Bird’s Eye View

Bird’s Eye View

Bird’s Eye View

Getting ready for tax filing

The open graph image for the Employment insurance for the getting ready for tax filing blog post

I know tax talk is not everyone’s cup of tea, but in my experience, having a simple checklist can help alleviate that overwhelming feeling of burdensome bureaucracy. So whether you are filing your own taxes or are having someone else do them for you here’s a basic checklist of what you need to put together:

a) Personal details: name, address, SIN, date of birth and marital status (name, SIN and income of partner if common-law or married).

b) Information about dependents – birth dates, full names, social insurance numbers, any income they earned, plus any eligible expenses including childcare and medical expenses. (Contact me if you need more information about what expenses are eligible to claim.)

c) The total amount of any installment payments made to CRA.

d) All income information including:

  • T4, Statement of Remuneration Paid

  • T4A, Statement of Pension, Retirement, Annuity, and Other Income

  • T4A(OAS), Statement of Old Age Security

  • T4A(P), Statement of Canada Pension Plan Benefits

  • T4RIF Statement of income from a Registered Retirement Income Fund

  • T5 Statement of Investment Income

  • T3 Statement of Trust Income Allocations and Designations

  • T5008 Statement of Securities Transactions

  • T4E, Statement of Employment Insurance and Other Benefits

  • T4RSP, Statement of RRSP Income

  • T5007, Statement of Benefits

  • RC210, Working Income Tax Benefit Advance Payments Statement

e) any student loan payments (you should receive a statement which details how much interest and principal were paid off over the year.)

f) If you were a post-secondary student, a T2202 form and any tuition carry forward amounts from the previous year. If you are a family member to a student who is not using their tuition credit, your family may decide to transfer some of these credits. For more information about tuition credits, read this blog. NB. If you are pursuing a certification or professional designation in a trade, you may be eligible to deduct the examination fees as a tuition credit as well.

g) Your Notice of Assessment from your most recent tax return.

h) Details about any RRSP contributions made.

i) Details about any charitable donations or political contributions made.

j) Details about any union dues paid not included on your T4 slip.

k) Receipts for medical expenses.

l) Receipts for digital news subscriptions. The Digital News Subscription Tax Credit is for subscriptions to Qualifying Canadian Journalism Organization.

m) If you are a teacher, you can claim receipts for classroom/school supplies.

n) Details about moving expenses (if you moved over 40 km for work or study)
If you are an employee claiming work expenses, you need to include a T2200 Employment expenses (signed by your employer).

o) Self employed people – all your income and expenses. Here is a spreadsheet you can use to help you organize your expenses. (Just make a copy of it to begin using it.)  Get in touch with me if you need more guidance on what you can claim as a self-employed person. If you are in a business partnership, please include the percentage of the partnership that is yours, and the name of your partner.

p) If you have rental income – all your details about your rental property, income and expenses. Contact me for more guidance about this.

q) If you dispose of a property, you need to submit all details about the sale.

If you sold or if you were considered to have sold property in 2023 that was, at any time, your principal residence, you must report the sale on Schedule 3, Capital Gains (or Losses), and Form T2091(IND), Designation of a Property as a Principal Residence by an Individual (Other Than a Personal Trust). See Disposing of your principal residence on the CRA site for more information.

If you sell a rental or investment property, you need to report that sale on a Schedule 3, Capital Gains (or Losses). So collect all information relevant to the original purchase and sale.

r) Details about any carry forward amounts, including unused tuition credits, loss, and other carry forward amounts (business-use-of home, donations, etc.).

s) If you want to file your taxes online (by far the quickest, easiest and even the cheapest option), it will be helpful to have your NETFILE access code, located on the right side of your Notice of Assessment for a previous tax year. While this access code is not mandatory, it will help you confirm your identity. Otherwise, you will have to rely on other information for authentication purposes.

Have you signed up for a CRA My Account?

If not, please do this first. You can pull your tax slips and last year’s Notice of Assessment directly from your account. You can also check the status of your refund, and any outstanding balance. It is also the most direct way to authorize a representative on your account.

If you need help with preparing your tax return, Bird’s Eye Business Solutions provides tax filing services for individuals and small businesses. Find out more about our rates and book a free 15 minute consultation to discuss your needs.

