TAX CREDITS and BENEFITS FOR INDIVIDUALS
Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) administers law tax for the Government of Canada and provides list of social and economic benefit and incentive programs to individuals, newcomers and residents in most of the provinces and territories. Some of the major tax credits and benefits for individuals are as follow:
CANADA CHILD BENEFIT (CCB): CCB is a non-taxable benefit for the eligible families to assists them to raise their children who are less than 18 years of age. In July 2016 Canada Child Tax Benefit (“CCTB”) has replaced by CCB.
The conditions to be eligible for CCB are:
Must live with child who is under 18 years of age
Must be primarily responsible of child
Must be resident of Canada
CCB benefits calculated based on the number of children who live with you, the ages of children, net income and child’s eligibility for the Child Disability Benefit.
CHILD DISABILITY BENEFIT (CDB): CDB is a tax-free benefit for families who care for a child under age 18 who is eligible for the disability tax credit.
To be eligible for the CDB, the child must have a severe and prolonged impairment in physical or mental functions in continuous period of at least 12 months.
CHILDREN’S ACTIVITY TAX CREDIT: By this credit parents can reduce or eliminate the amount of tax owe to CRA.
To be eligible for the credit for a taxation year you need to:
Resident of Ontario
You or your spouse or common-law partner paid fees in that year to register your child
The tax credit covers fitness (muscular endurance, flexibility etc.) and non-fitness activities (instruction in music, language instruction, visual arts etc.) registration and membership fees.
As of January 1, 2017, the Children's Activity Tax Credit will no longer be available.
GOOD and SERVICES TAX/ HARMONIZED SALES TAX (GST/HST) CREDIT: Since 2014 CRA automatically determines eligibility for GST/HST credit when individuals file their tax return.
To be eligible for the credit you need to be resident of Canada in the month prior to and at the beginning of the month in which the GST/HST credit is issued and at least one of the following applies:
19 years of age or older before the month in which the CRA issues payment
Have (or previously had) a spouse or common-law partner
Be (or previously were) a parent and live (or previously lived) with your child
ONTARIO TRILLIUM BENEFIT (OTB): The OTB is not taxable benefit and it is combined payments of following three components:
The Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit (OEPTC)
The Northern Ontario Energy Credit (NOEC)
The Ontario Sales Tax Credit (OSTC)
To be eligible for the credit, you must file your income tax and benefit return and apply.
All three components, OEPTC, NOEC and OSTC have different factors and sub-components to apply and to be eligible. And also each of them has different calculations and rates for the payments.
ONTARIO CHILD BENEFIT (OCB): OCB is a non-taxable benefit to assists families who have low to moderate income to support raising their children.
For the period of July 2016 to June 2017 benefit will be up to $113.00 per month for each child who is under 18 years of age and maximum payment is $1,356 per child per year. If the adjusted family net income is above $20,706, individual may receive a partial benefit.
WORKING INCOME TAX BENEFIT (WITB): WITB is a refundable tax credit for eligible working low-income individuals and families.
The WITB is calculated based on the marital status; province or territory of residence; working income; net income; eligible dependant; and eligibility for the WITB disability supplement.
You are eligible for the WITB if:
Working income is over $3,000
19 years of age or older on December 31st
Resident of Canada
All benefits and credits calculated based on your tax return and information provided to CRA and information should up to date and let CRA know as soon as possible if marital status and address has changed.
To receive benefit payments directly into your account, you can apply Direct Deposit by creating profile, My Account, in CRA web site or fill up the form when CRA send along with cheque.
Contact us: For more information on the individual tax credit and benefits contact us at 647-861-2099 or send email to info@globalabcservices.com to book a free consultation.
