Work is extremely busy with two tax return deadlines; US and Canada.
In the last month since my last blog post I have been given many more complex returns with upwards of 200 tax slips to sift through. This is both challenging and rewarding.
I am looking forward to May 2nd when busy season ends and I can gain a more balanced work-life relationship.
The job environment is fairly high stress but from what I've heard thats the nature of any busy season.
I have seen so many returns pass me that I will only generalize on what I have experienced.
The department I work in is very technical and deals with tax treaties for every taxpayer's returns we process. These come in many forms; from claiming a 401(K) deduction as a non resident of Canada to lower the tax liability for Canada. On the US side, any US citizens holding foreign assets outside of the country need to report them. If they have a Tax Free Savings Account or an RESP the amount of interest gained in the year, even if it is not distributed to the taxpayer has to be claimed on their US tax return as income.
I am dealing with clients daily that have a range of questions and I need to respond in a timely manner.
I also need to keep on top of my time and task list in order to keep it manageable. My task list right now can range from 6 - 30 tax returns on any given day and missing information not submitted by clients is a very common situation and I need to be aware if we have or have not contacted the client to request this information and follow up if we have not heard anything.
E-filing is mandatory this year and it has been interesting to be involved in the transition of the company. Many of the returns we do are disqualified because of non resident status. However, in the US the Federal return will be disqualified for non resident status but if the taxpayer holds a tax liability in a state it may still need to be E-filed.
Sometimes it is hard keeping all the information and procedures clear so I am constantly referring to our E-filing memos and company wide documents regarding technical positions.
I am amazed at how the long term staff keep their head and seem to have a pleasant attitude in some of these stressful situations. It looks as though the experience of going through annual busy seasons gives them skills to accept and deal with difficult situations.
I hope and believe I am gaining many of these skills right now.
Now I am off to enjoy my precious evening off! I miss you all in Lethbridge very much.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
March Update
Hello everyone,
I decided to do my update at the beginning of this month as busy season has hit me at work and it will be harder and harder to find time to write an update.
I have been doing returns for several weeks now and feel like I am getting hang of most of them. We all have a "task list" that tells us what returns we have been assigned to do and what type they are. The process of brining a return to a place where it can be reviewed, concurred and sent out is long and very detailed. I am learning about where I make mistakes by the reviewer points I receive back from the returns I have done.
I have mostly been doing the non-resident returns for Canada and the United States. On some of the bigger clients the individual returns look very similar. I am learning about sourcing compensation for days worked in the respective countries.
I am also learning how to analyze a clients filing position quickly. We are given a filing position summary for each person and then work along with that to file their returns correctly.
Busy season lasts a bit longer for this department because we don't only have the Canadian tax return deadline but also the United States deadlines. The regular return deadline for the states is mid April but other forms which are very common for expatriates like disclosure of foreign assets are due in June.
The hours are very long right now and I think it's going to take some time to get used to working for such long hours. I'm getting to work around 8 AM and getting home around 8 -8:30 PM for the most part.
I've noticed that every return is a bit different which means that all the way through busy season I will be learning new things.
I am corresponding with clients, requesting information and learning how to address their needs. A lot of the time I will forward any questions onto more senior employees because they know the position that the firm takes on issues much better than me and they request that we do so.
Now to get some sleep before tomorrow morning rolls around!
Miss you guys in Lethbridge.
Kathrine
I decided to do my update at the beginning of this month as busy season has hit me at work and it will be harder and harder to find time to write an update.
I have been doing returns for several weeks now and feel like I am getting hang of most of them. We all have a "task list" that tells us what returns we have been assigned to do and what type they are. The process of brining a return to a place where it can be reviewed, concurred and sent out is long and very detailed. I am learning about where I make mistakes by the reviewer points I receive back from the returns I have done.
I have mostly been doing the non-resident returns for Canada and the United States. On some of the bigger clients the individual returns look very similar. I am learning about sourcing compensation for days worked in the respective countries.
I am also learning how to analyze a clients filing position quickly. We are given a filing position summary for each person and then work along with that to file their returns correctly.
Busy season lasts a bit longer for this department because we don't only have the Canadian tax return deadline but also the United States deadlines. The regular return deadline for the states is mid April but other forms which are very common for expatriates like disclosure of foreign assets are due in June.
The hours are very long right now and I think it's going to take some time to get used to working for such long hours. I'm getting to work around 8 AM and getting home around 8 -8:30 PM for the most part.
I've noticed that every return is a bit different which means that all the way through busy season I will be learning new things.
I am corresponding with clients, requesting information and learning how to address their needs. A lot of the time I will forward any questions onto more senior employees because they know the position that the firm takes on issues much better than me and they request that we do so.
Now to get some sleep before tomorrow morning rolls around!
