Hey Prepsters,
It’s tax-filing season, and I’ve partnered with the best in the business, H&R Block to share my tax-filing experience, and tips for students!
My Experience
Around a week and a half ago, I dropped by to my local H&R Block, to file my taxes. I called ahead of time to make the appointment, and the agent was actually extremely informative and patient. Given that I am a student, that also works full-time, and used to work part-time (I know… I barely used to get any sleep), I had a lot of tax prepping to do, but I had little to no knowledge. Luckily, the H&R Block agent gave myself a run-down on all of the things that I would need to bring, such as the different types of papers and the type of identification to bring. Unfortunately, the day of tax filing, I lost one of my T4’s, and in a panic, I called the agent and asked her what I should do. To my relief, she let me know that it was no worry and that I should just stop by, and she will bring up the T4 through the CRA system. It was an amazing feeling to know that I was being so well taken care of. I walked into the location, and an in no time, I had my taxes filed! H&R Block really took care of me, and from that experience I learned some amazing tips that I thought I’d share with my fellow students!
Tax Tips for Students
- Get Your T2202A Form Ready
This form is sent to you by your post secondary educational institution (or in my case, it was on my universities online portal), and explains your enrolment. It will help identify which credits you are eligible for.
- Eligible Tuition Fees:
- Fees that you paid to attend your post-secondary education institution for the tax year.
- Education Amount:
- This is the last year to claim the education amount, so don’t forget. You can claim $400 for each month you qualify as a full-time student and $120 for each month you qualify as a part-time student! That’s a lot of money that you wouldn’t want to miss claiming!
- Textbook Amount:
- 2016 is the last year for textbook amount. You can only claim $65 for each month you qualify for the full-time education amount and $20 for each month you qualify for the part-time amount.
- Interest Paid On Your Student Loans
You may be able to claim the amount of interest paid on your loan for post-secondary education in 2016 and the last five years (if you haven’t already claimed it). Only interest paid on loans received under the Canada Student Loans Act, the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act, or a similar provincial or territorial government law for post-secondary education can be claimed.
- Public Transit Amounts
Make sure you keep your transit passes for local buses, streetcars, subways, commuter trains and local ferries. You can bring these to your local H&R Block during your filing, or if you’re using the software – enter the total public transit amount on line 364 of schedule 1, federal tax.
- Eligible Moving Expenses:
If you’re a full-time student, who had to move for your post-secondary studies or your summer job, you may be eligible to claim these moving expenses.
- GST/HST Credit
If you have low/modest income, and you are a resident of Canada, you may be able to claim the GST/HST credit. The CRA will calculate this credit for you based on the info you provide in your tax return.
- Child Care Expense
If you happen to pay someone to look after your child so that you can go to your post-secondary classes, you may be able to deduct child care expenses!
Be sure to join myself and H&R Block Canada for our #PaybackSeason twitter chat, where we will discuss last minute filing tips + giving away amazing prizes!
TWITTER CHAT: LAST MINUTE FILING TIPS WITH H&R BLOCK #PAYBACKSEASON
For info on booking your tax-filing or to doing it yourself with H&R Block, visit www.HRBlock.ca
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