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Income tax benefits session 2015
- 1. INCOME TAX FILING INFO SESSION FOR FIRST TIME & RETURNING FILERS Updated: February, 2015 Presentation by: Sr. Planning Team
- 2. SCARBOROUGH CAMPUS STUDENTS’ UNION (SCSU) Elected Student Body Manage Student Center Own Rexes Den Advocate for YOU! Services • Extended health & dental plan • Discount coupons, Lockers • Discount TTC Metropasses etc..
- 3. AGENDA • What is involved in filing taxes in Canada? • Income Tax Clinic Dates and Locations • What happens after you file taxes and what are your responsibilities to CRA? • Questions
- 4. WHAT IS INVOLVED IN FILING TAXES IN CANADA? • Legislated by the Federal Government through the CRA • Self Assessment System • Individuals complete their tax return to: • Report their annual income • Claim a refund • Claim GST/HST Credit • In March 2015, we will file for the previous tax year (from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014) • Return for 2014 has to be filed on or before APRIL 30, 2015
- 5. CANADIAN PROGRESSIVE INCOME TAX SYSTEM
- 6. WHAT IS INVOLVED IN FILING TAXES IN CANADA? Completion of a T1 General • 2014 income tax package What is this? • 4-pg booklet • Schedules
- 7. SCSU’S FREE TAX FILING PROGRAM FREE Program to assist UTSC Students with the process of filing their taxes DATE– March 2nd – 13th, 2015 LOCATION – BV Computer Labs Allow for 45 minutes – 1 hr per tax year
- 8. WHO SHOULD FILE TAXES? ALL undergraduate students at UTSC • International students are considered temporary residents due to ‘significant ties’ to Canada • i.e. attending university in Canada • Belongings, clothes, furniture in Canada ALL Residents of Canada, are required to file their taxes
- 9. WHY SHOULD YOU FILE YOUR TAXES? No income ? (Jan 1st 2014-Dec 31st 2014) Still eligible to claim certain credits: • GST/HST Credits for being low income • Tuition Credits • Ontario Property Credits if you rent or live on-campus • Etc…
- 10. BENEFITS OF FILING TAXES GST/HST Tax Credit Eligibility • Be at least 19 years of age before April 1, 2015 What’s in it for you • $60-$100 FOUR times per year! • Paid every quarter (July & October 2015, January & April 2016) Ontario Sales Tax Credit (OSTC) • Be at least 19 years of age before April 1, 2015 • Paid every quarter (July & October 2015, January & April 2016)
- 11. BENEFITS OF FILING TAXES Tuition Credits (T2202A) • Using your tuition credits to eliminate or reduce the amount of taxes you have to pay when filing your taxes in the future Useful if you plan on working in Canada after graduation! Save on taxes payable to the Canadian government!!
- 12. PROPERTY TAX CREDITS Campus Residence You will receive an automatic $25 refundable credit when filing your taxes No need to keep you receipts as this information is available through ROSI Off- Campus (Renting) Students are eligible to claim a portion of the rent you have paid for the tax year when you file your taxes Typically students receive a $200- $400 refundable credit depending on total rent paid in 2011 To be eligible for the property tax credit, you must have rental receipts from your landlord that are recognized by the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA)
- 14. HOW WILL THEY KNOW WHO I AM? A 9-digit number to Identify you for tax purposes • A Social Insurance Number (SIN#) • An Individual Tax Number (ITN#) Must enter either SIN or ITN as identification for CRA
- 15. IDENTIFICATION – FIRST TIME FILERS Canadian residents are required to have a SIN number to file taxes International students can apply for a SIN at the local Service Canada Office (beside Scarborough Town Centre). International students must present: • A study permit that indicates the permit holder “may accept employment” or “may work” in Canada *; OR • a co-op work permit if you are a co-op student *NOTE: If your study permit says anything else, contact the International Student Centre’s Immigration Advisor Nassim at: nassim.yahyaei@utoronto.ca
- 16. FIRST TIME INTERNATIONAL FILERS ONLY International students who are NOT eligible for a SIN, must apply for an Individual Tax Number (ITN) immediately • Form T1261 * Even if a student does not have any ITN number we can file their tax return using 000-000-000 and attach an ITN application with their income tax and benefit return.
