Tens of thousands of Canadians have again broken the rules for a popular tax shelter, triggering yet another volley of warning letters from the Canada Revenue Agency.
The agency has sent about 76,000 Canadians a mailout reminding them of the strict rules against overcontributions to tax-free savings accounts or TFSAs - and demanding they pay more tax.
The number of problem accounts identified is down from the 103,000 warnings sent out in August last year, but up from 72,000 the year before, suggesting the overcontribution problem is becoming chronic.
About 15,000 people who got warning letters this June also received similar letters last summer, indicating a slow learning curve for some taxpayers.
A spokesman for the agency notes the number of problem accounts is a tiny fraction of all the TFSA accounts opened by 8.2 million Canadians by the end of the 2011 tax year.
"The proportion of individuals who received a proposed return [i.e., a mailout warning] was less than one per cent of the total number of TFSA holders," Philippe Brideau said in an email response to questions.
