What form do I use for my personal taxes and benefits?
Individuals use form T1 to report their income, calculate taxes owing, and claim a number of benefits & credits.
What are some benefits that I can claim?
Canadian law offers a number of benefits that are claimed via the tax system. The most common include the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), a monthly payment made to families to help them with the cost of raising children under 18 years of age and the Ontario Trillium Benefit, a refundable tax credit to assist low-income families. For a full listing of tax benefits that you may be eligible for, please click here.
What are some credits that I can claim?
The GST/HST tax credit is a tax-free quarterly payment that helps individuals and families with low and modest incomes offset all or part of the GST or HST that they pay.
What is the difference between a tax credit and tax benefit?
A "tax benefit" is a non-taxable amount paid to eligible taxpayers regardless if they do or don't have a tax liability.
A "tax credit" is the amount credited toward the tax liability that reduces the tax liability for eligible taxpayers. These may or may not be "refundable", meaning that if they reduce one's tax owing to less than 0, the government will pay this amount to the taxpayer.
What is the difference between a tax deduction and a tax credit?
Tax deductions reduce taxable income, which in turn reduces the tax owing. The amount that it reduces tax owing by will depend on one's tax bracket, which depends on one's income. In contrast, tax credits are applied directly against tax dollar-for-dollar, and so are not dependant on tax brackets.
What should I do if I have been denied tax benefits or credits?
You should contact a qualified tax lawyer as being denied benefits and credits can result in a large tax bill that you may not be able to pay. Where the CRA denis benefits, this may take effect retroactively, requiring you to repay that the CRA considers to have been overpayments.
