It’s abundantly clear to most of us that Canadians aren’t able to save much money for the long-term, given the high costs of housing, historic levels of household debt, the lack of workplace retirement savings programs, and many other factors. A new research paper, The Canada Saver’s Credit, suggests a solution. 

Supported through the coalition behind the Common Good Retirement Initiative and published jointly by Common Wealth and Maytree, the paper’s authors Jonathan Weisstub, Alex Mazer and André Côté ask: Why not have the government match dollars contributed to a TFSA by qualifying moderate and low-income earners?  Save with SPP talked about the research with one of the study’s authors, André Côté.

The Canada Saver’s Credit (CSC) concept is fairly simple, he explains. Those whose income qualified them for the program would receive a dollar-for-dollar match by the federal government for every dollar they contributed to a TFSA, with the maximum match of $1,000.

“We wanted it to be as simple as possible for the consumer,” Côté explains. “Processing would be done by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The definition is that if you are eligible for things like the GIS or the GST/HST credit, you similarly would be eligible for this; CRA would determine eligibility when you file your taxes.”

The government would provide the match (up to $1,000) based on the TFSA contributions the tax filer made in that tax year, and the money would appear in your account. Côté agrees that it would be similar to how the government matches, in part, contributions made to a Registered Education Savings Plan.

In drafting the report, Côté says recent research by Richard Shillington found that the average Canadian in the 55 to 64 age range had just $3,000 in retirement savings.

“It’s a stunningly low level of preparedness,” he says. As for causes, he says it is “particularly hard to save for modest to lower incomes, there are certainly… changes in pension coverage, people tend not to have retirement plans (at work), and the private retirement savings model isn’t well oriented toward moderate and lower income people.”

In designing CSC, Côté and his co-authors considered whether or not to make the program locked-in, meaning funds can only be accessed for retirement. But in the end, the “open” nature of the TFSA was preferred, he explains.

“The question is if you encourage longer-term savings … is locked-in any better? There is a paternalistic aspect to the policy that puts constraints around peoples’ money; a non-locked in TFSA offers liquidity and flexibility,” explains Côté. The CSC, he says, will offer a way to save for the long term that also can be accessed if there’s a hole in the roof or other financial crisis along the way.

These days, he notes, there is “asset poverty” among Canadians, meaning basically that many people owe more than they own, and thus lack long-term savings for emergencies. Research shows that many Canadians are “unbanked,” a term that refers to their total lack of savings. CSC can address both problems, he explains.

The authors based their proposal in part on the US Saver’s Credit, introduced in the early 2000s. The program offered a compelling model, but “never reached maximum effectiveness,” he says, because the core savings components the US policy-makers wanted were “removed or watered down.”

The paper was also heavily informed by the work of a number of leading Canadian experts in retirement savings and income security, including John Stapleton and Richard Shillington who first advocated for a TFSA matching model a decade ago.

While the authors of course take full responsibility for their work, Côté notes that the Canada Saver’s Credit proposal benefitted immensely from the amazing group of expert reviewers from Canada and the United States.

We thank Andre Côté for taking the time to talk with SPP.

Retirement saving can be difficult and daunting. The Saskatchewan Pension Plan is a useful tool for your own savings efforts, you can start small and ramp up your efforts over time. At the end, SPP offers an easy way to automatically turn your savings into a lifetime income stream.

Written by Martin Biefer
	Martin Biefer is Senior Pension Writer at Avery & Kerr Communications in Nepean, Ontario. A veteran reporter, editor and pension communicator, he’s now a freelancer. Interests include golf, line dancing and classic rock. He and his wife live with their Shelties, Duncan and Phoebe, and cat, Toobins. You can follow him on Twitter – his handle is @AveryKerr22

If you are anticipating a large tax return you may have filed your income tax return as early as possible once you received all of your tax slips. The deadline for filing is April 30, 2018, but for Canadians who ran a business, or whose spouses ran a business, during the 2017 fiscal year, the tax deadline is pushed out to June 15.

However, for those of you who are still wading through the piles of paper on your desk to assemble the documentation you need to complete your 2017 income tax return, we present Part 2: Tax deductions, credits you need to know about. You can find Part 1 here.

