u/elbow-macaroni-42

I have been an AA milage member for years... dating back to 1990 when I started frequently flying for business on my companies nickel. My spouse and I are retired now, and we have been maintaining Executive Platinum status for 5+ years.

I know that Alaska has ended their status match for AA 18 odd months ago, but we have found that Alaska treats us much better as AA/OneWorld elite members than AA does anymore.

So is it better to stay with AA? Or should we pick a date to get an Atmos credit card (we currently hold the AA Executive Platinum card) and start flying almost exclusively Alaska? We already get complimentary Alaska upgrades maybe 33-50% of the time with our AA status, but with companion fares etc, Atmos is looking pretty tempting.

I suspect that it would take most of a year to restore the equivalent status level, and we still have something like 300K award miles banked with AA... Has anyone done this recently? Particularly after the status match ended? Timing hints?

Extracted from the current plus historical versions of https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/documents/json/flpt-en.json since January of 2026.

Minor improvement this month... About 600 applications from the backlog handled, but the April-2026 application total backlog number went up *again*, which indicates that some April applications just finally got AORs within the last month... so almost 5 months just for the AOR? Crazy.

Received	Sep	Backlog	Aug	Backlog	Jul	Backlog	Jun	Backlog	May	Backlog	Apr	Backlog	Mar	Backlog	Feb	Backlog	Jan	Backlog
Dec-24											1	1800	1	2400	1	3500	1	4600
Jan-25	1	1600	1	1700	1	1700	1	1800	1	2100	1	2400	1	3400	1	4600	1	5800
Feb-25	1	2300	1	2500	1	2600	1	2700	1	3100	1	3500	1	4500	1	5800	2	7800
Mar-25	1	3600	1	3800	1	3900	1	4000	1	4400	1	4800	1	5900	2	7100	2	8300
Apr-25	1	5100	1	5300	1	5400	1	5600	1	6000	1	6400	1	7600	2	8900	2	10200
May-25	2	6700	1	6900	1	7000	1	7200	1	7700	1	8100	2	9300	2	10700	3	12000
Jun-25	2	8100	2	8400	2	8600	2	8800	2	9500	2	9900	2	11100	3	12500	3	13900
Jul-25	2	9700	2	10100	2	10200	2	10500	2	11300	2	11700	2	13000	3	14500	4	15800
Aug-25	3	11900	3	12300	2	12400	2	12800	2	13500	2	14000	3	15300	4	16900	4	18300
Sep-25	4	14400	3	14800	3	15000	3	15400	3	16200	3	16700	3	18100	5	19700	5	21100
Oct-25	4	17200	4	17600	3	17800	3	18100	3	19000	3	19500	4	21000	5	22700	6	24300
Nov-25	5	19800	4	20300	4	20500	4	20900	4	21800	4	22400	4	24000	6	26100	7	28400
Dec-25	5	22400	5	22900	4	23100	4	23500	4	24500	4	25300	5	28200	9	40200	10	41000
Jan-26	6	24300	5	24800	5	25000	5	25400	4	26600	5	28000	8	41300	11	45900	10	42400
Feb-26	7	27400	6	28000	5	28200	5	28700	10	56400	8	45600	9	49100	11	47900
Mar-26	8	31700	7	32300	6	32600	6	33500	11	63200	9	54000	10	50900
Apr-26	25	100200	21	98700	17	90100	14	78100	12	68300	10	56300
May-26	28	113200	23	112100	18	94000	14	80100	12	70400
Jun-26	32	129200	25	117800	18	97500	15	82000
Jul-26	32	132200	25	119600	19	99500
Aug-26	33	134000	25	121800
Sep-26	33	136000

How to Read:

1. The Received column is the month your application was received by the IRCC, regardless of when they generate and send the AOR (Acknowledgement of Receipt). Each row refers to a month that applications were received, and in a perfect world, their position in the processing queue
2. The paired Month column plus Backlog column refers to the month IRCC made their periodic report in the form of the JSON file from where this data comes from
3. The number in the month column is the number of months IRCC expects to be working on applications from that month before reaching a decision
4. The Backlog column is the total number of applications in the queue ahead of applications received that month

Extracted from the current plus historical versions of https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/documents/json/flpt-en.json since January of 2026.

Still very slow progress... Only 200-300 backlogged applications processed since last month.

