Tax help:Became PR in 2013
#1
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 135
Tax help:Became PR in 2013
Hello all,
I wondered if I could get some tax advice.
I gained PR status in 2013 via Family Sponsorship (Common-law). I am in the middle of filing my taxes (eugh) online using SimpleTax but I have found myself very confused.
It's asking me to generate the NET amount of income my partner & I made before and after the date I became PR. How do I generate this number?
Any advice or help from others who immigrated in 2013 would be grateful appreciated!
Thanks,
Leanne
I wondered if I could get some tax advice.
I gained PR status in 2013 via Family Sponsorship (Common-law). I am in the middle of filing my taxes (eugh) online using SimpleTax but I have found myself very confused.
It's asking me to generate the NET amount of income my partner & I made before and after the date I became PR. How do I generate this number?
Any advice or help from others who immigrated in 2013 would be grateful appreciated!
Thanks,
Leanne
#2
Just Joined
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 15
Re: Tax help:Became PR in 2013
For my first ever return, I got a referral from a friend at work for a great accountant who walked me through my return. Lots of paper, lots of boxes - I am in Quebec - but all for $100ish. I received a hefty refund and was from free from the headache of "what might I have done wrong".
Try H&R Block if you cannot find a solo operator of repute.
Try H&R Block if you cannot find a solo operator of repute.
#4
Re: Tax help:Became PR in 2013
Hello all,
I wondered if I could get some tax advice.
I gained PR status in 2013 via Family Sponsorship (Common-law). I am in the middle of filing my taxes (eugh) online using SimpleTax but I have found myself very confused.
It's asking me to generate the NET amount of income my partner & I made before and after the date I became PR. How do I generate this number?
Any advice or help from others who immigrated in 2013 would be grateful appreciated!
Thanks,
Leanne
I wondered if I could get some tax advice.
I gained PR status in 2013 via Family Sponsorship (Common-law). I am in the middle of filing my taxes (eugh) online using SimpleTax but I have found myself very confused.
It's asking me to generate the NET amount of income my partner & I made before and after the date I became PR. How do I generate this number?
Any advice or help from others who immigrated in 2013 would be grateful appreciated!
Thanks,
Leanne
Did you work in another country prior to becoming a PR last year? If you did, they will want to know your earnings of which you must have some paperwork.
For my first tax return, I used H&R Block (which I wouldn't recommend) but I didn't know enough then to do it myself. Now I use Turbo Tax to generate my return which is very easy to do if you don't have a complex background.
#5
BE Enthusiast
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 860
Re: Tax help:Became PR in 2013
I know little of H&R Block. Doesn't their business model involve advancing people their expected tax refund, for a nice fat fee?
#6
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jan 2011
Location: Orton, Ontario
Posts: 2,032
Re: Tax help:Became PR in 2013
For my first ever return, I got a referral from a friend at work for a great accountant who walked me through my return. Lots of paper, lots of boxes - I am in Quebec - but all for $100ish. I received a hefty refund and was from free from the headache of "what might I have done wrong".
Try H&R Block if you cannot find a solo operator of repute.
Try H&R Block if you cannot find a solo operator of repute.
#7
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jul 2008
Location: Toronto
Posts: 534
Re: Tax help:Became PR in 2013
We also used an accountant for our first return, it was not expensive and was well worth it for the peace of mind. I would not recommend H&R Block as the people they employ in tax season are not accountants. There is an H&R Block desk next to where I work, in conversation with the people working there I was surprised to discover that the only training they had was a relatively short training course.
It's definitely worth paying someone who knows what they're doing to talk you through it first time around and, in the general case, that probably wouldn't include H&R Block.
#8
Binned by Muderators
Joined: Jul 2007
Location: White Rock BC
Posts: 11,682
Re: Tax help:Became PR in 2013
The request for foreign earnings before you became a tax-resident or after you ceased to be a tax-resident is new this year.
There is a rule that if 90% or more of your income for a year is derived from Canadian sources then you can claim full personal tax credits. This has typically be used by people with a Canadian pension who retire overseas and file a section 217 tax return in Canada. This year they seem to have extended the application to new immigrants or emigrants.
I use tax software called Profile. If I enter an immigration or emigration date the software asks me for earnings outside Canada for the year. When I enter this the software calculates whether or not the 90% threshold applies. From this it calculates whether or not to claim full personal amounts or to prorate the personal amounts for the time in Canada in the year. As an alternative, there is a check box that says, "prorate personal amounts for time spent in Canada."
There is a rule that if 90% or more of your income for a year is derived from Canadian sources then you can claim full personal tax credits. This has typically be used by people with a Canadian pension who retire overseas and file a section 217 tax return in Canada. This year they seem to have extended the application to new immigrants or emigrants.
I use tax software called Profile. If I enter an immigration or emigration date the software asks me for earnings outside Canada for the year. When I enter this the software calculates whether or not the 90% threshold applies. From this it calculates whether or not to claim full personal amounts or to prorate the personal amounts for the time in Canada in the year. As an alternative, there is a check box that says, "prorate personal amounts for time spent in Canada."