Top 25 articles of 2017

Tax dominated the headlines this year, from CRA’s decision to change (and then delay) its registered fee tax position, to the small business tax proposals and their subsequent modifications.

It was also a year of regulatory uncertainty as the CSA rang in 2017 by releasing its embedded commissions consultation paper; the industry was still struggling with embedded commissions by September, as was evidenced by a heated roundtable discussion. In May, CSA confirmed that only Ontario and New Brunswick would work toward developing a best interest standard–after more than a year of consultation. And, in November, Ontario’s Ministry of Finance re-affirmed its commitment to creating “specified proficiency requirements” for financial advisors.

Our top stories of 2017 show you came here to be informed about complex news issues, and to learn about in-depth tax, estate planning and pension topics.

Without further ado, here are the top 25.

25. Navigate TFSA attribution rules

24. Shedding light on the CPP survivor benefit

23. This advisor never thought he’d need CI coverage. Then he did

22. How proposed tax changes target income sprinkling

21. Take the pension or commuted value?

20. What’s next for PMs if the mutual fund heydays are over?

19. CRA to delay registered fee tax position until 2019

18. Tax proposals modified to allow $50K in passive income

17. Does going fee-based save clients tax?

16. When the executor is also a beneficiary

15. Get ready for a commissions ban

14. Do human advisor fees offer more value than robo-advisor fees?

13. RRSPs and TFSAs: unused contribution room at death

12. Tax headache coming for professional clients

11. All about dividend taxation

10. Essential tax numbers (updated for 2018!)

9. How to minimize OAS clawback

8. CRA to tax registered investment fees paid from open accounts (our update is #19 on the list)

7. CE Course: 34 ways to be a better advisor (there’s still time to take this course if you need credits!)

6. Salary or dividends: Which is better for business owners?

5. Man sentenced to 11 years in jail over tax evasion, fraud

4. The best ways to own Canadian banks (originally published in 2012 and updated for 2017)

3. Understanding the new T1135 (originally published in 2015 and updated for 2017)

2. How to fix RRSP overcontributions

And our top story, which was posted less than a month ago and yet has already rocketed up to #1:

1. CRA confirms TFSA limit for 2018