brucejosh1

I filed my 2013 return on turbotax and was quoted $1576.

I just got my cheque back and they have only given me $957
and a letter that came with it;

"Since you were not a resident of Canada throughout the year you are not entitled to claim working income tax benefit. Your claim has been adjusted accordingly"

I ticked the box that said deemed resident as this is what my friend had told me to do. I was on an IEC Visa and lived in Canada from Nov 2012 - Sep 2013 (so a lot longer than 183 days) so surely they are wrong??

Can someone give me some advice as to what I should do now.
Any help would be amazing.

SchnookoLoly

I don't know a ton about the tax side of things, but if I have my understanding right (and I may not), some tax credits are pro-rated for the portion of the tax year that you were resident in Canada. I'm assuming you meant that you were in Canada Nov2012 to Sep2013, unless you are posting from a time machine! :P

So if you were only in Canada from January to September, you would only be eligible for 9 months of tax credits out of 12 (so 75%).

brucejosh1

Yes sorry I meant 2013. So do you think they have made a mistake and if so what should I do??

SchnookoLoly

No, I don't think they've made a mistake -- but I am only guessing. It sounds like you claimed for a full year's worth of tax credits, but when CRA looked at your file they determined you were only eligible for 9/12 months of tax credit, so reduced your claim accordingly.

But I don't know a ton about taxes so it's very possible that I am incorrect here. I would personally either call CRA and ask for an explanation, or go somewhere like H&R Block or similar and have them review it and explain to you exactly how the return was structured.

brucejosh1

OK thanks for the advice

Aviator

The working tax benefit is prorated for each tax year, your residency spanned 2 tax years. Is your friend an accountant? If youi think it is wrong get him to file write to CRA, if not you can consult an accountant or you can write to CRA as to why they are wrong. You have to give a reason, not just because you think it is wrong.

For the 2013 tax year, you were only a resident for 9 months, so 75% of the tax credit applies.

JonboyE

You were not a deemed resident at any time in the year. Technically, as an IEC visa holder, you were non-resident. In practice, as long as your stay in Canada is more than 183 days you file as a factual resident up to the date of departure.

The CRA are correct. You have to be tax-resident in Canada for the whole of the tax year to qualify for the working income tax benefit. See question 2 ... http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/bnfts/wtb/fq_qlfyng-eng.html