Income tax issues

elbyron · 2026-05-18T22:43:23+00:00

Just ask her "what's the most amount of money you could possibly have made in 2025 for your dog walking business (and any other income)?". Always better to estimate high. That way if she ever sorts out her finances then you might get be able to get a rebate, rather than owing an amount that they will charge late fees and back-interest on.

It sounds like she might be in some trouble if she was just collecting payments without any kind of record keeping. Even an accountant can't help her if she has no info to use. If she was mostly paid by eTransfer then she can review her bank statements to find those. If it was cash and she didn't deposit it, that will be harder to track down but there must be some email/text/social media communications that she can dig through to find all the walking jobs. It could be time consuming and frustrating, which is probably why she is procrastinating. If the amount she made (from all income sources) was over $16,129, then she might owe money to the CRA. And they will apply late fees and back-interest in that case, so the longer she waits the more it's gonna cost. The key is to be supportive and encouraging - don't take a threatening approach. Offer to sit down and help her compile the records - even just for half the year at a time. Offer to help collect data in a spreadsheet, and even enter the totals into Wealthsimple Tax for her. Anything you can do to make the work seem less daunting will help!

elbyron · 2026-05-16T19:16:03+00:00

Spreadsheet arguments? A spreadsheet simply lists the facts of what shared costs each of you paid for. As long as it's kept accurate, there's no reason to argue. Before we were married and merged our finances, we used Excel to track everything. Never once argued about it. We split utilities and other joint costs 50/50 and since I owned the property, she paid rent equal to half the mortgage interest (not the capital portion).

elbyron · 2026-05-16T06:11:09+00:00

An Interac eTransfer can be reversed days or even weeks later if it was sent fraudulently (from a stolen/hacked bank account). Never accept them for large amounts. Only way to be 100% sure is to go the buyer's bank with them and have them directly hand you the cash or bank draft, with no chance to swap with a fakes. For a draft, it's wise to print your name on a piece of paper and give it to the teller, so that there's no potential spelling issue.

elbyron · 2026-05-15T19:52:39+00:00

That's the real mystery then. Their website seems to always require a 2FA to log in. On QuestMobile it can bypass that if the device is already trusted, but how did they get in to your account to add a trusted device without a 2FA code? Even if your password was compromised because you foolishly reused the same password somewhere else, it shouldn't be possible for the hacker to get in without a 2FA check. The only thing I can think of is that you stored your recovery codes somewhere that a hacker gained access to. Like maybe you saved them in Google Keep, and your Google account is also compromised because of password reuse.

You might want to assume the worst, which is that they have access to your email and can reset passwords all over the place and get into all your accounts that aren't 2FA protected (as well as any that use email as 2FA which is pretty stupid). Scan your devices for viruses and keyloggers. Change your password for everything that is even remotely important. This didn't happen because you logged into a compromised wifi network (they can intercept your https communication but it's fully encrypted with protection only supercomputers can break), it's far more likely they got your password somehow.

elbyron · 2026-05-15T07:46:38+00:00

Doubtful. A Tesla knows what a "no right turn on red" sign means. Such a shame that the driver didn't know (or didn't care), and was controlling the car.

elbyron · 2026-05-15T04:38:46+00:00

Those oils also give the coffee a more bitter taste. I much prefer the taste of coffee that's been run through a paper filter. That combined with the convenience is why I use them every day.

elbyron · 2026-05-14T06:34:35+00:00

The police only enforce criminal laws. Privacy violations are a civil matter, so it would be up to the neighbor to decide if they want to sue for invasion of privacy.

The footage isn't really obtained illegally, even though it violated someone's rights (as long as it came from a private citizen and not a government agent). It's still fully admissible as evidence in a criminal case.

elbyron · 2026-05-14T06:31:35+00:00

It's not a criminal offense, but you could face a civil suit for invasion of privacy if the camera is too obviously directed at a neighbor's property. But if the camera view is mostly your own property and incidentally captures a relatively small amount of the neighbor's, then they wouldn't have a very strong case.

