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 Now is the time to contact your tax preparer. Your time is running out to make any more RRSP contributions that will count towards your last year.
It is important to bring with you a copy of the
statement you got from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). This is the one that
arrived in the mail, sometime after you have filed your taxes last
year. Sometimes it is attached to a refund cheque, assuming you have not elected for direct deposit.
Most people just take the cheque to the bank when it
arrives and pay no attention to the statement. It gets filed away never
to be seen again. This is a mistake made by many Canadians. To your tax preparer, this is important
information, and to you at this time it is also important for planning any final RRSP contribution.
It contains information on how much RRSP you can
contribute for the year. Ideally you want to contribute into your RRSP
the maximum you can, up to thislimit but no more.
Now is the time to compare all the RRSP contributions
you have made last year to your maximum and see how much more room you
have to contribute before the deadline. With your tax preparer, you can
explore some what-if possibilities. See how much disposable income you
have to contribute, and look into the option of taking out a low interest RRSP loan. Remember, all those banks and places offering RRSP products are just there to sell. They may know one mutual fund from another, but they are not tax specialists. You need to consult with your tax preparer for that, and the time to do that is before you talk to a bank.
I like to contact my clients around this time to make
sure they get a copy of their statement to me, so that I can advise
them. I don't direct them as to what investments within an RRSP to
make, but rather we look at how much more needs to be purchased, and what the impact will be.
So now is the time to dig out that CRA statement, and take it directly to your tax preparer. You will ultimately be glad that you did.
Pat
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CRA 