Anyone have experience filing T3 returns for a joint partner trust. Client wants to avoid probate fees on their estate and also wants to prevent publication of the details of their estate. So, a joint partner trust is set up and all property transferred to the trust. All income is reported by the trust - rental income, investment income, capital gains. T3 slip is prepared to flow all income out to the individual. Problem is, a December 31 trust return is due March 31. See where I’m going? A good portion of the income is by way of T3 slips. Those slips will not all be received until early to mid April, therefore making it impossible to complete and file the joint partner trust return on time. Bingo.
See if you can get the monthly/quarterly investment statements and use those to prepare the return and T3 slips. This way the investment broker T3 isn’t the starting point but the end point (used for verification).
Med-March and afterwards try AFR. The deadline is February 28 for all sorts of slips to be received by CRA. That being said there is a solid chance it is in the system.
Monthly investment statements do a good job of recording transactions, but a horrible job of categorizing distributions. They either call it a distribution or a dividend. You never know the income type until the slips are generated along with the income summaries. There will be return of capital, interest, eligible dividends, other than eligible dividends, capital gains dividends, foreign income, foreign tax paid, other income. And these are all that come to mind at 10:30 at night. So, the slips are essential if you want to report the income correctly. I once had a client who started out with a well-known mid-size accounting firm. They reported everything, even non-tax items like return of capital, as eligible dividends. They had the returns completed by the end of January, there was a huge RDTOH built up, and their fee was low, because they short-cutted their work.
AFR works for slips that have been submitted AND processed, but it’s not an end in itself. And, February 28 is not the deadline for T3 slips. they are due 90 days after the trust’s year end, so March 31 for a December 31 year end.
Maybe CRA has a volume discount penalty schedule. Then, I’ll have my client make out 21 post-dated cheques for the life of the trust, and send to CRA.
T5 investment slips must be filed with CRA on or before Feb 28. T3 investment slips must be filed with CRA on or before Mar 31. Remain optimistic but request the investment broker statements just in case.
Happens every year. File an original, then file an amended return.
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