February 20th is fast approaching and with that date comes the ability for you to either net file your taxes or have a tax professional prepare and e-file them on your behalf.

Related: Tax Deductions You Cannot Miss: Part 1

Earlier, we discussed five tax deductions that you should not overlook. Today, we are going to cover another five more.

Charitable Donations – Line 349

Did you donate money to a charity this year? You may be able to claim both a federal and provincial non-refundable tax credit. Don’t forget that you can carry-forward a portion of your donation up to five years into the future to maximize this particular deduction. And you also have the opportunity to claim the First Time Donor’s Super Credit if you haven’t contributed to a charity in any year after 2007.

Childcare Expenses – Line 214

Working parents, either with or without a spouse, are entitled to claim a deduction for childcare expenses. These can and do include fees for daycare, boarding schools, hockey school or summer camp fees. If you and your spouse are both working, the parent that is the lower income earner is the person who actually claims the deduction. The only caveat is if the lower income earner is a student. Then the higher income spouse can claim this deduction.

The maximum deduction for a child under seven (at the end of the year) is $7,000 a year, and $4,000 for a child over seven, but under sixteen. If your child has a disability, you can claim up to $10,000 per year. The only caveat is that the deduction cannot exceed two-thirds of your earned income.

Pension Income Splitting – Line 210

You can split a portion of your pension to a spouse/partner if you meet all of the following criteria.

• You’re married or in a common law partnership in the year of filing and were not living apart due to breakdown of the relationship.
• If you and your spouse are both residents of Canada on December 31st of the year.
• Did you receive a pension income in the year that qualifies for the pension income amount, or you were 65 years of age or older and received certain amounts from a retirement compensation arrangement?

 

Please note that the following amounts are not eligible

• Old Age Security Payment
• Canada Pension Plan or Quebec Pension Plan
• Any foreign source pension income that is tax-free in Canada
• Income from a US IRA, or
• Amounts from a RRIF

 

We do recommend that you speak more thoroughly with your advisor to take advantage of this deduction due to the complexity of the calculation.

Moving Expenses – Line 219

If you are moving within Canada, and you are moving at least 40 kilometers closer to your place of work, you may be able to claim your moving expenses as a deduction. Some possible reasons for the move could be starting your first job, or starting a new business in another province. You can claim the cost of the moving van, hiring the mover’s, furniture storage, lodging’s and meals for you and your family while moving. You could also claim the legal fees and the real estate commissions if you had to sell your home so that you could move to that great new job.

Public Transit Passes – Line 364

Last, but not least for today, is public transit passes. You can claim a credit for monthly (or longer) transit passes. And basically, if you took transit for the entire year and claimed the credit, you would end up with almost $180 in your pocket for this deduction.

There are still more to review, so look for our next article that gives you seven more deductions you should be aware of.

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Until the next time,