BristolUK

That sounds like something fairly basic that would be picked up by one of the free and easy on-line services.

I'm surprised nobody has yet come out with the line about how it would be better not to be paying too much tax in the first place.

JamesM

I use Turbotax but my situation is relatively simple.

There is a competitive market place for tax returns so retaining an accountant is not too expensive and tax returns can be quite lucrative in Canada if you understand all you are entitled to claim.

MarylandNed

Do you use a free version of Turbo Tax? I used Simple Tax this year - it's free.

JamesM

I pay the $18 but that is because I claim some work related expenses around car and rent.

dishwashing

Oops sorry missed this! Thanks Siouxie, izzi and Cookie!

izzi - ARGH you are right, I was talking about Turbotax - so you use the business one, you think it is good though, sounds like.

Cheers, Ladies

izzi81

If you have your own business income and income from the UK then I think TurboTax is the best one to use. If you don't have any foreign income then I think UFile is just as good and quite a bit cheaper. I just found UFile a bit complicated when it comes to entering foreign income, but for everything else it was OK.

Siouxie

Studiotax is free, has an extensive help file, videos on Youtube, direct links to relative pages at CRA, a 'validate' button that reminds you to check in case you are able to claim other things and is pretty easy to use (I used it for the first time my first year of filing). Did I mention it's FREE?

If you are going to pay then pay an accountant rather than spend it on software!

scrubbedexpat091

The form the employers have you fill out for taxes, always has a spot for less taxes taken, but never a spot that I can figure out to have less taken out...Unless you qualify for one of the other boxes on the form.

I got everything back from what was taken out last year, suppose I should have just had nothing taken out, but don't think that is an option

chiefmissile

Don't use MNP, we filed taxes for 4 months of residency last year, they charged us $500 each for the pleasure. They are very expensive with a number of hidden charges that they add on like 5% for telephone calls, printing paper, ink, postage costs!!!

Steve_

Wow 3 pages in and no-one has given the answer. First of all no you don't have to get an accountant and you don't need software either.

You simply have to pro-rate the tax return to the period you were in Canada, thus you're only taxed on the income from the time you arrived.

There's a whole section on the CRA website about it: Newcomers to Canada (immigrants)

There is also a PDF with the main details: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/t4055/t4055-14e.pdf

The main bit is the calculation on page 21 and 22. In essence, divide by 365 and multiply by the days you were in Canada.

I assume you've only got a T4 and maybe a T5, so it's pretty simple really. Put the T5 down on Schedule 4. If you've still got a bank account in the UK then that interest has to be put on Schedule 4 as well (file an R105 with any bank you deal with in the UK to have income tax withholding stopped.)

Regardless of whether you get an accountant or not, everyone should read the T1 General Guide so you understand what tax credits you may be eligible for, what an RRSP is, etc. It's well worth your time.

The real problem most people from the UK have is if they have an ISA - that's not recognized under the tax treaty (thus, subject to Canadian tax) so there's no point carrying on with it unless you're only going to be here briefly. The more logical approach is to use a SIPP because pensions are recognized under the treaty.

The TFSA is the Canadian equivalent of an ISA.

BristolUK

I completed a UK tax return three times in my 31 year working life. Once for my first wage; once when I reported an additional income from a mortgage helping lodger; once when I had left part way through a year and was due a refund. That last year was the only time - 31 years remember - that the tax deducted wasn't the right amount, but it would have been right had I worked the full tax year.

Currently I have two incomes in the UK from different sources with a different frequency of payment. There's no income tax to pay but to prevent my having to pay what I shouldn't have to pay and then claim back what I shouldn't have paid, the tax office issues a nifty code for both payers, just like employees have, so that they know there should be no tax deducted and I've not completed a UK tax return in the 8 years this has been happening.

It all works rather smoothly.

MarylandNed

I told the OP that in post #2. I even supplied the same link.

GMS_AMS

Thank you so much everyone for all your help & advice. The OH has been ill this past week so we'll start (and hopefully submit) both returns tonight. G

scrubbedexpat091

Too bad we can't make it easier here...lol

I fill out the the form, claim the standard deduction and employer takes out whatever they take out, but each year I then file, and CRA gives it all back, or nearly all of it back. I suppose getting one lump refund isn't bad, but having the extra 100 a month would be nice though through out the year.

I still have to file my US return as well, but its easy, just a pain to do 2 returns a year.

Steve_

But you didn't say it has to be pro-rated, which is the key bit.

Frankly you can just put down the date you arrived on the front of the T1 and the CRA will work it out for you, but if you do that you will get a bill because you've overclaimed the tax credits, so an attempt at pro-rating is probably worthwhile.

It really isn't terribly difficult. The old problem used to be that if you made a mistake you had to write the whole thing out again but since they produced all the forms as fillable PDFs it's a piece of cake.