|  TFSAs are not for day trading The COVID-19 pandemic and soaring stock market have given young Canadians a taste for buying and selling their own securities. But not all newbie DIY investors seem to know there are potential tax risks in trading too frequently inside a tax-free savings account (TFSA).  "We've seen cases on it," says Jamie Golombek, managing director of tax and estate planning at CIBC Private Wealth Management.
When he gets calls from clients about opening a TFSA account for trading, Golombek says he advises them to be “very, very careful.” Here’s why.  Omicron and your flight refund (should you need one) If you were planning to board an airplane this holiday season, the news about Omicron is probably driving up your anxiety levels. What happens if the new variant scuttles your travel plans? The bad news is that under Canada's Air Passenger Protection Regulations, if your flight is cancelled because of new government restrictions, all you're entitled to is a rebooking. Air passenger rights advocate Gabor Lukacs says under common law and provincial and federal legislation you're entitled to a refund anyway. But even Lukacs admits getting your money back will likely be a struggle. The good news is, if your booking is for a flight to or from the U.S., from the European Union (EU) or with a U.S. or EU carrier, then you have a right to be refunded if your flight is cancelled for any reason. Here's why where and on which airline you fly matters.  A survival guide for executors I’ll be honest, I find estate management the driest topic in personal finance. I can get excited about taxes and insurance, but I find the soulless and jargon-laden language of estate management both boring and depressing. And yet, I actually enjoyed reading Davide Edey’s Executor Help – How to Settle an Estate, Pick an Executor and Avoid Family Fights. The book is based on Edey’s own experience of managing his parents’ estate — a gruelling process he says lasted seven years and led to a permanent rift in his family. Edey, a veteran of the financial planning industry, didn’t know what he was in for when he took on the task. He wants to make sure his readers are prepared — from both an administrative and emotional point of view. If you’re close to the deceased, managing an estate means navigating a bureaucratic maze as you are stricken with grief and possibly heartbroken about the behaviour of some of your family members. Edey speaks about both how to take care of yourself and — in great detail and simple language — how to navigate the process and avoid common and costly pitfalls. *** My book Money Like You Mean It – Personal Finance Tactics for the Real World, will be out Dec. 9. You can find it on Indigo, Amazon and many local bookstores. ________________________ – THE QUESTION – “Can you explain if I need to pay tax in Canada on the Social Security Administration spousal benefit? I reside in B.C., Canada. I will be receiving a monthly SSA benefit of approximately US$600, deposited into my Canadian bank account. I still work full-time in Canada. It was my understanding that this benefit is already taxed in the U.S.“ — A Money123 reader “Yes, as a tax resident of Canada you will be required to include the social security benefits in your income for the years in which it is received. However, please note that only 85 per cent of the social security benefits are actually taxable, assuming that you started receiving these benefits after 1996. Contrary to popular belief, pursuant to Article XVIII of the Canada-U.S. Tax Treaty, social security benefits paid to a resident of Canada are only taxable in Canada and not for U.S. purposes. American citizens living in Canada will exclude social security benefits from their U.S. tax return by disclosing the exclusion on their tax return using a treaty election form (form 8833). If you are not a U.S. citizen or Green Card holder the social security payments should not attract any U.S. tax withholdings at source. If they are currently withholding taxes from your payments you'll have the option of filing a non-resident U.S. income tax return (1040NR) in order to recover the tax withholdings on the social security payments. Also note that the U.S. benefit payments need to be converted to Canadian dollars at the average exchange rate for the year when reported for Canadian tax purposes.” — Phil Hogan, partner Hutcheson & Co ___________________________ Want your money question answered by an expert? Get in touch! | 
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