Taxpayers confident their returns maximize savings

Confidence runs high for the 90% of Canadians who say their 2013 tax returns will take advantage of all tax deductions, credits and savings available to them, finds a survey by BMO Nesbitt Burns.

Moreover, 70% plan to file their taxes before the April 30 deadline, with 25% having already filed.

Read: Quick tax tips for seniors

Taxpayers are most aware of how their income is taxed generally (77%) and the tax implications of contributing to a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (75%).

However, they’re less confident of their understanding how investments are taxed: 41% are familiar with taxes on capital gains and dividend income.

Read: 7 handy tax return tips from Golombek

What are Canadians planning to do with their refunds?

• 37% will cover household bills
• 28% will save or invest
• 13% will fund vacations or purchase leisure items.
• 11% will do home renovations.
• Less than 10% will pay down their mortgages.
• 3% will donate to charitable causes.

Read: Don’t make estate administration mistakes

Regional Breakdown:

The survey was conducted by Pollara between March 14th and March 17th, 2014 with an online sample of 1,007 Canadians. The margin of error for a probability sample of this size is ± 3.1%, 19 times out of 20.

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.