If you open your FHSA account before Dec. 31, you get $8,000 in contribution room that can be carried forward to 2024 if unused.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Don’t fall into holiday mode just yet: As the year winds down, there are plenty of important financial deadlines to remember. That includes some new ones, such as the savings accounts for first-time homebuyers and the looming final date for pandemic loan forgiveness.
Here are a few that you may want to check as we enter the new year.
First Home Savings Accounts (FHSAs)
The FHSA accounts introduced this year are a great way for aspiring homeowners to save up for their first purchase and afford a down payment. Annual contributions are capped at $8,000, but if you open your FHSA account before Dec. 31, you get that $8,000 in contribution room that can be carried forward to 2024 if unused. You’ll also need to contribute before the end of the year to be able to deduct that amount from your taxable income for 2023.
Canadian Emergency Business Account (CEBA)
Nearly 900,000 businesses across Canada received a CEBA loan from the government as an emergency measure in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses who took out a CEBA loan have until Jan. 18, 2024 to apply for partial loan forgiveness. If an eligible business took out the maximum loan amount of $60,000, they could see $20,000 forgiven if they apply before the deadline, which was recently pushed back from Dec. 31 of this year. Those who miss that deadline will lose out on the forgivable portion and see their debts converted to a three-year loan with interest.
Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs)
The deadline for contributing to your RRSP in the 2023 tax year is Feb. 29, 2024 – with one exception. If 2023 is the year you turn 71, then Dec. 31 is the final day you can contribute to your RRSP before you must convert it into a registered retirement income fund (RRIF).
Registered Education Saving Plan (RESP)
An RESP is one of the best ways for parents to save up for their children’s postsecondary education costs, including tuition, books and residence, while keeping the money in a tax-sheltered account. Dec. 31 is the last day to contribute to an RESP in order to take advantage of the 20 per cent match in contributions for the year – up to $500 annually, to a maximum of $7,200 – through the Canada Education Savings Grant.
Underused Housing Tax (UHT)
The UHT, introduced in 2022, imposes an annual 1 per cent tax on the value of vacant or underused residential real estate, typically either owned by foreign homeowners or corporations. But some Canadian citizens or permanent residents are also subject to the new tax obligations — even if they won’t have to pay, they still need to file, even for an exception. The deadline to file the paperwork is April 30, 2024, which was moved up last-minute from October 31 of this year. Failing to file before the deadline can result in a minimum penalty of $5,000.
Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP)
The HBP allows you to make a withdrawal from your RRSP in order to purchase your first home, but you are required to buy or build the home in the same year as the withdrawal was made. If you made the withdrawal in 2022 and did not purchase a home before Oct. 1 of that year, then Dec. 31 is your deadline to make the cancellation payments.