2024
Tax Policy Updates

Basic personal amount
(line 30000) – The amount has increased to $15,000.

Age amount
(line 30100) – The maximum amount has increased to $8,396.

First home savings account (FHSA) (Schedule 15) – Starting April 1, 2023, contributions to an FHSA will be deductible and the income earned in an FHSA will not be taxable. Qualifying withdrawals made from an FHSA to purchase or build a first home are also non-taxable. If you opened an FHSA in 2023, you can claim up to $8,000 in FHSA contributions you made by December 31, 2023, as an FHSA deduction.

Federal, provincial and territorial COVID-19 benefits repayments – repayments made after December 31, 2022 can be claimed as a deduction on line 23200 of your 2023 return.

Deduction for tools (tradespersons and apprentice mechanics) – Starting in 2023, the maximum employment deduction for tradespersons’ eligible tools has increased from $500 to $1,000.

Canada Workers Benefit (Schedule 6) – The new advanced Canada workers benefit, based on the prior year return, will be issued automatically as a benefit during the tax year.

Electronic remittance or payment above $10,000 – As of January 1, 2024, remittances or payments to the Receiver General of Canada should be made as an electronic payment if the amount is more than $10,000. Payers may face a penalty unless they cannot reasonably remit or pay the amount electronically.

Flipping Property (Schedule 3)  – Starting January 1, 2023, any gain from the disposition of a housing unit (including a rental property) located in Canada, or a right to acquire a housing unit located in Canada, that you owned or held for less than 365 consecutive days before its disposition is deemed to be business income (claim in T2125) and not a capital gain, unless the property was already considered inventory or the disposition occurred due to, or in anticipation of certain life events.

Ontario Seniors care at home tax credit – Effective for 2022 and subsequent tax years, Ontario residents who are 70 year of age or older or have a spouse or common-law partner who is 70 years of age or older can receive up to 25% of their claimable medical expenses up to $6,000, for a maximum credit of $1,500. 

Ontario refundable tax credits — Ontario Staycation tax credit, Ontario jobs training tax credit, Ontario seniors’ home safety tax credit have all been eliminated.

Multigenerational home renovation tax credit (MHRTC) (Schedule 12) – a new refundable tax credit that allows an eligible individual to claim certain renovation costs to create a secondary unit within an eligible dwelling so that a qualifying individual can reside with their qualifying relation.

A secondary unit:

• Is a self-contained housing unit with a private entrance, kitchen, bathroom and sleeping area
• Is newly constructed or created from an existing living space that did not already meet local requirements to be considered a secondary dwelling unit
• Meets applicable local requirements, permits, codes and by-laws

A qualifying individual is either:

• 65 years of age or older at the end of the renovation period tax year
• 18 to 64 years of age and eligible for the disability tax credit (DTC) at any time in the renovation period tax year

If eligible, you can claim up to $50,000 in qualifying expenditures for each qualifying renovation completed, up to a maximum credit of $7,500 for each claim you are eligible to make.