1. 1. Line 212 – Annual union, professional dues: Claim the total of the following amounts related to your employment that you paid (or that were paid for you and reported as income) in the year:
      • Annual dues for membership in a trade union or an association of public servants.
      • Professional board dues required under provincial or territorial law.
      • Professional or malpractice liability insurance premiums or professional membership dues required to keep a professional status recognized by law.
      • Parity or advisory committee (or similar body) dues required under provincial or territorial law.
   2. Line 214 – Child care expenses: Canadian taxpayers can claim up to $8,000 per child for children under the age of 7 years at the end of the year, and $5,000 per child for children aged 7 to 16 years. For disabled, dependent children of any age who qualify for the disability tax credit, the amount to claim for that child is $11,000. More details about what expenses qualify, who can claim expenses and for whom expenses may be claimed can be found here.
   3. Line 219 – Moving expenses: To qualify, your new home must be at least 40 kilometres (by the shortest usual public route) closer to your new work or school. You can claim eligible moving expenses if you moved:
      • And established a new home to work or run a business at a new location; or
      • To be a student in full-time attendance in a post-secondary program at a university, college or other educational institution.
   4. Line 229 – Other employment expenses: Most employees cannot claim employment expenses. You cannot deduct the cost of travel to and from work, or other expenses, such as most tools and clothing. However, you can deduct certain expenses (including any GST/HST) you paid to earn employment income.You can do this only if your employment contract required you to pay the expenses and you did not receive an allowance for them, or the allowance you received is included in your income.If you are filing electronically, keep all your documents in case CRA asks to see them at a later date. If you are filing a paper return, you must submit a completed Form T777, Statement of Employment Expenses with your return. Keep all your other documents in case CRA asks to see them at a later date, including a completed copy of Form T2200, Declaration of Conditions of Employment signed by your employer.
   5. Lines 230 and 220 – Support payments made: If you are claiming deductible support payments, enter on line 230 of your tax return the total amount of support payments you paid under a court order or written agreement. This includes any non-deductible child support payments you made. Do not include amounts you paid that are more than the amounts specified in the order or agreement, such as pocket money or gifts that you sent directly to your children.
   6. Line 313 – Adoption expenses: As a parent, you can claim an amount for eligible adoption expenses related to the adoption of a child who is under 18 years of age. The maximum claim for each child is $15,670. You can only claim these incurred expenses in the tax year including the end of the adoption period for the child.
   7. Line 319 – Interest paid on your student loans: You may be eligible to claim an amount for the interest paid on your loan in 2017 or the preceding five years for post-secondary education if you received it under:
      • The Canada Student Loans Act.
      • The Canada Student Financial Assistance Act.
      • The Apprentice Loans Act.
      • Similar provincial or territorial government laws.

      Only you can claim an amount for the interest you, or a person related to you, paid on that loan in 2017 or the preceding five years.

      You can claim an amount only for interest you have not already claimed. If you have no tax payable for the year the interest is paid, it is to your advantage not to claim it on your return. You can carry the interest forward and apply it on your return for any of the next five years.

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Written by Sheryl Smolkin
	Sheryl Smolkin LLB., LLM is a retired pension lawyer and President of Sheryl Smolkin & Associates Ltd. For over a decade, she has enjoyed a successful encore career as a freelance writer specializing in retirement, employee benefits and workplace issues. Sheryl and her husband Joel are empty-nesters, residing in Toronto with their cockapoo Rufus.

By Sheryl Smolkin

Today I am interviewing Tim Cestnick, Managing Director of Advanced Wealth Planning at Scotia Wealth Management for savewithspp.com. Tim also writes a personal finance column called, “Tax Matters” that has appeared every Thursday for almost twenty years in Canada’s national newspaper, The Globe & Mail. We’re going to talk about some of the things you need to know to complete and file your income tax return.

Welcome Tim and thanks for joining me today.

Q: What are some of the tax credits or deductions that many people aren’t aware of or that they may miss?
A: There are so many kinds of tax credits now. It’s important to really check to make sure you’re not missing something that you haven’t claimed in the past that is now available. Some of the things we see people missing are for example, interest deductions. Interest is deductible where you borrow the money for the purpose of earning income from a business or from an investment.

Also, I think fitness tax credits and tax credits for children are another area that people sometimes overlook. Don’t forget if you’ve paid for any kind of sports activities for your kids or even artistic classes like music or piano lessons, you can claim a tax credit for these amounts.

