Looking for ways to reduce the accounting fees associated with tax preparation?  Accounting firms generally charge fees based on time.  The more time spent on your file the greater the accounting fees will be.  The following are a few tips to help reduce the time spent on your file:

1. Organize your paperwork.  Although each tax situation is unique, there are several similarities to each person's tax return.  Organize your slips by: income, deductions, tax credits, etc. 

Obtaining a post secondary education is costly. Use that cost to your advantage and claim the Education and Tuition tax credit.

Not all the fees paid are deductible for tax purposes so be sure to access your T2202A. In most cases, these forms are no longer mailed out - they are generally sent to the student's in-box.

If you are paying for your child's eduction, you may be able to claim up to $5,000 of the costs by way of an education transfer. Your child must complete the back of the form assigning their unused credit to you.

When gathering your tax receipts to bring in, be sure to include your RRSP contributions for the first 60 days of 2012.  These slips MUST be recorded on your 2011 tax return - whether you claim them as a deduction or not. If they get missed, your return will have to be amended. 

You want to make sure you get the deduction for contributions as you will have to pay tax on these funds when withdrawn. 

RRSP contributions are usually claimed as a deduction when your income is in a higher bracket than it would be at retirement.  RRSPs are a great savings tool and can be drawn on, if need be during a low income year. 

With the abundance of paperwork a business owner is faced with, it can be difficult to keep track of the various due dates.  The penalties for being late, especially with Revenue Canada can be quite punitive.  Creating a 'Due Date' checklist can be helpful to keep payments and reporting on track.

The Due Date Checklist can be created using any number of programs.  Any program will need the same information. Start by asking yourself what you want to track.  Canada Revenue Agency is one of the more important 'payees' so list your obiligations with them:  HST, Payroll, Corporate Tax.  WCB will naturally follow if you have payroll.  If your business sells to other provinces they will also need to go on the list.