Debt consolidation

With prime rate being reduced to 2.95% within a week, advice on not to consolidate your debt remains the same.
While your line of credit’s interests rate is prime – 0.25% = 2.7% and the interest rate on your student loan is prime, your student loan interest paid will generate a tax credit that is equivalent to 20% tax savings. That makes the net interest payments on your student loan prime – 20% = 2.36% less than that of the line of credit.
Your student loan interest payment will be reported on line 31900 of your tax return.

Buying and Renting

With the current pandemic situation, the real estate market will inevitably be affected. Even though most of you have matched and know where you will be in July, holding off on signing a lease or make an offer on a new property would be advisable at this stage.
With interest rates trending downward, variable mortgage is likely to be a better choice.

Tax credits

The TD1 is used to report your deductions and credits to your employer (the hospital) so they would take them into account when calculating your tax deductions from your pay. If you do not report your credits, you will just get a refund in the following year when you file you taxes instead.
Some hospitals may not accept the TD1 for reporting carry-forward tuition credits. If that is the case, you will need to use the T1213 form instead.

Investing

We do not recommend timing the market but the market has indeed dropped about 30% from peak to trough year to date. It is indeed an opportunity to start investing.
My recommendation to clients who are in practice or residency is the same – ease into the market by investing consistently over a 12 and 24 month period with dollar cost averaging. This will mitigate the risk of buying at the wrong time. The goal is to participate in the recovery, the timing of which is unknown.

RBC MSO

Self-quarantine does not disqualify you from applying for the RBC MSO plan. However, anyone who has been tested positive for COVID-19 will have a minimum waiting period of 180 days before they can apply.
We are accepting RBC MSO applications and also trying hard to have all the RBC MSO policies issued as soon as possible in case RBC temporarily shuts down the underwriting operation. The turn-around time is 2 weeks at the moment.

Clarity MD Services