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INCOME T AX CHANGES & REMINDERS FOR 2015
Please read the paragraphs which are applicable to you.
Below is a summary of this year's tax changes and reminders to help you get ready for your income tax appointment.
This is a brief summary of common claims and should not be considered comprehensive because there are often
conditions that must be met for each claim to be eligible. Please phone us if you have any questions.
Tax slips or eligible receipts are required for all claims.
CHANGED: Universal child care benefit
(UCCB): The UCCB has increased to $160 per
month for each qualified dependant under 6 years of
age and there is a new benefit of $60 per month for
each qualified dependant aged 6 through 17. Please
bring your RC62 tax slip.
CHANGED: Child care expenses: The
REMINDER: Direct Deposit Required: The
Government of Canada is switching to direct deposit for
payments from all departments. By April 2016, the
CRA will no longer issue paper cheques to individuals
or businesses. If you have not yet established direct
deposit, or if you are not sure, then please bring a
cheque to your tax preparation appointment so we can
set up direct deposit for you.
maximum limit per child has increased by $1,000.
REMINDER: GST Credit: You no longer have to
ELIMINATED: Amount for children under
18 years of age: This has been eliminated and was
replaced during 2015 by the enhanced Universal Child
Care Benefit (RC62). Line 367 is now used only for the
family caregiver amount for children under 18.
apply for the GST Credit. When you file your return, the
CRA will determine your eligibility and tell you if you are
entitled to receive the credit. For couples, the first
spouse to file their tax return will receive the GST
Credit in their name (both returns must be filed).
CHANGED: Children’s fitness tax credit: This
Filing Deadlines: The CRA published deadline to
is now a refundable credit with a maximum $1,000
claim. The Children's Arts Amount is still a nonrefundable credit ($500 maximum). The maximum
Ontario Children's Activity Tax Credit is $541.
file your 2015 tax return, and to pay any balance owing,
is Saturday, April 30, 2016 (though historically the
filing deadline would be the following Monday). If you
or your spouse (or common-law partner) were selfemployed during 2015 then your filing deadline is June
15, 2016, though interest will accrue beginning May 1st
on any balance owing. Therefore self-employed
persons and their spouses (or common-law partners)
who won’t file their tax returns before April 30th, and
who may have a balance owing, should make an early
"payment upon filing" to the CRA before April 30th and
then file their tax return by June 15th.
CHANGED: Minimum RRIF Withdrawal: The
minimum amount that must be withdrawn each year
from a registered retirement income fund (RRIF) was
reduced during 2015. If you have re-contributed to a
RRIF please bring your contribution receipt.
CHANGED: Tax-free savings account
(TFSA): The TFSA annual contribution limit was
increased to $10,000 for 2015. It will be reduced back
to $5,500 for 2016. These are in addition to each
individual's unused contribution limit from priors years.
NEW: Family Tax Cut: Married or common-law
couples with at least one child, age 17 or younger at
December 31, 2015, may be able to claim a federal tax
credit of up to $2,000. The claim is made by the higher
income spouse and is more valuable when there is a
greater difference in taxable income. Note: this tax
credit is expected to be discontinued for 2016.
First Time Donors Super Credit (for
Charitable Donations): For 2013 to 2017, if you
are a “first-time” charitable donor, you can claim up to
$1,000 of donations made after March 20, 2013, for the
"Super Credit" in addition to the credit already allowed
for these same donations that you and your spouse or
common-law partner have claimed. To qualify as a firsttime donor, neither you nor your spouse or commonlaw partner can have claimed and been allowed a
charitable donations tax credit for any year after 2007.
For those who have been our clients since 2008 (or
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662 Upper James Street, Hamilton, Ontario, L9C 2Z3 • Tel: 905-389-3534 • Email: service@abbington.ca
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earlier) we will already know your five prior years’
donations. We can also acquire this information from
the CRA online for those who have named us as a
Representative.
RRSP Contribution Deadline: The deadline to
contribute to a RRSP and claim the amount on your
2015 tax return is Monday, February 29, 2016.
RRSP Contributions During 1st 60 Days of
2016: The CRA requires that RRSP contributions you
made up to and including February 29, 2016, be
claimed on your 2015 tax return. However, you may
still choose to defer some or all of the RRSP deduction
until a future year if better for you – please ask us how!
Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions:
As of January 1, 2012, the rules for contributing to the
CPP changed. The changes apply to you if you are an
employee or self-employed, you are 60 to 70 years of
age, and you are receiving CPP retirement pension
benefits. For more information check with your
employer, or ask us, or go online to
www.cra.gc.ca/cpp as well as
www.servicecanada.gc.ca/cppchanges.
Briefly, if you are under age 65 and receiving CPP
Retirement Benefits while still working (whether
employed or self-employed) you are still required to
contribute to the CPP (post-retirement benefits).
If you are over age 65 yet under age 70 and receiving
CPP Retirement Benefits you can elect to stop
contributing to the CPP. If employed, you may have
already provided to your employer form CPT30 –
Election to Stop Contributing to the Canada Pension
Plan. Please bring the form CPT30 to your tax
preparation appointment. However, if your only
income was from self-employment then do not use form
CPT30. Instead make the election on your tax return
retroactive to the month you choose (and make sure
you file your tax return by the deadline for selfemployed persons).
Family Caregiver Amount (FCA): If you have
one or more dependents with an impairment in physical
or mental functions, you could be eligible for an
additional amount of $2,058 per dependent in the
calculation of certain non-refundable tax credits. You
must have a signed statement from a medical doctor
showing when the impairment began and what the
duration of the impairment is expected to be.
