- February payroll liabilities due March 15. Since this date falls on a Saturday, the due date shifts to the next business day which is Monday March 17.

- 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 or 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 2013.

- Once all 2013 files are completed, prepare them for storage and record the dates when each file's retention date expires.

- January payroll liabilities due February 15. Since this date falls on a Saturday, the due date shifts to the next business day which is Monday February 17.

- 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. Links for the required forms and instructions can be located on our Links page.

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. If the meeting has already taken place, finalize any draft reports that may have been used as they will be needed for archive purposes and also for submitting to CRA with your Registered Charity Information Return.

- 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.

- Prepare a counters schedule as far in advance as possible in order to assist them 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 are on a December 31 year end.

- Begin processing 2013 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. British Columbia was a participating province prior to March 31, 2013.)

The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, today announced the automobile expense deduction limits and the operating expense benefit rates will remain unchanged for 2014.

The limit on the deduction of tax-exempt allowances paid by employers to employees using their personal vehicle for business purposes for 2014 will remain at 54 cents per kilometre for the first 5,000 kilometres driven and 48 cents for each additional kilometre.

The rates for Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are traditionally set 4 cents higher and they will also remain unchanged for 2014 at 58 cents for the first 5,000 kilometres driven and 52 cents for each additional kilometre.

The rate used to determine the taxable benefit for the personal portion of automobile operating expenses paid by employers for 2014 will remain at 27 cents per kilometre. The automobile standby charge for employer-provided vehicles, which is not affected by this announcement, is calculated separately and is also included in the employee's income.

While the above will be sufficient for most churches, additional details for specific situations including capital cost allowance, leasing costs, interest costs, etc. may be viewed on the Department of Finance Canada website.

For first-time donors, last week's budget proposes to introduce a temporary supplement to the existing non-refundable tax credit for charitable donations by individuals. The new credit can be claimed once from the 2013 to 2017 taxation years.

Yesterday the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) posted a Question and Answer type document which will assist you with answering questions you may receive from your congregation and other donors. The document can be viewed at: