For Canadians who are working on filing their , it’s crunch time.
Experts say that with this year’s April 30 deadline approaching, there are many benefits Canadians are eligible for that they may not be aware of — but it doesn’t have to feel like a rush to the finish line.
“We tend to think of tax filing as a once a year sort of event, and then everyone rushes as we get closer to the filing deadline,” said Jeet Dhillon, a senior portfolio manager at TD Wealth.
“This does not have to be a stressful event.”
Dillion said looking at your past returns can be a good starting point.
“Go down that list, go down line by line, and then kind of think back to, ‘OK, what’s changed for me in the previous year that maybe wasn’t applicable last year but may be applicable now?’”
Ryan Minor, director of tax at CPA Canada, said if there is missing or unconfirmed information, “now is the time to track it down.”
“Do your best estimate and fix when you do have the info,” he said.
Here are four examples of things you might not know you can claim on your taxes.
In some cases, tutoring expenses can fall under the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)’s list of “other medical expenses,” which also includes vision care, prescriptions and orthodontics.
This benefit applies to Canadian individuals or students who have a learning disability.
“Tutoring services that are additional to the primary education of a person with a learning disability or an impairment in mental functions, and paid to a person in the business of providing these services to individuals who are not related to the person,” the CRA states.
“A medical practitioner must certify in writing that these services are needed.”
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“Tutoring is one that’s not intuitive because it doesn’t sound medical. There is a provision for it,” said Minor. “So, there’s a lot of things in there that are situation-specific that people may not know about.”
In order to be claimed, the CRA requires receipts and a written letter from an unrelated medical practitioner to certify that the tutoring services are required.
The CRA’s list of medical practitioners includes psychologists, behaviour analysts and speech pathologists, among others.
For Canadians who have sought out medical treatment outside Canada, Dhillon said it is important to keep track of everything to later see what can be received through benefits.
“For people that have insurance coverage, yes, that’s definitely a good thing, but not everything’s always covered through there,” she said.
“If you’re going to have to pay something out of pocket, and especially if you are going outside the country, these are still medical expenses, and one should kind of keep track of those.”
The CRA states that if “you travel outside Canada to get medical services, you can claim the amounts you paid to a medical practitioner and a public or licensed private hospital.”
Some of the medical treatments can include surgeries, cancer treatment and dental care, among others.
“The cost of the travel expenses, including accommodations, meals, and parking, when a person needs to travel at least 80 km (one way) from their home to get medical services,” the CRA states.
A “licensed private hospital” is categorized by the CRA as “a hospital licensed by the jurisdiction that it operates in.”
According to the CRA, students can “claim the total amount of interest actually paid on the qualifying student loan in the current year or any of the previous five years.”
In addition, the Canada Student Loans Act is a federal act that allows one to claim a non-refundable tax credit for interest on student loans. As a result, the act provides a tax credit with no fixed maximum limit on the interest paid on government student loans.
Any unused amounts can be carried forward for up to five years.
Minor said that this benefit is one that is “commonly missed.”
“If you pay student loan interest on a student loan that qualifies, if they’ve got the exact terminology, then it’s got to be a student loan, not a general or a line of credit sort of thing,” he said.
Students are also entitled to tax deductions such as childcare and moving expenses.
Donations to registered charities are also eligible to be claimed on your taxes.
“If you or your spouse or common-law partner made a gift of money or other property to certain institutions, you may be able to claim federal and provincial or territorial non-refundable tax credits when you file your income tax and benefit return,” the CRA states.
“Generally, you can claim part or all of the eligible amount of your gifts, up to 75 per cent of your net income for the year.”
Canadians can claim a tax credit on eligible donors such as registered journalism organizations, a registered national arts service organization, a registered Canadian amateur athletic association or universities outside Canada that usually include students from Canada, that are registered with the CRA.
Minor stated that Canadians have a five-year window to claim these benefits.
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