The amounts have actually been increased for fitness tax credits. You can claim up to a thousand dollars of eligible activities. It would get you pretty decent tax relief, probably two hundred and fifty dollars in tax relief federally plus maybe in total about four hundred dollars in tax relief from local and federal governments together, so it’s worth claiming those credits.

People also sometimes forget about the education and textbooks tax credits. But based on the March 2016 budget this will be the last year for many of these tax credits. 

Q: Are receipts required in all cases?
A: Yes, you do need receipts. You don’t have to turn them in with your tax return when you file electronically, but you have to keep them on file.

Q: Why should tax returns be filed for children, even if they don’t have any taxable income?
A: There are a couple of reasons why it might make sense to file a return for a child, even a minor child. Some people don’t even realize you can do this. If your child has earned any type of income at all from babysitting, or cutting grass, or delivering papers, report that income on a tax return because they’re not going to pay tax anyway if their total income is under $11,400 for 2015. However, they will create RRSP contribution room for later when they graduate and are working full-time.

Also, once your child reaches age 19 there’s good reason to file even if they have no income because they will be entitled a GST or HST credit which results in cash back to them of almost $300. 

Q: If taxpayers own stock in an unregistered portfolio, what are the advantages of making a charitable donation using stock instead of selling the shares and donating cash?
A: You’ll be better off donating securities that have appreciated in value than donating cash. You get a full donation tax credit for the value of the shares you are donating and on top of that, the government eliminates the capital gains tax on the securities. 

Q: What is the advantage to taxpayers of filing electronically instead of submitting paper forms?
A: There are a couple of reasons why you might want to do this. First of all, if you’re expecting a refund, you will get it faster by filing your return electronically. They can process it sooner and you will get your money much faster.

Also, it’s just simple to not have to send in all the paperwork. Some tax returns would be two inches thick if taxpayers had to send in all their receipts and what not. It’s just easier and quicker. 

Q: Do slips and receipts always have to be sent in with a paper filing?
A: Yes, you do have to send a number of slips and receipts. However, there are things you don’t necessarily have to provide. For example, if you’re an employee and you are claiming a certain employment expenses like use of your car, you don’t have to file a Form T2200 signed by your employer to say you had to pay for those costs. But you have to keep it handy. 

Q: Why is it getting a big tax return not necessarily a good thing?
A: A tax refund is not necessarily a good thing because what it really means is that you’ve been lending money to the government over the course of the year and they’re only now going to give it back to you. The perfect scenario is that you file a return and you owe nothing and you receive nothing back. The reality is most people actually owe or get a refund of some kind. You just want to make sure the refund is not too big. 

Q: If an individual is reporting self-employment income and wants to deduct expenses, what are a couple of things that they should do to ensure that the expenses are allowed if CRA comes knocking?
A: The first thing is to make sure amounts you’re claiming are allowed. That includes any kind of expenses you have incurred for the purpose of earning income from your business but expenses also have to be reasonable in amount. In most cases, as long as you’re paying a third party for some of these expenses that shouldn’t be an issue.

You also have to make sure that you do keep any receipts or invoices that you paid as part of your expenses just in case CRA asks for them. There was a court decision that was handed down a number of years ago which established that if you don’t have a receipt for something it may still be deductible if you can demonstrate you paid that amount and the cost is reasonable. But it’s just easier if you keep all of your receipts. 

Q: What are the penalties if Canadians file their tax returns late?
A: If you don’t owe taxes then there’s no penalty for filing late. Of course you won’t get your refund as soon as you should so it’s nice to file on time. If you owe money and don’t file your return on time, there is a five percent penalty on the tax owing the day after the due date. The key is to make sure you file your tax return on time even if you don’t have the money to pay your taxes immediately. By doing that you’ll avoid any penalties.

Q: If you do file on time and you owe money, when do you have to pay it?
A: The money is owing  as of the due date of your tax return. Typically, for most people that would be April 30^th. If it’s not paid by that time, you will end up paying some interest on the outstanding tax balance — not a penalty, just interest. 

Q: If CRA sends a notice requesting quarterly tax installments is it ever safe to ignore it?
A: You should never exactly ignore it. The reason they send you the statement is because they expect that you probably owe installments for the coming year. What you need to do is to evaluate whether or not the amount  they’re asking for is correct.