- 17. IDENTIFICATION – RETURNING FILERS • Expired SIN Cards may still be used for tax filing purposes ONLY • If you have obtained a SIN Card recently and you filed your taxes using an ITN last year, you will have to include a letter with your return informing the CRA of this change • If you have lost your SIN or ITN, please contact the ISC for further instruction
- 18. GETTING READY TO FILE YOUR TAXES Some things you need to know…
- 19. IMPORTANT TAX FILING DATES • Taxes are filed on an annual basis • All tax forms are due on or before April 30th of every year If you owe the Canadian government money and are late in paying: • You will be charged interest of 5% on your payments • PLUS 1% for each month up to 12 months
- 20. WHAT DO I BRING TO THE SCSU INCOME TAX CLINIC 1. Uof T student T-Card 2. Individual Tax Number (ITN) letter or Social Insurance Number (SIN) card 3. Passport (only required for International Students at UTSC who do not have an ITN or SIN) 4. Direct Deposit Information or VOID Cheque (Account #, Branch #, & Institution #) 5. Your Canadian mailing address for Summer 2015 6. Rental receipts for any off-campus housing or a copy of cancelled/returned cheques/money orders/bank drafts you used to pay your landlord
- 21. WHAT DO I BRING TO THE SCSU INCOME TAX CLINIC 7. T2202A – 2014 (printed from ROSI under “tax forms”) 8. T5 Slips 9. TTC Monthly Passes, TTC Weekly Passes, or Go Transit Monthly Passes and receipts 10. T4 Slip 11. T4A Slip for grants, bursaries or scholarships received 12. Any receipts of charitable donations you made 13. 2013 Notice of Assessment (if you filed your income tax return last year)
- 22. BANK DEPOSIT INFORMATION Call your bank and ask for: • Your Account Number • Branch Number • Institution Number OR Bring us a photocopy of VOID Cheque
- 23. SCSU INCOME TAX CLINIC Dates: March 2nd – 13th, 2015 SCSU Tax Clinic Dates & Locations Day Dates Start End Location Monday 02-Mar 09-Mar 9 AM 3 PM BV498 Tuesday 03-Mar 10-Mar 1 PM 6 PM BV471 Wednesday 04-Mar 11-Mar 11 AM 7 PM BV498 Thursday 05-Mar 12-Mar 2 PM 6 PM BV498 Friday 06-Mar 13-Mar 11 AM 5 PM BV498 Saturday 07-Mar 12 PM 5 PM BV498
- 24. IMPORTANT REMINDER!!! The Canadian Revenue Agency can choose to review your file for up to six (6) years from the time you file your taxes. It is important that you keep all copies: • Tax returns • All documents that you submit for up to six (6) years from the time your taxes are filed. If you can not produce proof and receipts you will be asked to: • Pay back any credits and refunds • PLUS interest from the date the money was issued to you by CRA
- 25. INFORMATION ABOUT ITN APPLICATION (APPLICABLE TO INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS ONLY)
- 26. CERTIFIED COPY OF PASSPORT FOR ITN APPLICATION • Bring your original passport, Study Permit AND completed ITN application to a Professor at UTSC • Ask them if they would be willing to make a photocopy for you • The Prof. must then sign the photocopy saying it is a “true copy of the original passport” • The Prof. must also sign and date the photocopy stating their position at UTSC NOTE: this should be free of charge BUT all professors may not have time or access to a photocopier to do this for you. You may also pay a lawyer or Notary Public $30-100 to make each “certified copy” – contact the ISC for a list of local lawyers and Notary Public officials you can use
- 27. MAILING ITN APPLICATION From: Student’s Full Name Address Toronto, Ontario M1C 1A4 <postal code> Canada To: International Tax Services Office Returns Processing Division 2204 Walkley Road Ottawa ON K1A 1A8 Canada Send by Xpresspost or Canada Post Registered Mail to ensure guaranteed delivery Standard Letter Costs $0.89 - -
Editor's Notes
- Speak about SCSU
