January 2025

We hope 2025 is off to a fantastic start for you and your loved ones. As we kick off this year, it’s worth noting that we’re now entering the TFSA and RRSP season. This is when we proactively execute the decisions made during your annual reviews and make strategic contributions as needed.

Reflecting on 2024: A Strong Year for the Markets

The past year has been an exceptional one for investors. Markets delivered robust returns, driven largely by a drop in interest rates and the rapid emergence of AI-focused companies. These transformative technologies reshaped industries and captured the attention of investors worldwide, contributing to strong growth across equity markets.

Looking Ahead: Optimism with a Note of Caution

As we move into 2025, the outlook remains positive. Many analysts are predicting another year of solid market performance. However, it is essential to acknowledge the potential for short-term fluctuations caused by ongoing political influences. While these events can create temporary turbulence, we remain confident in the long-term growth of the markets.

Our Investment Philosophy: A Prudent Approach

At Ivory Planning Group, we never base portfolio decisions on bold predictions or market speculation. Instead, we adhere to a disciplined strategy centered on diversification. We build our portfolios using three main asset classes:

Cash: Providing liquidity for short-term needs and serving as a buffer during periods of market volatility.
High-Quality Stocks: Focusing on long-term growth through well-established companies with strong fundamentals.
Alternatives: Delivering uncorrelated returns through investments in real assets.

Each portfolio is customized to align with your unique financial goals and overall plan. By carefully balancing these asset classes, we ensure that your investments are well-positioned to weather any market environment.

Cutting Through the Noise

We recognize that 2025 will bring its share of attention-grabbing headlines and clickbait articles making bold claims about the markets. However, we remain steadfast in our commitment to prudent planning and risk management. Rest assured, we will never take on more market risk in your portfolio than your financial plan can comfortably withstand.

When your assets are allocated according to a thoughtful and well-constructed strategy, short-term market volatility becomes less concerning. Our primary focus is on helping you achieve your long-term financial objectives with confidence and peace of mind.

Closing Thoughts

Thank you for your continued trust and partnership. As always, we are here to support you and answer any questions about your portfolio or financial plan. Here’s to a prosperous 2025!

Sincerely,

The Ivory Planning Group Team

KEY DATES & DEADLINES

FOR EVERYONE:

FOR BUSINESSES:

January 1st - Additional Eligible TFSA Room

The TFSA contribution limit for 2025 is $7,000. There is no deadline to contribute, and your total contribution room is based off of this additional $7,000 plus any past years' room not utilized. Please let us know if you have any questions or if we can assist with your 2025 deposits.

January 30th - Prescribed Interest Loans Payment Due

The loan interest for 2024 prescribed loans must be paid on or before January 30th 2025. If the interest payments are not made when required, the attribution rules will apply for the current and all future years.

February 28th - RRSP Deadline

You are eligible to make additional contributions to your RRSPs to reduce your 2024 taxable income and therefore potentially increase your tax refunds. We will be in touch with you to discuss whether an RRSP contribution (and how much) makes sense for your situation.

April 30th - Personal Tax Filing Deadline

To prevent late filing penalties and interest accruing, personal taxes need to be filed on time. We will not be able to guarantee your return's completion before the due date unless all documentation has been submitted to us at least 10 days prior to the filing deadline. We will be reaching out to all our clients when tax season commences, to walk you through the filing process. Please hold on to any personal tax documents you have to send us until we request them at the beginning of March.

June 16th - Self Employed Personal Tax & GST Filing Deadline

If you are self employed, both you and your spouse's deadline for filing personal taxes is June 15th, but as it lands on a weekend, will be pushed to June 16th. If you have a GST account, your GST filing is due the same day. The same 10-day rule as above will apply to documents being submitted before the filing deadline.

February 28th - T4/T5 Filing Deadline

CRA requires that all 2024 T4s and T5s are filed on time for yourself and your staff, and will often charge penalties if this deadline is missed.

March 31st - Medical/Benefit Expenses Claimed

Please ensure you have processed claims for all of your 2024 medical expenses to your formal Group Benefits Plan, Plan Direct Resources, or MyHSA. If you have any questions on how to make these claims please don’t hesitate to reach out to our office and we can walk you through the process.

March 31st - GST Filing Deadline (for Dec year end Corporations only)

For corporations with December year ends, GST filings and amounts owing are both due at the end of March. Please keep this in mind when gathering your corporate tax documents to submit for filing. We encourage all clients to be proactive in collecting the required information to allow adequate preparation time for GST filings and estimates on amounts owing.

*** Corporate Year End Deadlines ***

As most of you are aware; corporate tax returns are due 6 months after the company's year-end date, and amounts owing on corporate tax returns will begin accruing interest 3 months after the year end date if they are not paid (2 months for companies that do not qualify for the Small Business Deduction). We cannot guarantee on-time filing for any returns that have submitted their complete year end documents less than 45 days prior to the company's filing due date. Please keep this timeline in mind when submitting required information and responding to queries.

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Disclaimer

We have included in this company update general information and commentary on financial planning, accounting, tax and wealth management topics that we think may be of interest to you. Although we do our best to provide accurate information, we cannot guarantee that what you read will be applicable to your personal situation. This update is NOT to be considered or used as financial advice, and any implementation of investment, accounting, or financial planning strategies should be discussed with your advisory team first.

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