All you Need to Know About 2023 Personal Tax Filing  

Do not send us sensitive documents or personal information by email. Information received this way, is too easily hacked by fraudsters, experts in identity theft.

ShareFile is our preferred method of receiving information. Submitting all required documents at the same time will help us be more efficient at processing your return. Each time documents are submitted, we go through a separate assessment process.

We understand that for some of our clients, providing GGFL with paper documents is the preferred or only solution. Our team will scan and save all documents necessary to prepare your tax return in an electronic format. Our data retention policy of 7 years meets CRA requirements. Your paper documents will be returned to you via mail after your personal tax return has been completed and delivered to you. If you have any questions, please speak with your partner.

If you receive a tax slip after your return has been filed, don’t worry. Notify us immediately to avoid penalties and interest, and we will adjust your return accordingly.

• Please organize your tax information and only send personal tax return information; do not include your corporate or trust return information (these should be sent separately).
• Organize similar documents together (donations, medical, T slips etc.).
• Documents for each taxpayer should be grouped together.
• Review documentation to ensure we do not receive duplicate information.
• If you send us something electronically, please do not also send it by paper and vice versa.
• If you have rental properties or self-employment income, use our Excel templates to help categorize and compile the information. DO NOT UPLOAD individual receipts. See the links below to access the appropriate template for your use.

We have developed a fillable form that will help you identify what information you need to submit. Completing and sharing this form with us is a great way for us to recognise anything that may have changed in the year as well. Click on the link below to get to our Personal Tax Organizer.

GGFL Personal Tax Organizer – Fillable

If you work or live in Quebec, you may receive an “RL / Releve” slip with your federal slip. Please provide both slips at the same time as there are deductions on the “Revele” that are not on your federal slip.

Rental Income
2023-T776-Rental-Statement *Note: Use a separate template for each property.

Business / Professional Income

Self-Employment Schedule for Business (T2125)

Self-Employment Schedule for Physicians (T2125)

Self-Employment Schedule for Dentists (T2125)

To simplify any medical claims, we recommend that you send us detailed annual statements as follows:

For medical claims covered by your insurance plan:

• Provide the insurance claim statements for services received in 2023. Please, do not also send the individual receipts or invoices.
• Receipt for premiums paid to a private plan.

For any medical costs not covered by an insurance plan:

• Provide the receipt with description of service, date, name of patient and payment.

Other

• Request a detailed prescription summary for 2023 from your Pharmacy. If you provide a summary, do not send the individual receipts.
• Include any travel health insurance premiums paid.
• If a family member’s health has changed during the year, they may qualify for the disability tax credit; their doctor will be able to help with that process.

If you own investments that are not RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs and RESPs, please obtain the 2023 Tax Reporting Package for each account from your investment advisor, including:

• Realized Capital Gain/Loss Report in Canadian dollars;
• T1135 Foreign Property report;
• Investment management fees (for non-registered investment accounts only).

If you live in Quebec and receive income from a trust that is located outside of Quebec, please contact our office.

If you own foreign investments with an aggregate cost base greater than $100,000, form T1135 Foreign Income Verification Statement must be completed.

Foreign investments include:

• Foreign bank accounts;
• Shares or debt of any foreign entity;
• Shares of a non-resident corporation;
• Foreign rental properties;
• Interest in a non-resident trust, partnership, property, or other entity;
• Shares of foreign companies held in your non-registered investment portfolio.

If this applies to you, please provide us with the following:

• T1135 Foreign Property report for 2023 from your investment advisor

If your foreign investment is not held by a broker, please provide the following information by country:

• The maximum cost amount during the year;
• The cost amount on December 31, 2023;
• Gross income earned in 2023;
• Capital gain or loss on disposition in 2023.

Additionally, if either situation below applies to you, please provide us with the details:

• Any loans or transfers to certain foreign trusts, or a corporation controlled by such trusts;
• Individuals who, in the year, received distributions from, or are indebted to certain foreign trusts.

Foreign investments do not include assets used in a business, personal use assets, and foreign investments held in registered plans (i.e., RRSPs, TFSAs, and RESPs).

When your return is complete and ready to be signed, we will send you an email from adobesign@adobesign.com. AdobeSign is a safe and secure system that protects your information from email fraud.

Click on “Review and Sign” to review the documents, and follow the signature tabs to apply your e-signature. Once signed, you can download a copy of your signed documents for your records.

If you are new to ShareFile or need a refresher please view our guide and short training videos.

• Documents must be an accurate reproduction of the original, with the intention of it taking the place of the paper document.
• Documents must provide the same information as the paper document.
• Significant details of the image cannot be obscured because of limitations in resolution, tonality, or hue.
• For all electronic documents, please double check that the image can be easily read and includes all relevant elements of the original document. Documents that are hard to read or cropped will delay your tax file preparation. The best file format for our various tax systems is an Adobe PDF document.

Click here for more information on what CRA considers to be an acceptable format for your documentation.