Recent Canada Revenue Agency administrative announcements – Home renovation tax credit, prescribed loan rate and charity guidelines

In these lazy, hazy days of summer, the tax world does not stop. The court cases, Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) administrative announcements and speculated policy changes continue to be announced and/or rumored. We thought you would be interested in three of the more relevant recent CRA announcements:

1. Home renovation tax credit (“HRTC”)

One of the more interesting new tax credits that was announced in the January 2009 Federal Budget (see our January 28, 2009 blog entry) was the introduction of the new HRTC. This credit will apply only to the 2009 taxation year and for expenditures of work performed or goods acquired after January 27, 2009 and before February 1, 2010. Given the broadness of the language, there have been many questions as to what is eligible for the HRTC. The CRA has released material on its website at https://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/sgmnts/hmwnr/hrtc/menu-eng.html (with related material available by clicking through certain other links). Readers are urged to review this material when determining whether or not certain expenditures are eligible for the HRTC.

2. Prescribed loan rate

As discussed in our March 11, 2009 blog entry, spousal loans and/or loans to trusts can provide a great income splitting opportunity. The CRA announced in June that its 3rd quarter interest rate for July 1 to September 30, 2009 will continue to be 1%. See the CRA’s announcement here.

3. Charity guidelines

In a continuing effort to increase its administrative presence with registered charities, the CRA released new charity guidelines in a very interesting fundraising document. The document was released on July 9, 2009 and is a must read for fundraisers and registered charities.

Hope you find the above useful… have a continued great summer!