- -The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) administers tax laws for the Government of Canada and for most provinces and territories -Canada’s tax system is based on Self-Assessment. This means that individuals voluntarily complete an income tax return to report their annual income and claim all deductions/credits that apply to their situation. Therefore it places a huge amount of responsibility to the tax payer to comply with the rules and regulations in filing their taxes. This include keeping all you receipts from previous years in case one day you get audited and the CRA asks for it. We will touch on this more later. GST/HST Credit tax-free quarterly payment that helps individuals and families with low or modest incomes offset all or part of the GST/HST we pay (read: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/rc4210/rc4210-e.html#P130_10387ible for this if you
- Explain Progessive Income Tax system
- (STILL THINKING OF MORE USEFUL INFO TO PUT HERE…)Must be completed and signed before you put it in the mail to send to CRA Once you signed, it is assumed that all the information is truthful
- (TO BE UPDATED BY ALYSON still..) Amalgamation of the ISC and SCSU tax clinics ISC in previous years only took international students SCSU in previous years helped domestic and PR students This year, we are helping all international, domestic, and PR students Last time we take someone is 4pm (6:00pm Wednesdays) If later, we will not accept them because it takes about 30-45 minutes to file taxes
- Required, no choice Anyone with substantial ties to Canada are subject to filing their taxes Being a student at UTSC, it is enough
- Get money back act as a reward and incentive How much depends on individual case
- Do not need to keep all your receipts because government has a calculation to determine how much you have spent Be getting a total of 8 payments a year just for spending an hour to file your taxes
- - Use credits to reduce taxes
- Can’t lie because government knows if you live in residence or living off campus Describe the property hand out Should not be paying in cash; should be paying in cheque, money order, email transfer, etc. ONE important point to remember here is that if someone does decide to claim rental credits – then they must keep their rental receipts for AT LEAST 7 years as the government can audit any person at anytime
- Legally required to give you Even if you did pay cash for your rent, you are entitled to a receipt Ask your landlord for it
- Canadian citizen and permanent residence will use their SIN to file taxes Can’t get a SIN card until you get your work permit, can’t get work permit until residing in Canada for 6 months
- If you are not eligible for SIN card, you will need to apply for an ITN number to file your taxes Stay till the end to learn how to complete your ITN form - Even if student does not have any ITN number we can file their tax return using 000-000-000 and attach and ITN application with the return.
- T1261 handout, fill it out and you’ll get a 9 digit number in the mail, starts with 09 SIN card starts with a 9 for international students ITN acts as a temporary number until you get your SIN card Take 4-8 weeks If have ITN and SIN => Bring both and we merge
- Due on April 30th every year Don’t let a stranger file for you unless they are certified, because even though they are doing it for you, you are still liable for what you mail to CRA No such thing as getting more back, only if they lie If the government figures out, its you that repays If you want to file yourself and not use the free clinic, we will help you find a certified CA or CGA to file it for you
- Need entry and exit information ITN and SIN Bank can print you a piece of paper that include these information Cheques will come in a brown envelop that says CRA with a Canadian flag beside it Have a Canadian mailing address because it will be sent out during summer
- T2202A can be found on ROSI after Feb T5 slip => interest income, auto print + mailed to you TTC => if earned, can offset taxes payable => usually useful for those who earn income Non-for-profit + registered charitable organization => used to offset and use as credit Notice of Assessment CRA netfile access code => if previously filed taxes and want to file electronically this year