Getting ready for tax filing

The open graph image for the Employment insurance for the getting ready for tax filing blog post

I know tax talk is not everyone’s cup of tea, but in my experience, having a simple checklist can help alleviate that overwhelming feeling of burdensome bureaucracy. So whether you are filing your own taxes or are having someone else do them for you here’s a basic checklist of what you need to put together:

a) Personal details: name, address, SIN, date of birth and marital status (name, SIN and income of partner if common-law or married).

b) Information about dependents – birth dates, full names, social insurance numbers, any income they earned, plus any eligible expenses including childcare and medical expenses. (Contact me if you need more information about what expenses are eligible to claim.)

c) The total amount of any installment payments made to CRA.

d) All income information including:

  • T4, Statement of Remuneration Paid

  • T4A, Statement of Pension, Retirement, Annuity, and Other Income

  • T4A(OAS), Statement of Old Age Security

  • T4A(P), Statement of Canada Pension Plan Benefits

  • T4RIF Statement of income from a Registered Retirement Income Fund

  • T5 Statement of Investment Income

  • T3 Statement of Trust Income Allocations and Designations

  • T5008 Statement of Securities Transactions

  • T4E, Statement of Employment Insurance and Other Benefits

  • T4RSP, Statement of RRSP Income

  • T5007, Statement of Benefits

  • RC210, Working Income Tax Benefit Advance Payments Statement

e) any student loan payments (you should receive a statement which details how much interest and principal were paid off over the year.)

f) If you were a post-secondary student, a T2202 form and any tuition carry forward amounts from the previous year. If you are a family member to a student who is not using their tuition credit, your family may decide to transfer some of these credits. For more information about tuition credits, read this blog. NB. If you are pursuing a certification or professional designation in a trade, you may be eligible to deduct the examination fees as a tuition credit as well.

g) Your Notice of Assessment from your most recent tax return.

h) Details about any RRSP contributions made.

i) Details about any charitable donations or political contributions made.

j) Details about any union dues paid not included on your T4 slip.

k) Receipts for medical expenses.

l) Receipts for digital news subscriptions. The Digital News Subscription Tax Credit is for subscriptions to Qualifying Canadian Journalism Organization.

m) If you are a teacher, you can claim receipts for classroom/school supplies.

n) Details about moving expenses (if you moved over 40 km for work or study)
If you are an employee claiming work expenses, you need to include a T2200 Employment expenses (signed by your employer).

o) Self employed people – all your income and expenses. Here is a spreadsheet you can use to help you organize your expenses. (Just make a copy of it to begin using it.)  Get in touch with me if you need more guidance on what you can claim as a self-employed person. If you are in a business partnership, please include the percentage of the partnership that is yours, and the name of your partner.

p) If you have rental income – all your details about your rental property, income and expenses. Contact me for more guidance about this.

q) If you dispose of a property, you need to submit all details about the sale.

If you sold or if you were considered to have sold property in 2023 that was, at any time, your principal residence, you must report the sale on Schedule 3, Capital Gains (or Losses), and Form T2091(IND), Designation of a Property as a Principal Residence by an Individual (Other Than a Personal Trust). See Disposing of your principal residence on the CRA site for more information.

If you sell a rental or investment property, you need to report that sale on a Schedule 3, Capital Gains (or Losses). So collect all information relevant to the original purchase and sale.

r) Details about any carry forward amounts, including unused tuition credits, loss, and other carry forward amounts (business-use-of home, donations, etc.).

s) If you want to file your taxes online (by far the quickest, easiest and even the cheapest option), it will be helpful to have your NETFILE access code, located on the right side of your Notice of Assessment for a previous tax year. While this access code is not mandatory, it will help you confirm your identity. Otherwise, you will have to rely on other information for authentication purposes.

Have you signed up for a CRA My Account?

If not, please do this first. You can pull your tax slips and last year’s Notice of Assessment directly from your account. You can also check the status of your refund, and any outstanding balance. It is also the most direct way to authorize a representative on your account.

If you need help with preparing your tax return, Bird’s Eye Business Solutions provides tax filing services for individuals and small businesses. Find out more about our rates and book a free 15 minute consultation to discuss your needs.

