Our government is committed to recognizing the sacrifices that many Canadians make to care for their loved ones with medical conditions. The Family Caregiver Tax Credit is a non-refundable credit, which is 15% credit on an amount of $2058, meaning you could qualify for up to $220.83 per month, per dependent. This credit was created by the Federal Government to help Canadians who take care of family members. It allows caregivers to claim an additional amount for dependents who have impairments in physical or mental functions. Those dependents can be your spouse, common-law, partner, child, or another relative.

If at anytime during 2014, you maintained a residence where you, and the person you supported lived (excluding spouse or partner), you may be eligible to claim a maximum amount of $4530 under the Caregiver Amount, for each eligible dependent.

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Children need to be active in order to not only promote their healthy growth, but it is also a way of making exercise enjoyable and a social activity. Art allows children to have creative experiences that are fundamental to the building blocks of children development and encourages children to express themselves. That is why our government has the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit & Children’s Arts Tax Credit to allow parents to claim up to $500 per child under the age of 16 against the fees of sports and programs. For more info, contact us!

This credit is great for first time charity donors! However, this credit also benefits individuals if neither they nor their spouse has claimed the Charitable Donations Tax Credit since 2007. The new first-time donor’s super credit gives you an extra 25% non-refundable federal tax credit when you claim your charitable donation tax credit. This means that you can get a 40% credit for up to $200 in cash donations and a 54% credit for the part of the cash donations that is over $200, but not more than $1,000. This is in addition to the provincial credit. For more info, contact us!

There’s nothing quite like owning your first home. Buying your first home is exciting and is also an expensive purchase. To help Canadians save for their first big purchase, the government has created a program known as The Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP). The HBP allows you to withdraw funds from your RRSP to buy or build a qualifying home for yourself or for a related person with a disability. You can withdraw up to $25,000 in a calendar year! Generally, you have to repay all your withdrawals to your RRSP within a period of no more than 15 years. Your first home is more attainable than you think. For more info, contact us!

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RRSP provides Canadians with an opportunity to invest in their futures by saving for their retirement. A RRIF is an extension of the RRSP. While your RRSP is used to save for your retirement, a RRIF is used to systematically draw income during your retirement. However, once an RRSP is converted into a RRIF, you can no longer make contributions and you are required to make a minimum annual withdrawal, as set out by Federal regulations. The funds you withdraw from your RRIF are taxable as this amount is added to your taxable income for that year. Our government has increased the age limit for converting RRSP’s to RRIF’s from 69 to 71. This tax saving is great for Canadian Seniors. For more info, contact us!

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Pension Income Splitting helps ease the tax burden to Canadian Pensioners. Generally, individuals who are 65 or older can allocate for tax purposes up to a maximum of 50% of the annual income received from a lifetime annuity, registered pension plan, RRSP annuity, registered retirement income fund (RRIF), or deferred profit sharing plan annuity to a spouse. In addition, the receiving spouse is not required to be 65 or older to receive an allocation. The amount allocated can be changed each year for the benefit of the couple. This is great news for senior couples! To find out more, contact us!

Video via the Canada Revenue Agency.

Many students know that getting a good education can be quite costly. Various students work hard to excel in their studies and are often rewarded for their efforts with bursaries and scholarships. To help ease the financial burden many students face, our government is exempting scholarships, fellowships, and bursaries from their income. For more info, contact us!

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This deduction helps families deduct child care expenses from their income earned. Many families incur expenses throughout the year to have someone look after their child in order to earn income from employment, operate a business, attend school, or conduct research. The current maximum amount that can be claimed under the CCED each year is limited to the following:

• The total amount spent on child care expenses;
• 2/3 of the lower-income taxpayer’s earned income; and
• The total of the maximum dollar limits for all children, that is $7,000 per child under age 7, $4,000 for each child aged 7-16 (and for infirm dependent children over age 16), and $10,000 for children who are eligible for the Disability Tax Credit, regardless of their age.

The Government proposes to increase the dollar limits of the CCED by $1,000. These changes would apply for the 2015 and subsequent taxation years. For more information, contact us!

Video via the Canada Revenue Agency.

This benefit helps low income families. The Canada Child Tax Benefit is a tax-free monthly payment made to eligable families to help them with the cost of raising children under age 18. For more information, and to find out if you are eligible for these benefits, contact us!

Video via the Canada Revenue Agency.