L'Association des anciens
de la Gendarmerie royale du Canada

ARE YOU TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ALL TAX BREAKS AND GRANTS

 

The following material was submitted by;

Rick Lawson Sgt. retired
Victoria Division Veterans Association
(works during the tax season for Avenue Income Tax. Oak Bay, BC)

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1. If you have not yet made a contribution to a Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA) will your contribution room be $15,000 for next year (2011)?

2. If you have T5 interest income can you reduce any Old Age Security and age amount (credit) claw back by using a TFSA?

3. Is Old Age Security clawed back when net income exceeds $66,335?

4. Is the age amount credit (65 years of age) clawed back when net income exceeds $32,312?

5. Can you go back 2 years to apply for a refund from the federal excise gasoline tax refund program if you have a permanent mobility impairment rendering the use of public transportation hazardous?

6. Is income from a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) eligible for pension income splitting?

7. Would you receive a larger tax deduction of 29% vs. 15% by deferring any charitable donations exceeding $200 per year over 5 years instead of claiming the deduction each year?

8. Can medical expenses be claimed for any 12 month period ending in the current tax year if it is more advantageous to do so?

9. Is $7,200 the maximum life time amount of the Canadian Education Savings Grant provided by the Government of Canada towards a Registered Education Savings Plan?

10. If you qualify for the $1000 grant per year for a Registered Disability Savings Plan do the grants end at age 59?

11. If a student does not need to use all their tuition tax credit to reduce taxable income to zero can those credits be transferred to a parent, grandparent and/or carried forward?

12. Assuming you have taxable income of $75,000 which expenditure gives you the biggest tax break?

A. Donating $250 to charity

B. Contributing $250 to a federal or provincial party

C. Contributing $250 to a TFSA

D. Paying a $250 tuition bill

13. Can certain unused non-refundable tax credits be transferred to your spouse or common-law partner?

14. Are annual premiums for extended health care, dental and travel medical insurance plans tax deductible?

15. Is the lifetime contribution limit for a Registered Disability Savings Plan $200,000?

16. If you have investment income are the tax preparation fees (tax preparer) deductible?

17. Can a taxpayer go back 10 years to retroactively apply for a disability tax credit?

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Answers to the above question dealing with "Are You Taking Advantage of all the Tax Breaks"

Yes to all questions and B for question 12.

Courtesy of Rick Lawson (works only during the tax season) and Fin MacDonald

Avenue Income Tax

Sim Takeda Chartered Accountants

210-2187 Oak Bay Ave

Victoria BC V8R 1G1

Tel. 250-595-1500

Fax 250-598-6445