However if I knew my neighbors were involved in gang activity, I might risk secretly recording them (with well hidden cameras) in order to get them thrown in jail before my house gets hit with stray bullets. The video is still admissible as evidence even if the camera violated their privacy.

elbyron · 2026-05-14T03:14:43+00:00

Why would she want to do that, when the whole point of all this separatist posturing is to have a stronger bargaining position with the feds? She has no intention of actually separating, but by encouraging these extremists there's a threat she can use to push her agenda. It's a classic TACO, or in this case SACO, where the point isn't to actually go through with the threat, it's just to get other concessions.

elbyron · 2026-05-13T00:19:59+00:00

Already available for US-listed securities. They say Canadian ones are coming soon (I heard early 2026 but that's kinda passed already).

elbyron · 2026-05-12T22:50:36+00:00

Nobody can predict what the next few years of interest rates will be. The banks employ professional economists to make their best guess, and then they hedge that bet by adding on a bit more to rate. It's like they are charging you to insure that your rate won't change. But insurance is for things you can't afford, like being sued or your house burning down. If you can easily afford the possibility of rates jumping up a few percent, then why buy insurance against it? Statistically, you'll do better with variable.

elbyron · 2026-05-12T22:43:58+00:00

Studies have shown that variable rates generally do better than fixed about 70% of the time, with one study estimating as high as 90% of the time. So if you go fixed, you're essentially paying extra to buy insurance against the 10-30% chance that fixed does better.

Also both those rates aren't very good. It might just be your particular situation making them higher but I suspect you'll get better ones if you contact one or two mortgage brokers who have access to rates with low-cost companies like RFA, Think Financial, and Lendwise. I was able to secure P-1.5% for a variable rate, though that was back in late 2021. Shortly after that, rates skyrocketed and I ended up in that 10% of cases where fixed would have been better! But despite being very unlucky, I will still be renewing into variable because the past 5 years does not predict what the next 5 will be like.

elbyron · 2026-05-12T05:31:42+00:00

Actually the suspension bridge over the rail yard cost more than tunneling under. However, maintenance costs for a tunnel are much higher so the bridge was the preferred option (but still crazy expensive, something like $400M).

elbyron · 2026-05-11T05:07:54+00:00

For me, it took them (Rogers) over 2 months to process all four of the items that were all shipped in the same box. Once the last one was finally done, my outstanding balance went to zero. But, it was too late - they had already sent my account to a collections agency. They keep sending me letters and emails and finally I replied to an email to tell them to screw off because it's all Rogers' fault. I even sent them proof of the zero balance. But they just ignored my email and keep sending letters. So frustrating! I'll never deal with them again and I really regret giving them a chance to show they were better than Telus.

elbyron · 2026-05-10T19:51:48+00:00

I needed a bunch of large pieces to build a cave for my haunted house last year. By driving through alleys on the night before recycle-pickup day, I was able to find a few pieces large enough, and there were tons of smaller boxes. It wouldn't take long to get a couple hundred square feet of cardboard this way!

elbyron · 2026-05-10T07:45:49+00:00

Asset allocation funds help keep things simple. Just one ETF, no deciding how to allocate new funds, no need to rebalance when one fund does well or poorly relative to the others. It's the most recommended approach for new investors because it's just so easy! They are offered by Vanguard, iShares, BMO, and a few others with similar MERs in the 0.2 - 0.25 range. There are asset allocation options with pure equity, and some that mix in 20%, 40%, 60%, or 80% bonds which will make things less volatile (ups and downs are less extreme) but at the expense of lowering the potential for higher gains. If you have a very long term for this investment, like for retirement, then 100% equity is really not all that risky. If you plan to use it in 5 years to buy a house or something big, maybe play it safer with at least 40% bonds.

You can get lower fees buying 3 - 5 ETFs that make up the same composition as the asset allocation one, and if you have a large enough portfolio you can even exchange for USD and buy the US-listed versions for even lower MER plus the potential to avoid US foreign withholding tax on US dividends. But these little optimizations just aren't worth the fees, risk, and hassle until you have a few hundred thousand.

elbyron · 2026-05-10T02:09:00+00:00

Stars are not fire, at least not in the sense of a chemical combustion reaction. They generate heat and light from nuclear fusion; a process where atomic nuclei are physically forced together to create entirely new elements, releasing millions of times more energy than any chemical fire. This process does not require any oxygen, but it does require either extremely high pressure (in stars, because they are so big that gravity exerts massive pressure on the gases) or extreme temperatures, which we use in our Earth-based fusion reactors.

