FAQs

Our most frequently asked questions.

Do I have to file an Income Tax Return?

There are several reasons that require you to file an income tax return. The most common cases are:
  • You owe taxes to Canada/Québec Revenue
  • You are eligible to receive a tax refund
  • You are required to contribute to Canada/Québec Pension Plan
  • You are required to pay a health premium
  • You realized a capital gain
  • You would like to receive federal/provincial tax credits and benefits that you might be eligible to such as the GST/ HST, Solidarity tax credit, Canada Child Tax Benefit, etc.
For the complete list of requirements, please visit the following pages: CRA / QR

I am a student who didn’t make any income during the year, should I file a tax declaration?

As a student (same for an international student), even if you don’t have any income to report, you must do your tax declaration in order to claim/receive the GST/HST and Solidarity tax credits that you might be eligible to. You will be accumulating as well the tuition tax credits that will be very useful in case you work in Canada in the future.

What are the eligible tuition fees that can be declared and how can I benefit from them?

To qualify as eligible tuition fees, a course should be taken at a post-secondary level and the tuition fees paid must be more than $100.

Generally, you will receive an official form from your educational institution that will indicate the eligible tuition fees that you paid for the calendar year. The federal form is called “T2202A” and the Québec form is called “Relevé 8”.

If you made an income and you have taxes to pay, you must use all or part of your federal portion of the accumulated tuition fees to reduce the taxes you owe or get a refund on your return. For Québec accumulated tuition fees, it’s optional and the tuition fees can be carried forward.

If you made a low income or no income and you don’t have taxes to pay on your return, you can carry forward your Federal and Québec tuition fees to future years.

Note that you may transfer a maximum of $5,000 of your Federal tuition fees paid during the year, to a family member such as your spouse or common law partner, your or your spouse’s or common-law partner’s parent or grandparent.

For more info, please visit the following pages: CRA / QR​

What is an RRSP and how can I benefit from it?

A Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) is an account where you can make contributions and then deduct the contributed amount from your income. That way, you will end up receiving a tax refund when you do your tax declaration (calculated based on your total annual income, the year you made the contribution).
You can make a withdrawal from your RRSP at any time, however, you will be taxed on the amount withdrawn (calculated based on your total annual income, the year you made the withdrawal).

To take advantage of this plan, you will need to maximize your contributions when your income is high. However, it’s beneficial to make withdrawals only when your income is low to reduce the tax implication.

Note that there is a contribution limit to the RRSP. The contribution room is an accumulation of 18% of each year’s income up to a specific maximum. In order to determine your RRSP contribution limit, you can refer to the Federal Notice of Assessment that Canada Revenue sends you after filing your tax declaration.For more information about the RRSP, please visit the following page: CRA
 
If you need consultation/help to open an RRSP, please contact us.
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The RRSP has other big advantages such as the home buyers’ plan (HBP) and Lifelong Learning Plan. The Home Buyer’s Plan is a government plan that allows you to withdraw up to $35,000 from your RRSP, without paying any tax on it, to purchase or build your first home. You have 15 years to pay the withdrawn funds back to your RRSP.

For more information about HBP, please visit the following page: CRA
 
The Lifelong Learning Plan is a government plan that allows you to withdraw up to $20,000 (maximum of $10,000 per year) from your RRSP, without paying any tax on it, to study in a qualified program. You have 10 years to pay the withdrawn funds back to your RRSP.

For more information about LLP, please visit the following page: CRA

As a salaried employee, am I eligible to declare employment expenses?

If your employer requires you to pay expenses to earn your employment income, he/she will need to provide you with form T2200 so that you can declare those expenses (for Quebec, form TP-64.3-V is required as well). In order to determine which expenses qualify for your specific case, please refer to the Employment Expenses Questionnaire that can be found on our website.

For more information, please visit the following pages: CRA / QR

What are the child benefits and how do I apply for them?

The common child benefits are:
 
Canada Child Benefit
It’s a tax free monthly payment from the Federal government made to help eligible families with the cost of raising children under 18 years of age.
Canada Child Benefit payments are calculated according to your family income. Thus, to get this benefit, you (and, if applicable, your spouse) have to file your income tax return every year, even if you didn’t have income during the year.
In order to apply, you need to find out if you are eligible. Then you can apply for it in order to receive it.

For more details, please visit the following page: CRA
 
Family Allowance
It’s paid by Retraite Québec and provides assistance to families. If you are eligible for assistance, you (and, if applicable, your spouse) must file an income tax return every year—even if you have no income to report—because the amount of the assistance depends on the amount of your family income. You don’t need to file an application if your child is born in Quebec, as the Registrar of Civil Status will automatically notify Retraite Quebec of the birth. In other situations, you must file an application.

For more details on eligibility and application, please visit the following page: QR​

As a self-employed, can I declare expenses related to my business? And do I have to charge my clients GST/HST and QST?

You can claim reasonable expenses related to the operation of your business. In order to determine which expenses qualify for your specific case, please refer to the Self-Employed Questionnaire that can be found on our website. You must register for the GST/HST and QST if, your total worldwide taxable supplies and those made by your associates, exceeds $30,000 in a given calendar quarter or in the four calendar quarters that precede the given calendar quarter. 

For more details, please visit the following pages: CRA / QR

What are the advantages of having an online account with Canada and Quebec Revenue and how do I register?

The online services offered by Canada Revenue Agency and Quebec Revenue agency allow you to get a copy of your notice of assessments, update your address and direct deposit information, view your tax return, make corrections, check your benefits and credit payments, view your tax slips (federal only) and much more.

To register for a CRA and Quebec Revenue My Account for individuals, please click on the following links: CRA / QR

The information provided in this website is for general knowledge only and does not constitute legal advice about your specific situation. Although we made every effort to ensure that the information contained in this site has been obtained from reliable sources, we are not responsible for any errors or omissions. All information in this site is provided on an “as is” basis, with no guarantee of completeness and timeliness.

We at Sankari Inc. are pleased to respond to your tax inquiries and/or file your tax returns based on the information that you provide. Inaccurate information provided by you may lead to an inadequate or incorrect advice for which Sankari Inc. cannot be held responsible. You, the client is responsible for giving correct information and documentation to the Sankari Inc.team.

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