The Ontario Healthy Homes Renovation Tax
Credit: This has been continued for 2015 to help with
amounts paid or incurred for permanent home
renovations. The credit can be claimed by seniors,
whether they own their home or rent, and by individuals
who share a home with a senior relative. Eligible
expenses are for improvements to the residence that a)
allow a senior to gain access to, or to be more mobile
or functional within, the home or on the land; or b)
reduce the risk of harm to a senior within the home or
on the land or in gaining access to the home or the
land. The expenses must have been paid during 2015
with a $10,000 claim limit. For lists of sample eligible
expenses and non-eligible expenses please contact us.
Pension Income Splitting: If you or your spouse
(or common-law partner) received pension or RRIF
income that is eligible for the Pension Income Amount,
you may be eligible to split the income for tax purposes.
If you received Foreign Pension Income please bring
your annual pension statement or bank statements to
verify the amount. Both spouses must sign a joint
election form for Pension Splitting. Jeff’s Note: this
does not mean that you should necessarily split the
RRIF/pension income up to the maximum amount, or
even equalize taxable income between each spouse.
Basic Personal Exemptions: The 2015 Federal
Basic Personal Exemption is $11,327 and the Ontario
Basic Personal Exemption is $9,863.
Age Amount: For seniors age 65 or older at Dec.
31, 2015, the maximum amount of this tax credit is
increased to $7,033 federally and $4,815 for Ontario.
Canada Employment Amount: The maximum
claim has been increased to $1,146 (worth $171.90).
Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB): If you are
eligible to receive CCTB payments, you must notify the
CRA of any change to your marital status by the end of
the month following the month in which your status
changes. However, in the case of marital separation,
wait until the separation has been for more than 90
consecutive days. Separated/Divorced Parents:
Each eligible parent in a shared custody situation will
get half of the Canada Child Tax Benefit and credit
payments for that child every month that they qualify.
Split Investment Income for a Child under 18:
A child under 18 may be subject to the tax on split
income in respect of dividends on shares of a
corporation. Any capital gain from the disposition of
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662 Upper James Street, Hamilton, Ontario, L9C 2Z3 • Tel: 905-389-3534 • Email: service@abbington.ca
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those shares to a person who does not deal at arm’s
length with the child (i.e. a relative) will be deemed to
be a dividend. This deemed dividend is subject to the
tax on split income and is considered to be an "otherthan-eligible" dividend for the purposes of the dividend
tax credit. Therefore, if a parent is using an informal
trust to invest for a child's future, redeeming the
investment before the child is age 18 will cause tax to
be payable by the parent.
Medical Expenses: Your family's combined
medical expenses must be greater than 3% of Net
Income or $2,208 (whichever is less) in order to claim.
Almost any payment made to, or prescribed by, a
medical practitioner may qualify as a medical expense.
These include payments for eyeglasses, prescriptions,
dental, orthodontics, mobility aids, premiums paid to
private health and dental service plans (including travel
medical insurance), attendant care, long-term care in a
nursing home, and many more. Eligible receipts are
required. You may claim the most expensive 365 day
period ending in the tax year (we’ll determine this).
Allowable amount of Medical Expenses for
other Dependants: Other Dependants may include
adult children, financially dependent parents living in
Canada, or any other family member for whom the tax
filer provides ongoing financial support and care giving.
Are you Self-Employed, a Landlord, or
allowed to claim Employment Expenses?: If
you have income from a business, profession, or
rental property, or if you are allowed under contract to
deduct employment expenses from your income, then
please email or phone us now so that we may email,
fax or mail to you some worksheets to help you get
ready for your appointment. Note: to be able to claim
employment expenses your employer must provide you
a completed T2200 - Declaration of Conditions of
Employment.
Get Certain Receipts Online: Some types of tax
receipts must be retrieved online. These may include
receipts for 1) tuition slips (T2202A) from a university or
college, 2) medical expenses for amounts not
reimbursed by insurance companies, and 3) fees paid
to an Ontario college or provincial association (for
example if you are a nurse, teacher or engineer).
T5013 - Statement of Partnership Income:
These tax slips are frequently issued after April 15th.
As soon as you have all your other tax slips please
phone for an appointment to start the preparation of
your tax return. We can later add the T5013 slip(s)
during a second appointment (and avoid the last minute
rush or a late filing penalty).
Investment Capital Gains (or Losses): If you
Disability Amount: Please tell us if you or a family
member (including at a different residence in Canada)
are markedly restricted in one of the basic activities of
daily living: speaking, hearing, walking, dressing,
feeding, elimination (bowel or bladder), or mental
functions necessary for everyday life.
First Time Home Buyers Amount: You may
qualify for this credit if you or your spouse (or commonlaw partner) acquired a qualifying home and if you did
not live in another home owned by you or your spouse
(or common-law partner) in the year of acquisition or in
any of the four preceding years.
To Executors of Wills: If you are the Executor of a
deceased person's Will, or if you know someone who
is, then please phone or email us to request our special
"Guide for Executors".
held mutual funds, stocks, or bonds in a non-registered
(open) account and sold the investment you may have
a capital gain (or loss). To claim it, we will need the
capital gain (or loss) shown on your account statement.
Otherwise, we need the full transaction history for the
investment holding. A capital loss can be used only to
offset capital gains first in the current tax year, then
carried-back to any of the prior three years, then carried
forward indefinitely.
Donations of publicly listed flow-through
shares: If this may apply to you please ask us.
Keep More of Your Money !
Please share this information with your family, relatives and friends.
Your business and loyalty are greatly appreciated. We look forward to seeing you soon.
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662 Upper James Street, Hamilton, Ontario, L9C 2Z3 • Tel: 905-389-3534 • Email: service@abbington.ca