Voyageur 130
Ottawa Wants to File Some Tax Returns Itself, and Retirement Math Looks Different From Abroad.
News for residents of the “11th province”: Canadians abroad.
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Ottawa Wants to File Some Tax Returns Itself
Ottawa's automatic tax-filing plan has a number on it. The Parliamentary Budget Officer says eligible non-filers could receive an average of $2,212 for the 2025 tax year if CRA prepares simple returns for them.
The first year is tiny. CRA expects about 3,000 automatic returns, then 50,000 by 2027. The five-year price tag is expected to be $429 million once admin costs and the benefits paid out are fully accounted for.
The deal is mostly aimed at low-income Canadians who miss benefits because they do not file, but it also says something useful for anyone managing Canadian money from abroad, and that is that more of the tax system is moving through CRA accounts, pre-filled data, and benefit plumbing that only works if your paperwork is boring and current.
Boring and current. The expat tax dream.
Read more: Global News
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A photo from the old country:
Retirement Math From Abroad
Canadians still working think personal savings will do more of the heavy lifting in retirement than usually pans out. A CAAT Pension Plan report cited by the Financial Post says 25 per cent of workers expect savings to be their main retirement income source. Among retirees, only 15 per cent say that is true.
The gap is bigger when pensions enter the picture- retirees with pensions report average annual income of $85,735, compared with $52,570 for those without. Fifty eight per cent of retirees rely on CPP and OAS for income.
For Canadians living outside Canada, that should not be an abstract planning graph. CPP, OAS, workplace pensions, RRSPs, foreign tax rules, exchange rates, and the physical place that you plan to age peacefully with a good cup of coffee all need to be accounted for. Be prepared.
Read more: Financial Post