Received	Aug	Backlog	Jul	Backlog	Jun	Backlog	May	Backlog	Apr	Backlog	Mar	Backlog	Feb	Backlog	Jan	Backlog
Dec-24									1	1800	1	2400	1	3500	1	4600
Jan-25	1	1700	1	1700	1	1800	1	2100	1	2400	1	3400	1	4600	1	5800
Feb-25	1	2500	1	2600	1	2700	1	3100	1	3500	1	4500	1	5800	2	7800
Mar-25	1	3800	1	3900	1	4000	1	4400	1	4800	1	5900	2	7100	2	8300
Apr-25	1	5300	1	5400	1	5600	1	6000	1	6400	1	7600	2	8900	2	10200
May-25	1	6900	1	7000	1	7200	1	7700	1	8100	2	9300	2	10700	3	12000
Jun-25	2	8400	2	8600	2	8800	2	9500	2	9900	2	11100	3	12500	3	13900
Jul-25	2	10100	2	10200	2	10500	2	11300	2	11700	2	13000	3	14500	4	15800
Aug-25	3	12300	2	12400	2	12800	2	13500	2	14000	3	15300	4	16900	4	18300
Sep-25	3	14800	3	15000	3	15400	3	16200	3	16700	3	18100	5	19700	5	21100
Oct-25	4	17600	3	17800	3	18100	3	19000	3	19500	4	21000	5	22700	6	24300
Nov-25	4	20300	4	20500	4	20900	4	21800	4	22400	4	24000	6	26100	7	28400
Dec-25	5	22900	4	23100	4	23500	4	24500	4	25300	5	28200	9	40200	10	41000
Jan-26	5	24800	5	25000	5	25400	4	26600	5	28000	8	41300	11	45900	10	42400
Feb-26	6	28000	5	28200	5	28700	10	56400	8	45600	9	49100	11	47900
Mar-26	7	32300	6	32600	6	33500	11	63200	9	54000	10	50900
Apr-26	21	98700	17	90100	14	78100	12	68300	10	56300
May-26	23	112100	18	94000	14	80100	12	70400
Jun-26	25	117800	18	97500	15	82000
Jul-26	25	119600	19	99500
Aug-26	25	121800

My spouse and I both have Roth IRAs that we use to fund our lives. We are both early 60s, not drawing SS yet, and retired.

We do most of our day-to-day spending on credit cards that have billing cycles that end the first week of each month, so aside from a cash buffer we keep in checking, we generally set up a large transfer from each of our Fidelity Roth’s to occur on the last day of each month, sized to account for the following months spending. These are transfers from our Roth(s) to our external checking accounts set up from Fidelity.

This works correctly most of the time. This past month (and a few times previously) one of the transfers just didn’t happen. No notice… I just logged in to my checking account last night and didn’t see one of the transfers. Because I have large auto withdrawals (to cover CC bills) on the 1st, that means I have to pull money from a HELOC for a couple days to make up the deficit, while I re-request Fidelity for the transfer.

Extremely disappointed…. It’s only a few days interest (at 7% APR) but still frustrating.

And yes, I verified both transfers as “pending” more than a week ahead of time. One just silently disappeared and wasn’t executed.

Sorry for the delay while following the World Cup.

As others have noted, very little progress on the backlog this month, while new applications continue to flood in. I suspect that although they said only about 100 applications were affected by the suspensions, that it involved going back over *ALL* the CIT0001 applications already approved, and that it thus slowed EVERYTHING down. I also suspect that we will continue to see the affects of that in the form of a general processing slowdown for a few months.

The worrying trend for me is that the backlog for applications received in April-2026 and after continues to grow, indicating that in some cases the max AOR timeframe for new applications has increased to 4 months.

Edit: As has been noted in the comments, these numbers are for ALL proof of citizenship applications, including applications under the old (pre-C3) rules, and new applications that are simply the children born abroad to Canadian parent(s).

