ConstructionGuy

Hi everybody,

My partner and I started working in Ontario at the start of last year on IEC visas. We have not received notification from CRA that we need to file tax returns for 2012 and are undecided whether to spend time completing one.

Some background information:

We are in our mid 20s and earnt a combined salary of $150k in 2012 (my partner is on a contract and started working one month later than me)
We did not make RRSP contributions
We did not incur any study expenses
We live in a rented building and have not disposed of/bought property
We do not use public transit (walk to work)
We did not incur any significant medical expenses
We do not have any children

We have our T4s and I assume that the tax amounts, EI payments etc on these have been correctly calculated by our employers.

I understand there is a potential benefit in filing this year so that you are on the system and can file electronically in the future. Aside from this, if YOU were in our situation, would you spend time (or money) completing a tax return for 2012?

Grateful for any opinions!

Novocastrian

It's a bit early for JonBoyE to give a definitive answer, but you can fill out the returns using TurboTax online in about half and hour: you'll have to print it and mail it this year but never again. I'd bet that you'll both get rebates because unless you both started work on Jan 1 2012 (which you say you didn't) the employers will have calculated tax based on an annual salary of 12 times your monthly salaries. Which is too much.

HTH

Auld Yin

You are obliged by law to file tax returns if you have earned income in Canada. By not doing so you may jeopardize your future in Canada should you decide to stay in the country. All the things you list as having not done are totally irrelevant and filing paper returns is not difficult if you can hold a pen. And who knows, you may be entitled to refunds.

ConstructionGuy

Thank you both for your responses. Turbotax it is then!

Siouxie

Or you can use studiotax, which is free

http://www.studiotax.com/en/?page=2

JonboyE

You are required to file a tax return if you owe tax. The easiest way to know if you owe tax is by completing a tax return using commercial software.

If you owe tax then print it, attach you cheque, and mail it off.

If it turns out that you are due a refund you have a choice:

1) Press print, mail it in, and get a refund.
2) Do nothing, don't get our refund and, if you plan on staying in Canada, look forward to getting grief from the CRA in a few years time. That said, if you are due a refund, there is no penalty for not filing until they start giving you grief.

Zoe Bell

If it is still the case that you can't file your first return online , I'd be temPted to file just to get into the system
It'll make things easier for next time

ConstructionGuy

Thanks Siouxie, JonboyE and Zoe Bell. I tried Turbotax and it said we were due a refund. Great stuff!

I did not have to enter the dates we started working in 2012 though. I therefore assumed Turbotax has been able to work out that we started later in the year...somehow?

JonboyE

You need to enter the day you moved to Canada if this was in 2012. Otherwise, Turbo Tax will not calculate the right amount of your personal tax credits.

ConstructionGuy

We actually moved over in December 2011 but did not start working until 2012. We did not file a tax return for 2011 as we were not receiving any Canadian income - I realise now that we probably should have, just to get on the system and make this year easier.

JonBoyE, in your opinion, would it be worth us getting in contact with an accountant to make sure that the correct amount of personal tax credits are calculated? I don't want to get it wrong and be on the CRA naughty list!

Thank you!

JonboyE

You were resident all of 2012 so you get the full tax credits. If all you have are T4s then Turbotax should be more than adequate.

If your partner did not get paid for every month in 2012 they will likely get a refund. If you have worked every month you should be about right within a $100 or so. You do not have to enter the date you started work - the program will still work out the correct tax.

Don't forget that if you have a house in the UK that is rented out, or other assets that have a combined value of $100,000 or more you will also have to complete a T1135 form.

ConstructionGuy

Thank you, that's very helpful indeed. We do not own property in the UK but we do have mutual funds and other investments so we will complete the T1135 as well.

This must be a VERY busy time of year for you so I appreciate you taking the time to give such a detailed answer. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

.c.s.o.

I just got off the phone with a surprisingly helpful CRA agent and apparently this is the first year that first time filers can file online.

So I recommend you do that and get your refund in 10 days rather than 16 weeks.

iaink

You were living and earning in canada in 2012, you need to file a Cdn tax return.

CRA are not going to request it, its assumed you will return. If you dont and for some reason you owe tax then its going to get progressively more expensive.

More likely they owe you, so thats another incentive to file. The chances that an employer got deductions 100% correct first time are astronomically small.

JonboyE

Not according to their website:

Other restrictions

The following is a list of specific situations that prevent you from filing a tax return through the NETFILE service:

Your tax return was discounted by a third party.
You are considered a deemed resident (not subject to provincial or territorial tax).
You are filing a tax return for an individual who died in 2012 or 2013.
Your social insurance number begins with a "0" (zero).
You are an immigrant, emigrant, or non-resident of Canada for the 2012 tax year.
Your address is outside Canada.
You are electing to defer tax on a distribution of spin-off shares by foreign corporations.
You are claiming less than the maximum federal foreign tax credit.

http://netfile.gc.ca/rstrctns-eng.html