Miss you guys in Lethbridge.
Kathrine
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
February Update
So February is coming to a close and I want to make this update before busy season really starts to hit us at work.
Toronto training was very fun. I had a chance to meet employees of the company from all over the world (who have transferred to Canada) and get some more hands on training with simulations of situations/taxpayers returns.
For the first 4 or so weeks of work I have been doing training. This includes how to use the company's software and typical returns I will be faced with. These include but are not limited to: US citizens working in Canada and Canadian residents working in the US. Either way they will need to file one resident return and one non resident but sometimes they will need to file both full resident returns in both countries which brings up the complex circular Foreign Tax Credit (FTC). It sounds like there will always be a FTC but when an individual is required to file a full return in both places it gets a bit more complicated.
I am still leanring about it myself so the most I can say (and not to bore you readers) is that it is to prevent double taxation of world wide income because both countries require that world wide income be included in the return.
In the past week I have started doing basic non resident returns. I am finding it challenging to actually work with the software in real life situations but I am taking my time to understand what I am doing.
I am also learning some really great skills in terms of time management and the benefits of not multitasking!
Because I am required to account for my time on a small minute increment basis when I multitask I actually loose focus and cannot account for my time properly. I believe this will actually help me in many more areas than just work as I can concentrate and complete tasks quicker.
I have also started Bikram Yoga in the last two days and am feeling the burn! I want to be more active and become more centred emotionally and spiritually. Right now the classes are hard but I pushed through and went to my second class in a row!
I have a presentation in the staff meeting tomorrow on current CRA views on certain tax credits or important tax changes. I am a bit nervous but I have come to realize this is how I get before presentations and they always seem to work out.
I miss all of you guys in Lethbridge lots and think about you often.
Yours in Service,
Kathrine
P.S. the new office is really awesome; open and bright! I can also see the Calgary Tower from my desk!
Toronto training was very fun. I had a chance to meet employees of the company from all over the world (who have transferred to Canada) and get some more hands on training with simulations of situations/taxpayers returns.
For the first 4 or so weeks of work I have been doing training. This includes how to use the company's software and typical returns I will be faced with. These include but are not limited to: US citizens working in Canada and Canadian residents working in the US. Either way they will need to file one resident return and one non resident but sometimes they will need to file both full resident returns in both countries which brings up the complex circular Foreign Tax Credit (FTC). It sounds like there will always be a FTC but when an individual is required to file a full return in both places it gets a bit more complicated.
I am still leanring about it myself so the most I can say (and not to bore you readers) is that it is to prevent double taxation of world wide income because both countries require that world wide income be included in the return.
In the past week I have started doing basic non resident returns. I am finding it challenging to actually work with the software in real life situations but I am taking my time to understand what I am doing.
I am also learning some really great skills in terms of time management and the benefits of not multitasking!
Because I am required to account for my time on a small minute increment basis when I multitask I actually loose focus and cannot account for my time properly. I believe this will actually help me in many more areas than just work as I can concentrate and complete tasks quicker.
I have also started Bikram Yoga in the last two days and am feeling the burn! I want to be more active and become more centred emotionally and spiritually. Right now the classes are hard but I pushed through and went to my second class in a row!
I have a presentation in the staff meeting tomorrow on current CRA views on certain tax credits or important tax changes. I am a bit nervous but I have come to realize this is how I get before presentations and they always seem to work out.
I miss all of you guys in Lethbridge lots and think about you often.
Yours in Service,
Kathrine
P.S. the new office is really awesome; open and bright! I can also see the Calgary Tower from my desk!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
First Several Weeks
Wow!
So I am into my second week at the company and it feels like I've been there for weeks. My days usually consist of training and enjoyable lunch breaks. It's pretty awesome being so close to so many shops. I also feel truly valued by the company. I also have my own business cards!
So far the training has been how to use their software, which is pretty cool. Every piece of software is tailored to their brand and the work email is totally integrated. I receive emails about meetings and can accept them and then it shows up in my email calender and syncs to the internal messenger so when I am in that meeting, my status is set as "in a meeting" in the office communicator.
I get to change my phone message daily to let clients know where I am and when they will hear back from me (not that I am dealing with clients yet).
I am working in Global Employer Services in the tax department and get to complete individual returns for expatriates. This means I will not only be doing Canadian tax returns but also U.S. returns. I have been reviewing Canadian tax laws (which I covered my tax classes), but I am also learning about U.S. tax law. The U.S. tax laws are interesting to say the least, the basic formulas are similar but some of the different filing types are weird.
So I have been getting familiar with the special software for filing Canadian taxes, a different software for filing U.S. returns and another piece of software to manage both! Most of this was still just theoretical until the last couple of days. Since yesterday I have been entering in mock returns and playing with the software, both programs have user friendly features but interestingly enough, I like the U.S. software better so far. I haven't used the program for monitoring both yet.