Getting ready for tax filing

The open graph image for the Employment insurance for the getting ready for tax filing blog post

I know tax talk is not everyone’s cup of tea, but in my experience, having a simple checklist can help alleviate that overwhelming feeling of burdensome bureaucracy. So whether you are filing your own taxes or are having someone else do them for you here’s a basic checklist of what you need to put together:

a) Personal details: name, address, SIN, date of birth and marital status (name, SIN and income of partner if common-law or married).

b) Information about dependents – birth dates, full names, social insurance numbers, any income they earned, plus any eligible expenses including childcare and medical expenses. (Contact me if you need more information about what expenses are eligible to claim.)

c) The total amount of any installment payments made to CRA.

d) All income information including:

  • T4, Statement of Remuneration Paid

  • T4A, Statement of Pension, Retirement, Annuity, and Other Income

  • T4A(OAS), Statement of Old Age Security

  • T4A(P), Statement of Canada Pension Plan Benefits

  • T4RIF Statement of income from a Registered Retirement Income Fund

  • T5 Statement of Investment Income

  • T3 Statement of Trust Income Allocations and Designations

  • T5008 Statement of Securities Transactions

  • T4E, Statement of Employment Insurance and Other Benefits

  • T4RSP, Statement of RRSP Income

  • T5007, Statement of Benefits

  • RC210, Working Income Tax Benefit Advance Payments Statement

e) any student loan payments (you should receive a statement which details how much interest and principal were paid off over the year.)

f) If you were a post-secondary student, a T2202 form and any tuition carry forward amounts from the previous year. If you are a family member to a student who is not using their tuition credit, your family may decide to transfer some of these credits. For more information about tuition credits, read this blog. NB. If you are pursuing a certification or professional designation in a trade, you may be eligible to deduct the examination fees as a tuition credit as well.

g) Your Notice of Assessment from your most recent tax return.

h) Details about any RRSP contributions made.

i) Details about any charitable donations or political contributions made.

j) Details about any union dues paid not included on your T4 slip.

k) Receipts for medical expenses.

l) Receipts for digital news subscriptions. The Digital News Subscription Tax Credit is for subscriptions to Qualifying Canadian Journalism Organization.

m) If you are a teacher, you can claim receipts for classroom/school supplies.

n) Details about moving expenses (if you moved over 40 km for work or study)
If you are an employee claiming work expenses, you need to include a T2200 Employment expenses (signed by your employer).

o) Self employed people – all your income and expenses. Here is a spreadsheet you can use to help you organize your expenses. (Just make a copy of it to begin using it.)  Get in touch with me if you need more guidance on what you can claim as a self-employed person. If you are in a business partnership, please include the percentage of the partnership that is yours, and the name of your partner.

p) If you have rental income – all your details about your rental property, income and expenses. Contact me for more guidance about this.

q) If you dispose of a property, you need to submit all details about the sale.

If you sold or if you were considered to have sold property in 2023 that was, at any time, your principal residence, you must report the sale on Schedule 3, Capital Gains (or Losses), and Form T2091(IND), Designation of a Property as a Principal Residence by an Individual (Other Than a Personal Trust). See Disposing of your principal residence on the CRA site for more information.

If you sell a rental or investment property, you need to report that sale on a Schedule 3, Capital Gains (or Losses). So collect all information relevant to the original purchase and sale.

r) Details about any carry forward amounts, including unused tuition credits, loss, and other carry forward amounts (business-use-of home, donations, etc.).

s) If you want to file your taxes online (by far the quickest, easiest and even the cheapest option), it will be helpful to have your NETFILE access code, located on the right side of your Notice of Assessment for a previous tax year. While this access code is not mandatory, it will help you confirm your identity. Otherwise, you will have to rely on other information for authentication purposes.

Have you signed up for a CRA My Account?

If not, please do this first. You can pull your tax slips and last year’s Notice of Assessment directly from your account. You can also check the status of your refund, and any outstanding balance. It is also the most direct way to authorize a representative on your account.

If you need help with preparing your tax return, Bird’s Eye Business Solutions provides tax filing services for individuals and small businesses. Find out more about our rates and book a free 15 minute consultation to discuss your needs.

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