Received	Jul	Backlog	Jun	Backlog	May	Backlog	Apr	Backlog	Mar	Backlog	Feb	Backlog	Jan	Backlog
Dec-24							1	1800	1	2400	1	3500	1	4600
Jan-25	1	1700	1	1800	1	2100	1	2400	1	3400	1	4600	1	5800
Feb-25	1	2600	1	2700	1	3100	1	3500	1	4500	1	5800	2	7800
Mar-25	1	3900	1	4000	1	4400	1	4800	1	5900	2	7100	2	8300
Apr-25	1	5400	1	5600	1	6000	1	6400	1	7600	2	8900	2	10200
May-25	1	7000	1	7200	1	7700	1	8100	2	9300	2	10700	3	12000
Jun-25	2	8600	2	8800	2	9500	2	9900	2	11100	3	12500	3	13900
Jul-25	2	10200	2	10500	2	11300	2	11700	2	13000	3	14500	4	15800
Aug-25	2	12400	2	12800	2	13500	2	14000	3	15300	4	16900	4	18300
Sep-25	3	15000	3	15400	3	16200	3	16700	3	18100	5	19700	5	21100
Oct-25	3	17800	3	18100	3	19000	3	19500	4	21000	5	22700	6	24300
Nov-25	4	20500	4	20900	4	21800	4	22400	4	24000	6	26100	7	28400
Dec-25	4	23100	4	23500	4	24500	4	25300	5	28200	9	40200	10	41000
Jan-26	5	25000	5	25400	4	26600	5	28000	8	41300	11	45900	10	42400
Feb-26	5	28200	5	28700	10	56400	8	45600	9	49100	11	47900
Mar-26	6	32600	6	33500	11	63200	9	54000	10	50900
Apr-26	17	90100	14	78100	12	68300	10	56300
May-26	18	94000	14	80100	12	70400
Jun-26	18	97500	15	82000
Jul-26	19	99500

The June update shows something suprising: The March and February 2026 backlogs dropped by almost 30K... I assume that this means that Urgent applications were in the May Report, and that a whole bunch of them were completed.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Canadiancitizenship/comments/1tyn32v/rolling_ircc_monthly_progress_report_chart/

Disappointingly however, some of the longer waiting backlog numbers only moved by a few hundred.

I'm guessing these numbers mean that most of the urgent applications from March and earlier have cleared the system, although I still have recently heard from at least one urgent 2025 submitter that their application remains in limbo.

This includes Complete Post-C3 IRCC reported data for January through June. Thank you for u/Fiesty-Violinist for saving the March/April data before it disappeared, and u/cj4747 for saving partial January report.

According to the current IRCC May report, all of the straightforward application backlog submitted in Dec-2024 and earlier have been addressed, but that some more complex applications may remain. If I understand the data correctly then, the Backlog column is the number of "Application ahead" that are still assumed to be straightforward applications, and as the 1s move to 0s, I will stop populating those cells. The last "Backlog" number on the lower right of the chart indicates that months *total* backlog, and the number for that month is the IRCCs estimation for months "New Applications" will be waiting.

Thank you u/CynicalTaco for pointing me towards the Wayback JSON files

Edit: June report added

Edit: New months first... Thanks u/crazybee

Submitted	Jun	Backlog	May	Backlog	Apr	Backlog	Mar	Backlog	Feb	Backlog	Jan	Backlog
Dec-24					1	1800	1	2400	1	3500	1	4600
Jan-25	1	1800	1	2100	1	2400	1	3400	1	4600	1	5800
Feb-25	1	2700	1	3100	1	3500	1	4500	1	5800	2	7800
Mar-25	1	4000	1	4400	1	4800	1	5900	2	7100	2	8300
Apr-25	1	5600	1	6000	1	6400	1	7600	2	8900	2	10200
May-25	1	7200	1	7700	1	8100	2	9300	2	10700	3	12000
Jun-25	2	8800	2	9500	2	9900	2	11100	3	12500	3	13900
Jul-25	2	10500	2	11300	2	11700	2	13000	3	14500	4	15800
Aug-25	2	12800	2	13500	2	14000	3	15300	4	16900	4	18300
Sep-25	3	15400	3	16200	3	16700	3	18100	5	19700	5	21100
Oct-25	3	18100	3	19000	3	19500	4	21000	5	22700	6	24300
Nov-25	4	20900	4	21800	4	22400	4	24000	6	26100	7	28400
Dec-25	4	23500	4	24500	4	25300	5	28200	9	40200	10	41000
Jan-26	5	25400	4	26600	5	28000	8	41300	11	45900	10	42400
Feb-26	5	28700	10	56400	8	45600	9	49100	11	47900
Mar-26	6	33500	11	63200	9	54000	10	50900
Apr-26	14	78100	12	68300	10	56300
May-26	14	80100	12	70400
Jun-26	15	82000

Wow. Could not score good WC tickets (ok, I got Qatar v Bosnia) but because I am a Sounders STH, I have been offered EXCLUSIVE early access to see World Cup games in Seattle's Elliott Bay, on a converted gravel barge, paying stadium prices for beer, for $55 per person, per game. $350 if I want the terrace TV viewing.

