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  7. Ready for Tax Season? Don’t Delay any Longer! (by H&R Block Canada) + Giveaway (Canada)

Ready for Tax Season? Don’t Delay any Longer! (by H&R Block Canada) + Giveaway (Canada)

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This post on preparing to tax season is brought to you by H&R Block Canada.

ready-for-tax-season-hr-block-canada

The Boy Scouts are right –Be Prepared.  While spring may still seem ages from now, it will creep up on you faster than you want to believe. That also means the deadline for your 2013 tax return is also fast approaching. The best tactic is to get everything ready well in advance of the April 30 deadline.

 Tips for a less stressful tax season

Caroline Battista, tax analyst for H&R Block Canada, offers the following insight and tips to help make this tax season a little less stressful:

Set the stage

  • Pick a central place: Tax paperwork comes throughout the year. Charities send electronic receipts immediately and you can collect receipts for deductions like the Children’s Fitness Credit year round. Make sure you keep all of the paperwork in one place so you have it when you file.
  • Start now: If you throw all of your tax-related information into a shoebox or drawer, do not wait until April 30 to open it and review your slips. Stay on top of your paperwork throughout the year to avoid unfortunate surprises like faded receipts, missing documentation and, worst of all, underestimated taxes.
  • Keep a record: If you are self-employed, record payments you receive, business-related purchases you’ve made, and what their business purpose was. Also track phone and Internet usage if you’re using a home connection for business – the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) assumes these are also used for personal purposes, so you can only write off an appropriate percentage. If you use your car for business, document personal and business mileage separately.

For the “firsts” in 2013

  • Celebrating your new mortgage: First-time home buyers can claim a $5,000 credit, which translates into $750 in tax savings. And the credit can be split between a couple if they are both first-time home buyers. There is no specific receipt needed to make this claim – you just need to have the paperwork to prove you bought a house in 2013 if the Canada Revenue Agency asks. And if you borrowed from your RRSP for your down payment, you have two years before the CRA will ask you to start your repayments.
  • Welcoming a new addition: Most hospitals automatically register your newborn with the CRA to ensure you start receiving all the new parent benefits.
    • Canada Child Tax Benefit: Monthly payment is determined by household income and is meant to help with the cost of raising a child.
    • Universal Child Care Benefit: Until the age of six, parents will receive $100 a month to help with childcare costs. This income is taxable.
    • Child Tax Credit: Parents can claim $2,234 per child in 2013 for $335 in tax savings.
    • Maternity leave: New parents need to remember that EI income is taxable and can result in a tax bill at the end of the year depending on when the baby was born.
    • RESP: Post-secondary education may seem like a long way off but deposits into a Registered Education Savings Plan can qualify for the Canadian Education Savings Grant, so it may be best to start early.

For the sandwich generation

  • Benefits for caregivers: If you have a parent or parents who are older than 65, have less than $19,435 in income and are living with you, you should be able to claim the caregiver amount. The key is that they must live with you. Sending money from afar to support them does not qualify. You can also claim parents under the age of 65 if they are dependent on you due to an infirmity. In this case the income threshold will be $21,864. The caregiver amount is increased by the $2,040 family caregiver amount when the dependant is infirm.
  •  Disability Tax Credit: If your parent qualifies for the Disability Tax Credit but does not have sufficient taxable income to take advantage of it, they may be able to transfer the unused amount to you. They must depend on you for all or some of the basic necessities of life for the transfer to be allowed.
  • Nursing home expenses: For full-time care in a nursing home, there is no limit on the total expenses that your parents can claim as medical expenses for themselves. If you pay for your parents’ nursing home fees, you may be able to claim them as a medical expense, however you will be subject to limits. It is important to know however that you cannot claim both nursing home fees and the disability tax credit, so it may be more beneficial to restrict your claim to the attendant-care portion of the fees to the extent that they do not exceed $10,000.

Students in the house

  • Get credit for textbooks: Post-secondary students may claim $65 for every month they qualify for the education amount. Part-time students can claim $20 per qualifying month. But the credit does not depend on how many textbooks you purchase – it is standard for every student who qualifies.
  • Get on the bus: Students who depend on transit to get to campus should keep their passes to claim the Transit Tax Credit. The program also includes some electronic tickets and weekly passes purchased for four consecutive weeks. You need the receipts and transit passes to back up your claim.
  • Tuition credits add up: No matter who paid the tuition, the student will receive a T2202A for the amount of tuition paid for 2012. If you do not receive a T2202A, you cannot claim tuition. The form allows you to claim tuition and education amounts as well as the Textbook Tax Credit.

