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Estimate Your 2026 Tax Refund Before You File

Canadian Tax Refund Estimator 2026, Ontario edition Most of us find out what we’ll get back (or owe) only after filing. This year you can know in advance, and still do something about it. What’s different for 2026 The lowest federal tax rate is now 14% , down from 15%. The federal basic personal amount rose to $16,452 , and the brackets were indexed up 2% for inflation. Ontario’s brackets moved too, and CPP and EI limits changed. Together, that shifts your bill, so last year’s numbers won’t predict this year’s refund. The RRSP deadline is March 1, 2027 Contributions made by March 1, 2027 can be deducted on your 2026 return. At the lowest federal and Ontario rates, every $1,000 you contribute saves roughly $190 in tax, and more if your income is higher. The sooner you know your number, the easier it is to decide how much to put in. Run your numbers in minutes I built a simple Ontario spreadsheet for exactly this. Fill in the yellow cells, and it works out: Your federal and Ontario tax u...

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US Futures Fall as Rate-Cut Bets Get a Reality Check

 


US stock futures fell on Wednesday, signaling no let-up in a rough January. Investors’ optimism for interest rate cuts got a reality check, and worries about China’s economy grew. Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI) futures fell 0.4%, while S&P 500 ( ^GSPC) futures slid 0.4%, set to build on Tuesday’s losing start to the holiday-shortened week. 

Futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 ( ^NDX) were down roughly 0.5%. Stocks have struggled as policymakers push back against persistent bets that central banks will cut rates early and often in 2024. ECB president Christine Lagarde on Wednesday joined the likes of Federal Reserve Governor Chris Waller in warning that expectations of imminent loosening are too high. Another knockback came from disappointing GDP data suggesting that China’s growth is flagging despite stimulus measures. 

Oil prices fell amid fears of a pullback in demand from the world’s second biggest economy. Hopes now rest on quarterly earnings, with the season set to pick up pace, and the release of the December retail sales report later Wednesday. 

Fed officials have been keen to stress that their policy decision making will be driven by incoming economic data. Regional bank fourth-quarter results are in focus in the morning after earnings from Wall Street’s big lenders got a mixed reception.

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