- February payroll liabilities due March 15.

- If you have a December 31 year-end and if the Annual General Meeting has taken place, finalize any necessary changes to the financial reports and budget.

- Produce enough copies of these documents to: (1) file in your archives, (2) give to each director and trustee, (3) use as a working copy when completing the T3010, (4) attach to the T3010 when submitting to CRA, (5) give to any other parties requiring a copy as per your denomination or constitution, and (6) provide to your financial institution if they require a copy for your loan or your mortgage file.

- Review bank records to ensure there are no outstanding cheques or concerns from 2018.

- Once all 2018 files are completed, prepare them for storage and record the dates when each file's retention date expires.

- January payroll liabilities due February 15.

- T4s, T4As etc. must be given to employees and other individuals providing services no later than February 28.

- Copies of all T4s, T4As etc. and their respective Summaries must be sent to CRA no later than February 28.

- Provide all donors with their charitable tax receipts no later than February 28. If you have a fiscal year-end that is not December 31st, you must still complete charitable tax receipts for all donors because these receipts are based on the calendar year of January 01 to December 31.

- If you have not already done so, submit your application for the GST/HST Rebate.

The following are for those with a December 31 year-end:

- If using the accrual bookkeeping method, pay close attention when reconciling the January and February bank statements to ensure all expenses are credited to the proper year.

- Finalize financial statements in preparation for the Annual General Meeting.

- Prepare a list of counters for the offering counting teams to be used during the upcoming year and have this list approved by the new Board after the Annual General Meeting.

- Prepare a counting team schedule as far in advance as possible in order to assist the counters with planning to be available when needed.

- December payroll liabilities due January 15.

- Have books audited and prepared for the Annual General Meeting if you have a December 31 year end.

- Begin processing 2018 charitable tax receipts for donors.

- Apply for your HST Rebate if you are in a participating province and for all other provinces apply for your GST Rebate.

(Participating provinces are Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Ontario.)

The Department of Finance Canada announced on December 27, 2018 the income tax deduction limits and expense benefit rates that will apply in 2019 when using an automobile for business purposes.

The limit on the deduction of tax-exempt allowances paid by employers to employees using their personal vehicle for business purposes during 2019 will be increased by 3 cents to 58 cents per kilometre for the first 5,000 kilometres driven and to 52 cents for each additional kilometre.

The rates for the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon are traditionally set 4 cents higher and they will increase to 62 cents per kilometre for the first 5,000 kilometres driven and 56 cents for each additional kilometre.

While the above information will be sufficient for most churches, additional details for specific situations including standby charges for the personal use of an employer provided vehicle, capital cost allowance, leasing costs, interest costs, etc. may be viewed on the Department of Finance Canada website.

On October 31, 2018 the Canada Revenue Agency released a document outlining what we can expect for the future of the Canada Pension Plan and the expected rate increases for contributions from employees and employers. The rate of 4.95% has been constant for several years and on Januray 1, 2019 we will see an increase of 0.15% to bring the new rate to 5.1%. There will be additional increases each year for at least the next seven years.

Full particulars, including the future rate increases, may be viewed on the CRA website at: The Canada Pension Plan Enhancement.