Canadian Income Tax

This book covers topics that the "average Canadian" taxpayer will need to complete their income taxes all by themselves. It walks through the whole process from beginning to end using plain English. The majority of this book covers federal forms that apply to all Canadians, however since some of the necessary forms are provincial, this book covers the Ontario version of these forms. Specifically, the Ontario forms discussed here are those that are labelled ON428, ONBEN, ONS2 and ONS11.There are many income tax deductions and credits that apply to people who have different circumstances. To keep this book reasonably short and as relevant as possible to the average Canadian, the focus has been placed on the most common tax scenarios. This includes Canadians with any marital status, and it includes taxpayers who are employees, parents, seniors, students, and/or unemployed. This guide applies to anyone who is preparing a regular personal tax return, either using tax software, or using paper forms. The rules and the forms are the same in either case.Topics Covered* Credits for spouse/partner* Credits for children ("dependants")* Income earned as an employee* Income earned from Employment Insurance (EI) while unemployed* Interest income, such as from a bank account, bonds, investment funds, etc* Capital gains and dividend income, such as from stocks, mutual funds, etc* Income earned from pensions, the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), and Old Age Security (OAS), as well as senior credits* Income Earned from Social Assistance* Donations to eligible charities* Registered Retirement Saving Plans (RRSPs)* How to claim credits for the rent paid* How to claim credits for the property taxes paidTopics Not Covered * Corporate income tax or Business income* Income from Self-Employment, Farming, Fishing, Partnerships* Income earned from Rental Property* Medical Expenses* Eligibility Criteria for Family Caregivers for Infirm Dependants* Worker's Compensation* Pension Splitting* Repayments to EI or UCCB* Capital Loss Carrybacks * Other credits and deductions: moving, activities, arts, adoption expenses, sports, disabilities, public transit credit, renovations, northern resident deductions, foreign tax credits, political contributions, capital gain reserves, etc

Taxes connect us to one another, to the common good, and to the future. This is a book about taxes: who pays what and who gets what. More than that, it’s about the role of government, about citizenship and our collective well-being, about the Canada we want. The contributors, leading Canadian practitioners and scholars, explore how taxes have become a political “no-go zone” and how changes in taxation are changing Canada. They challenge the view that any tax is a bad tax and provide broad directions for fairer and smarter approaches. This is a book that will be of interest to anyone concerned with public policy and public affairs, economics, and political science and to anyone interested in challenging the conventional wisdom that lower taxes and smaller government are the cures to what ails us.