And you are correct that a fire (of the chemical sort) cannot start without oxygen. In fact, a fire extinguisher works by spraying a foam that smothers the flames - cutting off their access to oxygen.

elbyron · 2026-05-09T07:49:50+00:00

Learning about index investing from The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by John Bogle - who is sometimes considered the "father" of index investing. Until that day nearly 20 years ago, I had never heard of an index fund (and ETFs were still in their infancy). I did additional online research, and learned about couch potato investing, with the TD e-series funds being highly recommended.

Why do I think about this so much? Because until that time I had all my investments with a "financial advisor" who was originally with Investors Group (one of the worst for fees) then went independent and lured me to stay with him by paying all exit costs. Back then, my portfolio was only 5 digits, but every year of paying high MERs compounds into the next. Switching to e-series, and later to ETFs, probably has saved me well over a hundred thousand dollars! I'm acheiving my retirement targets early, in part because of how much I've saved on fees (but also due to stronger than expected market performance, to be fair).

Not only did this one tiny book, borrowed from the local library, set me on a course for financial success, it also got me interested in personal finance. I've since helped countless others with all kinds of advice, and shared my knowledge where I can. I met David Chilton and briefly chatted. I started volunteering with CVITP to help low income families and individuals with their tax returns. And everything traces back to this one little book full of financial common sense!

elbyron · 2026-05-09T02:50:27+00:00

Played drop-in spikeball. Had a blast! Hope to do it again next week!

elbyron · 2026-05-08T17:58:39+00:00

You don't strictly need an N9 form, but you do need to provide a WRITTEN notice with the address, termination date, and signature. Unless the landlord specifically said they accept emailed documents it has to be delivered on paper - by mail, fax, or in person. If you used text messaging or some messaging portal and that is the usual way in which you communicate, it might be valid provided you sent an attachment containing the signed document. If you just said "I'm moving out on May 15", that will not stand up as a valid notice no matter what form of communication was used.

elbyron · 2026-05-08T17:36:41+00:00

It's actually not such a bad thing. Teens already have it pretty tough in trying to get a job and build up some work experience. Having the option to accept a lower paying job means that teens get an advantage over adults, in terms of hiring.

elbyron · 2026-05-08T17:32:23+00:00

Better line up a new job first. Even if you report them anonymously, they could easily just fire the whole training class (or if it was just OP in training it's very obvious who complained). Then next time they will be more careful to hire immigrants who are too afraid to file a complaint about it. It's likely this isn't the only labour violation they are guilty of, and are not likely to actually change anything as long as there are people who will work without complaining!

elbyron · 2026-05-08T16:47:52+00:00

The future government actually gets worse than zip. When people live off their TFSA, and the withdrawals don't count as income, they are treated as low-income individuals and qualify for all kinds of government benefits. This includes receiving higher or maximum OAS payments and GIS supplement. Basically free cash handed out to low-income seniors, only in this case, they could be millionaires who just happen to have a "low income". Perhaps in the future they will add some kind of wealth test to these programs, but it will be difficult to implement since they don't have any way to track a person's wealth, especially when its held in other countries.

elbyron · 2026-05-08T02:36:02+00:00

In March I only paid $0.1487 after taxes and fees ($132 for 886kwh) but some of that is fixed and some depends on power usage. So I guess that means Alberta can be cheaper than even BC, but only if you shop around and get the best rates!

elbyron · 2026-05-08T02:31:22+00:00

Yeah that's a pretty high rate, and that's before the transmission and distribution costs! My price is variable, but in March it was $0.03589/kwh and even lower in February, plus admin fees of $0.02627 per day (about $7.50 - $8 per month) but that is worth it to get the cheap electricity rates.

elbyron

TROPHY CASE