULE 1 – EMPLOYMENT INCOME

A review of clients with employment income including an in-depth look of employment expenses and the most frequently encountered problems with employment deductions. We examine 2 different T2200 forms to illustrate the situation where one employee is entitled to deduct expenses, while the other is not. Knowing these differences is essential in filing tax returns properly and avoiding audits and reassessments by the CRA.

MODULE 2 – FAMILY TAX RETURNS

We look at a series of topics and questions related to family tax returns including a detailed review of deducting child care expenses, and claiming eligible dependants for single parents along with the tax implications of spousal and child support payments. Also examined are the new Canada Caregiver amount credits and how to apply the new rules properly to the most common situations. Scenarios involving tuition and students are also reviewed including tuition transfers and all the need to know intricacies of families with children in post-secondary institutions.

MODULE 3 – INVESTMENT TAX RETURNS

This module examines the reporting issues related to investment income, including common errors and oversights with T-slips, reporting capital gains and losses, issues with splitting investment income all practitioners should be aware of and other common reporting scenarios encountered with investor clients. Also reviewed are capital loss carrybacks and the special reporting rules for T1135’s and reporting income from foreign properties. We also go over scenarios involving rental properties, renting out basement apartments and the issues with respect to CCA its effect on the principal residence exemption and sale of rental properties.

MODULE 4 – TAX RETURNS FOR SENIORS

While senior tax returns are relatively straight forward in terms of the preparation process, there are a number of tax planning factors that are often overlooked or ignored that could have a significant impact on the cash flow and tax planning for our senior clients. In this module, we take you through the step by step process of preparing their returns including an in-depth look at pension splitting and the interaction of credits and deductions to come to the most optimal tax scenario and tax savings possible. Also reviewed in depth are the issue with respect to the OAS clawback and strategies to deal with it including the common situation of a one time clawback in high income years.

MODULE 5 – BUSINESS TAX RETURNS

Business income is a broad topic that encompasses many types of businesses. In this unit, we look at the most common issues practitioners face with their small business clients. To help understand these concepts and issues, we look at a few business returns and T2125 preparation examples, including a landscaping business, an Uber driver and the related issues and FAQ’s with respect to expenses and Class 10 vs. Class 10.1 vehicle challenges, and the reporting requirements related to CPP and the EI opt-in provisions for Employment Insurance special benefits.