It’s That Time of Year Again
Yeah, it’s Christmas and the holidays, but it’s also year end, where it’s the time to tie up loose ends for your 2011 tax season! I enjoy this time of year almost as much as I enjoy Christmas and the holidays, frankly.
This is my “to do list” to prepare for year end:
- Go over my receipts for expenses and add them up (I really enjoy this and I am not sure why)
- Go over my charitable donations and make sure I have more than $200 (so I can get deduct 29% and not 15%). If you need to donate, why not donate to your favourite cause AND guest post on my blog? Deadline is Dec 16! Email me!
- Go over my non-registered and see what I can see/ move into my TFSA investment account to offset the capital loss I have for this year
- Make sure I max out my extended health benefits (acupuncture here I come!)
So in addition to reading my own post on how to save more money on your taxes (yes, I tend to be egocentric like that, look at my own reference articles) and my post on 16 last minute tax tips for Tiger Woods/ and his number of mistresses (yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking when I created that blog post title- don’t ask!).
Liz from H&R Block sent me some other tips that might help (and I thought they were quite useful, so I’m re-posting them in point form here)
- Do a rough calculation of your taxable income (this is important so you know what to expect!)
- Donate shares that would gain capital gains to charities
- Pool medical expenses (If you have an expensive trip to the dentist coming up, you may want to consult a calendar. Medical expenses can be claimed in any 12-month period ending in 2011 so it could be beneficial to try to fit known medical expenses into the same 12-month period in order to maximize your claim. You don’t actually have to go to the dentist but if you have an outstanding amount, try to pay the bill by the end of the year. Remember, medical expenses are reduced by a percentage of your income. So the greater their dollar value, the likelier it will be that you can make a claim
PF blog Love
- Retire by 40 gives us an update on hour four-plex rental investment
- Invest it Wisely has a great guest post on how he relearns a valuable lesson to not fall for the hype when it comes to the stock market (and we relearn and relearn again- or at least I do!)
- Dividend Ninja has a great post with and update on income trusts (remember them? They were the bees knees!)
- My Own Advisor has a Million Teacher book giveaway! I am planning/hoping to read Andrew’s book this weekend and have a giveaway for you next week too!
- Boomer from Boomer and Echo has a great post on how to avoid identity theft
- Crystal over at Budgeting the Fun Stuff updates her monthly income for last month. $10,000- yes you read that right!! She is on F-I-R-E! GOOOO Crystal!
- If you haven’t yet entered Sustainable Personal Finance‘s first blogiversary giveaway of an iPad, do so now.
- Prairie Eco Thrifter discusses some eco friendly home improvements that reap great returns.
- Little House in the Valley has a great guest post on the five steps to buying a home
- Krystal from GMBMFB reviews and rebalances her investment portfolio with the help of a fee based advisor
- I was included in Lindy Mint’s DIY Friday (check out her DIY xmas decorations- they are awesome!)
- And Kevin from Invest it Wisely is giving away $300+ just in time for the holidays! Go enter to win!
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