If you’re receiving a lot of investment income or you are a senior and don’t have employment income, you may end up  owing taxes when you file your return. Your best bet is to take a look at your income for the coming year, assess whether or not you think your taxes will be less or more than they were in the past year and actually do the math on your installments. When CRA sends you a statement you don’t have to abide by it, but don’t ignore it because you may actually owe  quarterly payments.

Q: So if you think your earnings will be lower, you do not necessarily have to remit the whole amount?
A: There have been situations where people have been asked to pay installments because they had a certain amount of income that was a one-time event. In that case, you may not have to make installments next year at all. You have to know really what your income is going to look like in this coming year compared to where it was last year to be able to make a decision about whether you can ignore a request for installments or pay a smaller amount.

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This is an edited transcript of a podcast interview with Tim Cestnick recorded in March 2016.

By Sheryl Smolkin

Retirement income has to last a long time and stretch to cover the increasing need for care required by disabled or older seniors. That’s why it is important for seniors, their children and their advisors to fully understand and take advantage of available tax exemptions and deductions.

Here are two tax breaks you may not know about.*

1.    Disability tax credit (DTC)

The disability amount is a non-refundable tax credit that a person with a severe and prolonged impairment in physical or mental functions can claim to reduce the amount of income tax he/she has to pay in a year. In 2013 the maximum tax credit for people over 18 is $7,697.

To be eligible for the DTC, The Canada Revenue Agency must approve Form T2201, Disability Tax Credit Certificate. You can apply for the DTC at any time during the year. Retroactive payments may be made if the individual was disabled for several years before applying for the tax credit. Last year we got over $9,000 back for my mother.

If you qualified for the disability amount for 2012 and you still meet the eligibility requirements in 2013, you can claim this amount without sending in a new Form T2201. However, you must send one if the previous period of approval ended before 2013, or if requested to do so by CRA.

You may be able to transfer all or part of your disability amount to your spouse or common-law partner or to another supporting person.

If you received attendant care and you are eligible for the DTC, there are special rules that apply for claiming those expenses. For more information, see Attendant care or care in an establishment.

CRA has an interactive online quiz you can take to find out if you or your family member may qualify for the DTC. Also see Who is eligible for the disability tax credit? for all of the requirements that must be met to qualify for the DTC

2.    GST/HST for homecare expenses 

The goods and services tax (GST) in Saskatchewan (or the harmonized sales tax (HST) in Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador) is not payable on publicly subsidized or funded homecare services.**

However, if an individual is not approved for municipal or provincial homecare services, a private agency must charge GST/HST.

Nevertheless, if a government agency approves even a small amount of subsidized homecare services (i.e. 2 hours/week), then ALL public and private homecare services become GST/HST exempt.

That’s why Lorne Lebow, a partner in the accounting firm Stern Cohen LLP recommends that in any situation where an individual requires home care services, an application should be made to the relevant government agency for subsidized or free services before or at the same time a private home care worker is retained.

“Even if a government agency authorizes services for only one or two hours a week, it’s enough to trigger the GST/HST exemption for additional privately-retained home care services. With GST/HST rates ranging from 5% (Saskatchewan) to 15% (Nova Scotia), that can quickly add up,” Lebow says.

He also advises individuals receiving both public and private home care services to inform the agency they are working with and request that invoices do not include GST/HST.

In the event that someone you know has inadvertently paid GST/HST you can apply to the CRA for a rebate going back two years.  Saskatchewan residents must send the completed General Application for rebate of GST/HST CRA (Form 189) three-page form with a letter from the government agency confirming the client is receiving subsidized care plus copies of the original invoices to Summerside Tax Centre 275 Pope Road Summerside PE C1N 6A2. 

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*Also see Guide RC4064, Medical and Disability-Related Information and discuss your family’s situation with your accountant or other financial advisor.

** Effective March 21, 2013 the definition of “homemaker service” in the GST/HST legislation has been expanded to include cleaning, laundering, meal preparation and child care provided to an individual who, due to age, infirmity or disability, requires assistance in his/her home plus  personal care services such as bathing, feeding, and assistance with dressing and taking medication.

Also see:
Tax tips for seniors – getsmarteraboutmoney.ca‎
TaxTips.ca – Saskatchewan Income Tax
TaxTips.ca – Seniors Income Tax and Government Benefits