deerhunter74

I've been in Canada since July when will I have to submit a tax return I'm used to going to an Accountant i have noticed h&r block and have been told to use them , when will I receive my tax return and how long would I have to wait to receive payment I work as a long haul truck driver so I hope to get a good Amount of cash as I had to pay for my own truck training and hotels .

Collie

The Canadian tax year ends on December 31, and you need to file your Canadian tax return by the following May. You might also have to complete a UK tax return (I still have to, after 2 years) even though I have no UK income now. But I guess that during 2014 you had some Canadian and some UK income (April-July). I ended up using my old UK accountant for the UK tax return and a Canadian one for the Canadian return. But ask around and get recommendations, as not all Canadian accountants seem to be familiar with expat tax affairs. You MIGHT end up having to pay both UK and Canadian tax on your income in the first year, then claiming the UK tax back. That happened to me...

JonboyE

I am somewhat reluctant to answer these types of questions as it looks as though I am touting for business. I am not. I am full and am not accepting new clients.

H & R Block is a big franchise business. Some owners are good, knowledgeable tax people. Some less so. During tax season they hire temporary workers. The training program they have covers standard tax situations well but is limited. They offer a perfectly good service to the average tax payer with average circumstances. However, you will be lucky to be dealing with someone who has any knowledge of unusual or complex tax situations. You will be very lucky to find someone with any knowledge of international tax maters.

If you are recommended to a particular office by other truckers who have been in your situation then fair enough. If you pick a random office then be aware of the potential limitations.

H & R Block are also tax discounters. If you are due a refund they will offer to give you the refund up front - for a fee of course. However, I don't think they will do this for you as a first time filer. Most tax assessments are done by computer. As long as there is nothing unusual your return is processed as filed and a refund issued within 10 days. A new immigrant's first return is assessed by a human in Ottawa. They are understaffed and it is not uncommon to take several months to be processed.

Photoplex

My first Canadian tax return for the 2008 tax year took a couple of months to process and receive a refund.

My 2013 return took 6 business days to process and return the refund.

Zoe Bell

Hmmm what are these refunds of which you speak ?
Last year mine was so small that they didn't bother paying it
The year before we owed them money.

Photoplex

Max out your RRSP contribution and you get a big chunk back.

*cue lectures about how RRSPs are evil*

Zoe Bell

Yeah we did that for Ben. Higher tax bracket than me. Its how we funded deposit on condo,

S_elliott52

Many people on here recommended a software program called studio tax, which I used last year. I had to print out the report and send it in as it was my first year in canada. The software is free and very very easy to use. H&R quoted me at least $160 + tax, as I was a new immigrant they said that one of their experienced tax specialist had to do my return!!! I took me about 1/2 hr to do it myself, but I am single only have one job and don't own property. I would certainly recommend looking into it. Oh and the $$$$$ refund was great also!!

scrubbedexpat091

April 30th isn't it?

scrubbedexpat091

RRSP's can be evil for some. Having one would hurt us more then help us.

BristolUK

We use Turbotax (used to be Quicktax) which handles me and the missus, foreign income and rental income from another property.

I'm pretty sure that Studio Tax was one we also tested and it handled it equally well.

"Basic" seems to handle a fair bit more than basic.

beckiwoo

for someone with no properties in the UK and not earning money from the UK and just have a 2 jobs here - would the turbotax/studiotax be ok to use - first tax return next year.

I dont understand though why my UK income will be taken into account as I have already been taxed on it in the UK. This means I am going to be taxed again..?

S_elliott52

I declared my UK tax income, but it seemed to have no bearing on the outcome. Try any of the free income tax calculators, you don't have to submit at the end. I found studio tax so easy to use. If you don't know where to put income on the form, just google it!!!!

AlliF

As JonBoy has said H&R are really hit and miss whether you get a good accountant or not.
We did our first Canadian return with them last year - thinking it would be complicated as we were only here part of the year - and the one we got (on recommendation from a friend) insisted we would get a huuuge refund because of our relocation costs.
Even though I had read up on this already and was sure that it wouldn't apply because it was not an internal province to province move she was not for budging, even asked a colleague who agreed, and came up with this ludicrous amount we would get back. When we got our refund she was only about 7k out
Thank god I had done my research (on the tax offices own website and saw a few threads on here about it too) so we didn't run out and book a holiday based on her estimate.

And that was one that was recommended to me (ETA the person who recommended her would never have had any international situation though I suppose).
Think we will just do our own one this year and save our cash.

Juggernaut1064

I used a one man outfit to do my tax returns when i first arrived here, unfortunately he wasn't genuine and myself and a large number of brits had to have our taxes rechecked when he bailed from MB and went to SK. One unfortunate trucker friend rapidly got a $9000 tax demand after receiving an $11,000 return, yes thats a lot even for a trucker but it was our first year here lol Unfortunately he had spent it on a nice new shiny ATV so had to get a bank loan to pay Tax Canada back. reason i mention all of this is i found a H&R Block in winnipeg that had ONE PERSON who knew how to do a truckers return and the H&R Block safety net of if they screw it up they pay Tax Canada ! After my experience i chose to go with H&R Block but if you find an accountant who specialises in trucker tax and has been recommended then go with that one. Ask owner Operators in your home area, shouldn't take long to find one.
Average tax return for me was between $3000 & $5000 as a long haul trucker.
i have all my logs for each year + receipts + tax forms etc in annual folders stored away safely just in case i get audit.
Easiest way to find one is ask in the office of the outfit you work for and you will likely get lots of recommendations, trucker tax is different to most, you can claim $75 per day meal allowance while in the USA etc etc etc It all adds up to a very nice amount. Make sure you keep receipts for anything you buy for work including GPS etc even a laptop can be claimed for, if in doubt keep it anyway and let the accountant decide. You can't claim any moving expenses from the UK though or plane tickets. Not sure about your hotel and training costs, the company that brought me over paid mine so i really don't know. For six months you can expect about $2000. When you find an accountant set up the direct deposit with Tax Canada so it goes straight into your bank rather than waiting for a cheque. Keep your tax records neat etc in case you get audited in the future.