It is said there are only two certainties in life – death and taxes.
But now, planning for death may reduce those inevitable taxes.
The Ontario government has announced that the new Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) to be implemented on July 1, will not apply to funeral and cemetery contracts signed and pre-paid prior to the implementation date. That exemption allows consumers who sign and pre-pay for a funeral or cemetery service before July 1 to save 8% tax.
Today, funeral services are subject to the 5% per cent GST. For example, consumers who spend $5,000 for funeral services currently pay $250 in taxes.
When the HST comes into effect next year, it will add $400 to the cost of a $5,000 funeral, bringing the total taxes to $650.
Increasingly, Canadians are discovering the value of funeral and cemetery pre-planning. Last year in Ontario :
– 87,855 people died;
– 19,276 pre-paid contracts were provided;
– 21.9% of funeral services were funded with pre-paid funeral contracts;
– 30,024 new pre-paid funeral contracts were signed;
The average cost of funeral services was $4,475 (that includes the cost of the funeral, visitation, body preparation, and services to have the body interred or cremated, etc.
It does not include taxes or disbursements such as death notices, flowers or cemetery charges.);
The average cost of direct to cremation was $1,614 (Includes the minimum services required to have the body interred or cremated.)
