When you file your income tax return you want to make sure you have all the receipts and income records you need to make sure you get every tax receipt and deduction you are entitled to.

By the end of February T4 (income from employment), T4A (pension and other income) and T5 (statement of investment income) slips you require to complete and file your income tax return must be in the mail. However, unlike most other tax slips, Canadian T3 tax slips, or Statement of Trust Income Allocations and Designations (income from mutual funds in non-registered accounts) and T5013 slips (Statement of Partnership Income) do not have to be sent out until the last day of March in the year after the calendar year to which these tax slips apply.

So even if you are anxious to get your income tax return off your desk and see your tax return deposited to your account, wait an extra week or two to ensure you have all the slips you need before filing or you may have to pay additional taxes later on when your tax return is assessed or re-assessed. Many financial institutions provide a check list so you can check off slips as you receive them.

However, if you have to file a return for 2017, file it on or before April 30, 2018 even if some slips or receipts are missing. You are responsible for reporting your income from all sources to avoid possible interest and/or penalties that may be charged.

If you have not received, or have lost or misplaced a slip for 2017 ask your employer, or the issuer of the slip, for a copy. If you know you will not be able to get a slip on time to file your return, or you do not receive it and you are registered for the CRA My Account for Individuals service, you may be able to view your tax information online. Otherwise, attach a note to your paper return stating the payer’s name and address, the type of income involved, and what you are doing to get the slip.

Use your pay stubs or statements to estimate the income to report and any related deductions and credits you can claim. Attach a copy of the pay stubs or statements to your paper return and keep the original documents. If you are filing electronically, keep all of your documents in case CRA asks to see them later.

You can also obtain Old Age Security (OAS), Employment Insurance (EI) and Canada Pension Plan (CPP) tax slips electronically for current and prior years. This secure service can be accessed found by visiting Service Canada.

Certain slips such as T2202As for tuition deductions, T5008s for capital gains and losses and RRSP contributions are not always processed by the CRA. While the rules differ across the various types of tax forms, some slips can be generated independently and don’t have to go through the CRA’s system first.

In that case you will have to track them down from the source provider since the CRA won’t have them on file. For example, if you know you’re meant to receive a tuition credit, call the school to request your form. If you’ve made some stock trades in the year, call your bank to obtain a gains and losses report.  Unfortunately there’s no fool-proof way to know that you’ve got all these types of slips – you’ll just need to remember!

If you missed a significant slip that the CRA does not have on file such as a tuition slip, you can file an adjustment to your return down the road if you’re able to track it down. Before you file your return, double checking that you’ve got all your slips covered will mean a faster refund, no interest and less stress.

You can find a checklist of other slips, receipts and documentation you may require to file your return here.

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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.

MySPP is your opportunity to access personal account information in a secure, online environment at any time of day. You can access MySPP by visiting our website here. You will also find a login link on the top navigation of our website.

Setting up your account is easy and, once complete, you’ll be able to view your:

• Contact, beneficiary and power of attorney information
• account balance
• transactions for the past 12 months.
• Pension payment amounts including year-to-date and lifetime totals.

Members who are making contributions to their SPP account will be able to download  tax receipts and members statements.

Members who are receiving pension payment from SPP will be able to download T4As and retirement statements.

Setting up your account only takes a few minutes and you will be able to start exploring MySPP for yourself. We have also added an FAQ section to our website which you can check out here.

As always, our staff is ready to answer your questions and looks forward to taking your call, should you need assistance.

Thank you
Your SPP Team

By Sheryl Smolkin

If your financial affairs are fairly straightforward and the only income you receive is from employment, you should have already received all of your tax slips and you may have already filed your income tax return, although it is not due until midnight on Monday, May 1^st.

But tax slips for mutual funds, flow-through shares, limited partnerships and income trusts only had to be sent out by March 31^st, so if you have multiple, more complex sources of income you are likely among the group of Canadians who are under the gun this month to finalize and file your returns.

Here are some of the things that have changed since last year that individuals and families should be aware of when they are assembling documentation and preparing their returns.

GENERAL/ADMINISTRATIVE
MyCRA: A mobile app from the Canada Revenue Agency now allows you to view your notice of assessment, tax return status, benefit and credit information, and RRSP and TFSA contribution room.

Auto-fill: If you use electronic software to do your taxes, the CRA will fill in many of the boxes for you. You sign into CRA MyAccount and agree to a download that will include information on your RRSP contributions, plus information from T4s, T4As and T5s. Users are advised to double-check the CRA’s data before they file.

INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES
Canada child benefit (CCB): As of July 2016, the CCB has replaced the Canada child tax benefit (CCTB), the national child benefit supplement (NCBS), and the universal child care benefit (UCCB). For more information see Canada child benefit.

Child-care expenses: The amount parents can claim for child-care expenses has increased by $1,000 annually, per child, to $8,000 for a child under six and $5,000 for a child aged between seven and 16 years old. For more information see line 214.

Canada Apprentice Loan: Students in a designated Red Seal trade program can now claim interest on their government student loans. For more information see line 319.

Northern resident’s deductions: The basic and additional residency amounts used to calculate the northern residency deduction have both increased to $11 per day. See Form T2222, Northern Residents Deductions. For more information see line 255.

Children’s arts amount: The maximum eligible fees per child (excluding the supplement for children with disabilities), has been reduced to $250. Both will be eliminated for 2017 and later years. For more information see line 370.

Home accessibility expenses: You can claim a maximum of $10,000 for eligible expenses you incurred for work done or goods acquired for an eligible dwelling. This deduction typically applies to home renovations to improve accessibility for individuals eligible for the disability tax credit for the year or for qualifying seniors over 65. For more information see line 398.

Family tax cut: The Family Tax Cut allowed eligible couples with children under the age of 18 to notionally split the income of the spouse with higher earnings, transferring up to $50,000 of taxable income to the lower income spouse in a taxation year. The family tax cut has been eliminated for 2016 and later years.

Children’s fitness tax credit: The maximum eligible fees per child (excluding the supplement for children with disabilities) has been reduced to $500. Both will be eliminated for 2017 and later tax years. For more information see lines 458 and 459.

Eligible educator school supply tax credit: If you were an eligible educator, you can claim up to $1,000 for eligible teaching supplies expenses. For more information see lines 468 and 469.

INTEREST AND INVESTMENTS
Tax-free savings account (TFSA): The amount that you can contribute to your TFSA  every year has been reduced to $5,500.

Dividend tax credit (DTC): The rate that applies to “other than eligible dividends” has changed for 2016 and later tax years. For more information see lines 120 and 425.

Labour-sponsored funds tax credit: The tax credit for the purchase of shares of provincially or territorially registered labour-sponsored venture capital corporations has been restored to 15% for 2016 and later tax years. The tax credit for the purchase of shares of federally registered labour-sponsored venture capital corporations has decreased to 5% and will be eliminated for 2017 and later tax years. For more information see lines 413, 414, 411, and 419.