When filing your taxes, there are numerous personal tax credits available that will help you offset the federal (and sometimes provincial) taxes owing on your tax return. We previously discussed how tax credits affect your balance owing. In this posting we will be providing you with some relevant information about a few of these tax credits.

Please note that technical data below has been taken from the Canada Revenue Agency Website at the following link:

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/tpcs/ncm-tx/rtrn/cmpltng/ddctns/lns300-350/menu-eng.html

Volunteer firefighters’ amount
You can claim an amount of $3,000 if you meet the following conditions:

• you were a volunteer firefighter during the year; and
• you completed at least 200 hours of eligible volunteer firefighting services with one or more fire departments in the year.

However, if you provided services to the same fire department, other than as a volunteer, for the same or similar duties, you cannot include any hours related to that department in determining if you have met the 200-hour threshold.

Note
As a volunteer firefighter, you may be eligible for an income exemption of up to $1,000 if you received a payment from a government, municipality, or other public authority for carrying out volunteer firefighter duties. If you choose to claim this income exemption, you will not be eligible for the volunteer firefighters’ amount. The income exemption related to volunteer firefighter duties is shown inbox 87 of your T4 slips.

Eligible services
Eligible volunteer firefighter services include primary and secondary services you provided to a fire department.

Primary services include:

• responding to and being on call for firefighting and related emergency calls as a firefighter;
• attending meetings held by the fire department; and
• participating in required training related to the prevention or suppression of fire.

Secondary services you provided as a volunteer firefighter to a fire department are also eligible, such as the maintenance of vehicles and equipment used by the fire department and the delivery of educational sessions undertaken by the fire department.

Calculating eligible hours

You must complete a minimum of 200 hours of eligible volunteer firefighter services with one or more fire departments in the year.
For the purpose of counting the number of eligible hours, the number of hours devoted to primary services must exceed the number of hours devoted to secondary services for a particular fire department.

Example

A volunteer firefighter completes 110 hours of primary services and 135 hours of secondary services for a fire department. Because the number of hours for secondary services must be fewer than the number of hours for primary services, only 109 hours of secondary services can be included (110 – 1 = 109). As a result, the total number of hours of eligible services is 110 hours of primary services plus 109 hours of secondary services for a total of 219 hours. This volunteer firefighter meets the 200-hour threshold.

Note
In general, you should rely on the fire department to determine the number of hours of eligible volunteer firefighter services you have completed in the year. The policies and procedures of a fire department would be applied in determining the number of hours you were on call for firefighting and related emergency calls as a firefighter.

Completing your tax return

If you claim the $3,000 volunteer firefighters’ amount, add the amounts shown inboxes 87 and 14 of your T4 slips and enter the result on line 101. Enter $3,000 on line 362of Schedule 1.

If you are claiming the exemption, report only the amount shown in box 14 of yourT4 slips on line 101.

Supporting documents
Filing electronically or filing a paper return
Do not send any documents. Keep them in case we ask to see them at a later date.
We may request certification from a fire chief or delegated official within the fire department to verify your claim. If we do, the certification must be on letterhead from the chief or delegated official of the department and verify the number of hours and the tax year when you performed the eligible firefighting services. It must also include your full name and the chief’s or delegated official’s full name, title, work address, and telephone number.

 

Canada employment amount
If you reported employment income in 2012, you can claim on line 363 of Schedule 1,Federal Tax, the lesser of:

• $1,095; and
• the total of the employment income you reported on line 101 and line 104 of your return.

Note

All income reported at lines 101 and 104 is eligible for the Canada employment amount.
The Canada employment amount provides recognition for work-related expenses such as home computers, uniforms and supplies in the public and private sector.
Self-employed individuals are not eligible to claim this amount.

Example

Joe is a cook and he received $35,000 of employment income in 2012 which he reports on line 101 of his tax return. He can claim $1,095, the maximum amount, on line 363 of his schedule 1.

 

 

Public transit amount
You can claim cost of monthly public transit passes or passes of longer duration such as an annual pass for travel within Canada on public transit for 2012.

Eligibility

These passes must permit unlimited travel within Canada on:

• local buses;
• streetcars;
• subways;
• commuter trains or buses; and
• local ferries.

You can also claim the cost of:

• Shorter duration passes if:
o each pass entitles you to unlimited travel for an uninterrupted period of at least 5 days; and
o you purchase enough of these passes so that you are entitled to unlimited travel for at least 20 days in any 28-day period.

• Electronic payment cards if:
o the card is used to make at least 32 one-way trips during an uninterrupted period not exceeding 31 days; and
o the card is issued by a public transit authority that records and provides a receipt for the cost and usage of the card.

Note

Ride/trip passes are not eligible for this credit as they do not provide for unlimited travel.

Who can claim?

Only you or your spouse or common-law partner can claim the cost of transit passes (to the extent that these amounts have not already been claimed) for:

• yourself;
• your spouse or common-law partner; and
• your or your spouse’s or common-law partner’s children who were under 19 years of age on December 31, 2012.

Completing your tax return

On line 364 of Schedule 1, Federal Tax, enter your total public transit amount.
Amount shown on a T4 slip – Enter the amount from box 84 on line 364 of Schedule 1.

Note
If your employer paid your public transit pass, it is a taxable benefit included in your employment income.

Reimbursement of an eligible expense – You can only claim the part of the amount for which you have not been or will not be reimbursed. However, you can claim the full amount if the reimbursement is included in your income, such as a benefit shown on a T4 slip, and you did not deduct the reimbursement anywhere else on your return.

Supporting documents

Filing electronically or a paper return
Keep all your documents (receipts and transit pass) in case we ask to see them at a later date.

What do you need to support your claim?

Your transit pass must display all of the following information to support your claim:

• an indication that it is a monthly (or longer duration) pass;
• the date or period for which the pass is valid;
• the name of the transit authority or organization issuing the pass;
• the amount paid for the pass; and
• the identity of the rider, either by name or unique identifier.

If the pass does not have all of this information, you will also need to keep receipts, cancelled cheques or credit card statements, along with your pass(es), to support your claim.

We will accept receipts (letters) generated by employers or Employer Pass Program Coordinators for employer transit pass programs. The receipt should note the purpose, exact amount received, date of payment, and name of the payee.

Generally, we do not consider a bank statement a valid receipt. However, if the statement clearly indicates the purpose of the debit (for example, Employee FareCard), we will accept this as support for your claim.

 

If you would like more information on the above we would gladly be able to assist you with your needs.