Living the dream

So how does the penalty math work for Safe Harbor?

My income for 2026 (strictly from Roth conversions, and ordinary banking interest) will be well under my 2025 income (also from roth conversions, but also capital gains and NIIT) so I will not be shooting for 110% of 2025.

So I am using IRA withholdings to aim for 90% of my 2026 total tax bill. My spreadsheet tells me that my planned withholdings will be $34 over the 90% safe harbor threashold, of my planned total income, which will be about $3500 short of my total tax.

If my math turns out to be wrong by $50, what will be the penalty? If I am $50 short of the 90% safe harbor, will I owe a penalty on just that $50? Or will I owe it on the full abt $3500 tax due? And is there anyway to approximate what 2026 penalty rates will be?

I thought I understood how my Roth Conversions worked for transferring equities from my Fidelity IRA to my Fidelity Roth.

First off, I am talking about Traditional Rollover IRAs that are100% tax deferred (no taxes yet paid) 100% of which came from various 401k and 403b plans over the last 30+ years.

My assumption was that when converting lets say 40 shares of NVDA on 16-Jan-2025, that it would be recorded as a $5342.80 conversion (40 shares at a 1/16/2025 closing price of $133.57). I do that for every conversion, add them all up, and that should be reflected as box 1 and box 2a on my 2025 1099-R of my Trad IRA.

But that is not what is reported. It *is* reported that way for my Q1-2025 *statement* for both the Trad and the Roth IRAs, but it is a number somewhat less on the 1099-R. The result is a lower tax bill (which is nice) but is it correct? Will this be "corrected" at some point in the future? Will the 1099-R sometimes show a distribution *greater* than what was reported on the account statements, resulting some years in high than expected AGIs (affecting IRMAA, NIIT, tax brackets etc)?

What is missing from my understanding of Equity Roth conversions? Is it something to do with going ex-DIV?

So my spouse and I are retired (both in early 60s) and I have started executing my plan of yearly Roth conversions that will get us to the top of the 22% tax bracket each year, without going over. Our burn rate (not including taxes) is between 140-180 year to year, so we will almost certainly be in the 22% bracket for the rest of our lives. Even once we start drawing SS at 70, (and calculating for a predicted 85% taxability of SS) our drawings from IRAs will keep us in 22%. Maximizing Roth conversions then is sort of a no brainer for me.

Using Fidelity's tools "significantly below average" setting, my RMDs starting at 75 will not exceed needs, but with the "average" market setting, I will need to take RMDs well in excess of our needs.

Is there a tool that given everything Fidelity's planner takes, that can also accept a directive that I will be converting IRA to Roth every year? In the 10+ years before RMDs, I am pretty sure that I can get our IRAs down to the point of not needing excessive RMDs, but it sure would be nice to visualize that.

So I have just been reading up on QCDs (Qualified Charitable Donations), as part of my Tax Prep Volunteer self enlightenment.

My spouse and I are still a few years from 70.5, but they are always adding and subtracting their charitable recipients. I see an opportunity in a few years to move all this donation activity from their credit card to our collective Traditional IRAs (on a side note, they were hit by credit card fraud the other day, so I want generally less stuff being charged to credit cards as easy-to-forget periodic charges). We are *WAY* under any of the QCD giving limits, but also way under the amount of giving that would push us into itemized deduction territory (we are mortgage free and state income tax free as well). So QCDs will be very attractive.

I am also hoping to continue (past 75, when my RMDs kick in) converting Traditional IRA assets to Roth. I know RMDs need to technically be taken before Conversions. I suspect that *most* of our QCDs will be structured monthly, but it will probably make sense to switch them to Yearly donations that take place in January, which is when I also like to do our Conversions... With the hope that yearly RMDs get retired earlier rather than later at which point I am allowed to make a Roth Conversion.

Has anyone else been noodling about using QCDs to impact RMDs?