Navigation skipped

2025 Tax Reporting Guide for BMO Nesbitt Burns

This Guide provides an overview of tax reporting for BMO Nesbitt Burns clients, information about filing deadlines, estimated mailing dates of tax slips, answers frequently asked questions about the annual tax season and provides other information to help simplify your tax preparation efforts.

What’s new for the 2025 tax year 

Summary of 2025 Tax Slip(s) you will receive

On an account level, this summary provides an overview of the tax slips you will receive based on the taxable distributions –including non-cash distributions— you received for 2025.

This document now includes the “Highest daily closing market value during the tax year.”

This enhancement was added to assist trustees of bare trusts determine whether the market value of the trust exceeded the applicable CRA threshold and requires additional tax reporting obligations.  Clients who have no taxable distributions in their account for the 2025 tax year will still receive a Summary of 2025 Tax Slips with the “Highest daily closing market value during the tax year.”

Bare trust 

The CRA’s enhanced bare trust reporting requirements was deferred and will now take effect for taxation years ending on or after December 31, 2026. For the 2025 tax year, bare trusts are not required to file a Trust Income Tax and Information Return (Trust Return), including Schedule 15 (Beneficial Ownership Information of a Trust), unless the CRA makes a direct request for these filings. The threshold for additional tax reporting for Family Trusts is over $250,000 and $50,000 for non-Family Trusts.

Capital inclusion rate

As announced on March 21, 2025, the Government of Canada confirmed the cancellation of the proposed increase to the capital gains inclusion rate. The capital gains inclusion rate remains at 50%.

Qualified investments

The Federal government announced a major overhaul of the qualified investment rules for registered plans—including Registered Retirement Savings Plans and Tax-Free Savings Accounts. These reforms aim to simplify the regulatory framework, harmonize standards, and provide greater clarity for investors and fund managers.

Effective January 1, 2027, the existing registered plan investment regime will be repealed and replaced with new categories of qualified investments, designed to streamline compliance and support small business investment. The new categories include:

  • Units of a trust governed by National Instrument 81–102, which regulates mutual funds and non-redeemable investment funds.
  • Units of a trust that qualifies as an investment fund under the Income Tax Act (ITA) and is managed by a registered investment fund manager under National Instrument 31–1031

2025 maximum annual contribution limit for Registered Retirement Savings Plans  

For the 2025 tax year, the maximum annual contribution limit for Registered Retirement Savings Plans (“RRSP”) is $32,490, plus any unused contribution room as at the end of the previous year. The deadline to make your contribution for the 2025 tax year is March 2, 2026. You can confirm your annual RRSP contribution annual limit by using one of the following CRA services:

  • CRA My Account for Individuals
  • Latest Notice of Assessment or Notice of Reassessment
  • Tax Information Phone Services at 1-800-959-8281

Taxpayers can contribute to their own RRSP and/or their spouse’s or common-law partner’s RRSP using a Spousal RRSP. Contributions made to a Spousal RRSP will reduce your RRSP deduction limit, and the total amount you can deduct for contributions you make to your RRSP and/or your spouse's/common-law partner's RRSP cannot exceed your RRSP deduction limit. While you cannot contribute to your RRSP after December 31 of the year you turn 71 years old, you can contribute to your spouse's/common-law partner's RRSP until December 31 of the year that they turn 71.

Registered Investments 

A list of all Registered Investments (“RIs”) as of December 31 of the preceding year will now be published on the Canada Revenue Agency’s website each year and will no longer be available in the Canada Gazette. For more information, please refer to Lists of Registered Investments (RIs) - Canada.ca 

 

Start the conversation

Connect with a BMO Private Wealth professional about your needs.

Contact a professional todayFind the nearest location