The key to getting ready for taxes?  Make sure you do your homework as you start preparing the paperwork to avoid missing out on any money-saving credits. In addition, use tax preparation software, like H&R Block Tax Software, which guides Canadians thorough step-by-step tips to identify every possible deduction or credit, calculates your return as you go, and ensures you get your maximum refund. If you aren’t comfortable doing your own taxes, visit an H&R Block office and a tax professional will review your return for free.

Want to keep up with tax season news? Follow H&R Block on Twitter and Facebook!

H&R Block Giveaway

ready-for-tax-season-hr-block-canada

Enter below for a chance to win one of two codes for the PC version of H&R Block Tax Return Software, which allows you to file multiple returns. Remember, until March 31st, the online version is free for everyone.  Giveaway is open to Canadian residents, age of majority. Void where prohibited. Ends March 6th.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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About Olfa Turki

Olfa Turki is a chartered accountant, a wife and a mom! She loves cooking with the kids, biking, reading books and drinking lots of coffee! Olfa now balances her family life with ownership and backend administration of websites such as MyKidsGuide.com, DogVills.com, LoveYouWedding.com .

Comments

  1. ksiegowy Bialystok says

    When we want to accountancy miami university come around.
    The material to be burnt will need to be careful
    about how you dispose of white goods, especially refrigeration products.

    Reply
  2. amanka75 says

    Claiming medical expenses.

    Reply
  3. Jennifer L says

    Taxes have gotten far more complicated with my husband’s new job – there are way to many things to enter!

    Reply
  4. Steve Bobula says

    Getting all the receipts gathered up and ready

    Reply
  5. Nicole says

    Keeping track of all those little pieces of paper!

    Reply
  6. Mark says

    finding the time to compile all the paperwork

    Reply
  7. Laurie B says

    My biggest challenge with taxes is gathering all the papers needed and finding time to go to a tax agency. Would love to do it at my convenience at home.

    Reply
  8. Tina L. says

    finding all the receipts and finding time to do the taxes

    Reply
  9. Amanda C says

    My biggest issue is figuring out if medical expenses are worth claiming or not.

    Reply
  10. Steve Bobula says

    Finding all my receipts

    Reply
  11. M Gibb says

    I always wonder if I included everything and claimed all that I could

    Reply
  12. Fiona Mullins says

    Getting everything organized!

    Reply
  13. Tricia Cooper says

    Getting the paperwork organized.

    Reply
  14. nikki robak says

    getting every deduction

    Reply
  15. Victoria K says

    Finding time to do everyone’s taxes

    Reply
  16. Brenda Witherspoon-Bedard says

    finding the time to do it

    Reply
  17. Deanna T. says

    Keeping track of auto related expenses for my business, oh how I detest it.

    Reply
  18. Raki A says

    Getting everything on time, especially since I had multiple short-term, part-time jobs last year.

    Reply
  19. andie says

    Getting everything in on time. Esp. when doing them myself.

    Reply
  20. Dayna Wilson says

    Getting them done on time!

    Reply
  21. Jennifer B. says

    Getting my husband to help.

    Reply
  22. Danielle Goulah says

    My biggest challenge is getting my tax papers in order and organized. I also always seem to lose or skip the spot where you input your ‘rent’.

    Reply
  23. Lyle Opseth says

    keeping all receipts and other information organized can make things easier when it’s time to fill out the tax forms.

    Reply
  24. Brenda Penton says

    My biggest challenge is finding the right lines to put certain things and finding medical receipts, etc

    Reply
  25. Josie says

    Just figuring out where to put everything and what’s really deductible or not

    Reply
  26. JAckie L says

    Tax season is not scary. Key is to be organized and take every deduction.

    Reply
  27. Jennifer L. says

    My biggest challenge is handling all the numbers — I’m just not very good with numbers.

    Reply
  28. Karine says

    Finding all the papers, receipts etc and getting it organized!

    Reply

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