The company is also sending the new hires (including me!) to Toronto at the end of January for a week of training at their office there. I have had to complete a New Hire checklist as well as a checklist to prepare for this intensive week of training in Toronto.
Some of the things I find weird about the electronic filing and programs are that everything is paperless and the programs do most of the calculations for you! A total change from the student occupation I had up until December. I am so used to having the paper return in front of me and a piece of paper full of lists and numbers and formulas to figure out, say, operating benefit of a company car. All you have to do is enter in the eligible dividends into a line and it figures out the dividend tax credit! I will probably find it nice in time, but I do miss those things right now. I'm also used to being able to spread everything out in front of me to combine groups and subsections of the aggregate formula and since its on my monitors (3!) I need to maneuver on the screen.
I am required to show that I have checked my work, or the computers work by placing a check-mark stamp by important figures. I also need to keep "working papers" as I go, dragging and dropping each file (forms such as T4's) into a PDF and bookmarking as needed so reviewers of my work can easily maneuver through all of the return information.
This blog could go on forever! There are so many different aspects to this job and I am learning so much.
I don't know how long my other posts will be once I get in to busy season. We are also moving buildings at the beginning of February!
This experience is really awesome but transitioning back to Calgary and away from home is tough. I miss all you guys so much and I miss my community. The people I'm working with are really awesome and are making the transition easier. I still think about you guys all the time. I also miss the super easy commute!
I watched someone try and parallel park downtown and hit the car behind him twice! I also am going to try and walk to work regularly but its been so cold I have only done it once so far (today).
Anyways, my next post will probably be a week or two into February, I will have started actual returns (hopefully) by then and finished that training in Toronto!
Until then!
So I am into my second week at the company and it feels like I've been there for weeks. My days usually consist of training and enjoyable lunch breaks. It's pretty awesome being so close to so many shops. I also feel truly valued by the company. I also have my own business cards!
So far the training has been how to use their software, which is pretty cool. Every piece of software is tailored to their brand and the work email is totally integrated. I receive emails about meetings and can accept them and then it shows up in my email calender and syncs to the internal messenger so when I am in that meeting, my status is set as "in a meeting" in the office communicator.
I get to change my phone message daily to let clients know where I am and when they will hear back from me (not that I am dealing with clients yet).
I am working in Global Employer Services in the tax department and get to complete individual returns for expatriates. This means I will not only be doing Canadian tax returns but also U.S. returns. I have been reviewing Canadian tax laws (which I covered my tax classes), but I am also learning about U.S. tax law. The U.S. tax laws are interesting to say the least, the basic formulas are similar but some of the different filing types are weird.
So I have been getting familiar with the special software for filing Canadian taxes, a different software for filing U.S. returns and another piece of software to manage both! Most of this was still just theoretical until the last couple of days. Since yesterday I have been entering in mock returns and playing with the software, both programs have user friendly features but interestingly enough, I like the U.S. software better so far. I haven't used the program for monitoring both yet.
The company is also sending the new hires (including me!) to Toronto at the end of January for a week of training at their office there. I have had to complete a New Hire checklist as well as a checklist to prepare for this intensive week of training in Toronto.
Some of the things I find weird about the electronic filing and programs are that everything is paperless and the programs do most of the calculations for you! A total change from the student occupation I had up until December. I am so used to having the paper return in front of me and a piece of paper full of lists and numbers and formulas to figure out, say, operating benefit of a company car. All you have to do is enter in the eligible dividends into a line and it figures out the dividend tax credit! I will probably find it nice in time, but I do miss those things right now. I'm also used to being able to spread everything out in front of me to combine groups and subsections of the aggregate formula and since its on my monitors (3!) I need to maneuver on the screen.
I am required to show that I have checked my work, or the computers work by placing a check-mark stamp by important figures. I also need to keep "working papers" as I go, dragging and dropping each file (forms such as T4's) into a PDF and bookmarking as needed so reviewers of my work can easily maneuver through all of the return information.
This blog could go on forever! There are so many different aspects to this job and I am learning so much.
I don't know how long my other posts will be once I get in to busy season. We are also moving buildings at the beginning of February!
This experience is really awesome but transitioning back to Calgary and away from home is tough. I miss all you guys so much and I miss my community. The people I'm working with are really awesome and are making the transition easier. I still think about you guys all the time. I also miss the super easy commute!
I watched someone try and parallel park downtown and hit the car behind him twice! I also am going to try and walk to work regularly but its been so cold I have only done it once so far (today).
Anyways, my next post will probably be a week or two into February, I will have started actual returns (hopefully) by then and finished that training in Toronto!
Until then!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)