It’s Income Tax Time in Calgary Again!
Everyone knows the old saying about death and taxes; with that in mind, guess that time is coming up again very soon (and thank goodness it’s not the first one).
No one likes paying the tax man but it’s a necessary evil to keep our society running properly. As an accountant and bookkeeper I believe in paying my taxes but I want my clients to pay the least amount of taxes possible and keep that money in their own pockets.
WHAT YOU NEED TO PREPARE YOUR INCOME TAX RETURN IN CALGARY.
Four little words that people look forward to or dread. If you have a refund coming, you want to do it quickly or, if you owe, you are not as keen to get it done.
To prepare your income tax return correctly, there are a large number of details you need to provide your preparer.
Income Tax Time in Calgary
Identification and Other Information:
Name, address, date of birth and Social Insurance Number – the income tax return cannot be completed if this information is missing.
If you are having your spouse’s return completed at the same time, you will need to provide the same information for them.
Your marital status is also required and if this status changed during the year, the date of that change is needed.
Details of Income:
The most common type of income to be reported is your earnings from employment (T4). These slips and other information slips are to be issued to you by the end of February each year.
Other common information slips that you can receive are T5’s – Interest and Dividends received in the year, various T4A’s – pension incomes, Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Pension, Employment Insurance slips, etc.
Business and rental income is more self-employed revenue. There are forms within the T1 income tax return to report the detailed revenue and expenses for operations that you operate. The tax preparer needs to categorize the various expenses that are incurred during the year as well as assets that can be depreciated in the year.
The types of self-employed businesses can include Business income, Professional income, Commission income and Farming and Fishing income. These are all reported in a similar method with the preparation of an Statement of Income for the year.
There are other types of income that need to be reported, if you receive these types of income, most are reported on various Information Slips.
Other Deductions:
One of the most common deductions from income on the tax return are Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSP) and Registered Pension Plans (RPP). An RRSP deduction results when you purchase an RRSP investment during the year or within sixty days after the taxation year. The RPP deduction comes from investments you make to an employer’s pension plan at work and is recorded on your T4 slip. When you contribute to a RRSP, you will receive a deduction slip from the company you invested in.
There are other common deductions such as Union Dues, Moving Expenses and employment expenses incurred to earn your income.
Conclusion:
When gathering all the information needed to file your T1 Income Tax return it is best if you can accumulate all the information slips and details that you have. Some information slips can arrive in the first part of March, so it can be advisable not to file your return too early or you may have to send late arriving slips to the CRA which can delay the processing of your return.
When your tax preparer has all the necessary documentation they can quickly and efficiently prepare your return, resulting in a lower fee.
Petcal Bookkeeping Services
Gary Peterson B.Comm.
E-mail: gpet@shaw.ca
Web: petcalbookkeepingservices.com
Income Tax time in Calgary
