Tax experts - it's income tax season again
 

For people with knowledge on income tax and claims.

Are dental expenses that are partly covered by insurance considered medical expenses? For example, if I got a crown that cost $1500, but insurance only covered a $1000, and $500 is paid out of my own pocket, can I claim the $500 as medical expense?

If you paid everything and insurance reimbursed after, there should be a box on your T4 for the reimbursed amount. Enter the entire amount and put in the box when you report income.

If you paid only what wasn't covered, you should have a receipt for just that amount, and you can claim as usual.

...I think. That's what happened to me last year anyway.

I think you can claim it, but I believe you only get the credit if that $500 is 10% of your income.

I have another related question, I have around $25k in eligible medical expense to claim for this tax season and this is definately > 10% of my income. I guess this means I'm going to get audited?

Question:

Can I claim bus-passes (monthly) that I bought for my girlfriend last year? I have both the passes and the receipts.

She had little income so there's no point in claiming under her (I know they're transferrable, but I paid for them lol).

In chance of an audit, would they question the fact that I own a car, and still bought transit passes, while being "single"?

You can own a car (for out of town trip) and ride the bus. Nothing wrong with that.

Yes, you can claim the pass, believe you need to present them if you get audited for them.

Anyone know how you can report income that is paid by cash? Not for this year but I'm thinking about picking up a part time job and not sure if it's a good idea.

Lol.. Paid by cash typically means no tax was deducted..

Don't listen to him. Tax evasion is against the law. Report every penny.

If you're picking up a job that is purely under the table and off the books you could end up with more problems than just filing your taxes.

If you're talking about something like a serving job where you get a set minimum wage but cash tips you should declare it all but show me a server that declares every penny of their tips at tax time and I'll show you a bridge I have for sale in New York.

For all expenses, you can only claim the part of the expense that you or someone else have not been and will not be reimbursed for. However, the expense can be claimed if the reimbursement is included in your or someone else's income (such as a benefit shown on a T4, Statement of Remuneration Paid, slip) and the reimbursement was not deducted anywhere else on the income tax and benefit return.

Lines 330 and 331 ? Eligible medical expenses you can claim on your return

Only you or your spouse or common-law partner can claim the cost of transit passes (if these amounts have not already been claimed) for:

-yourself;
-your spouse or common-law partner; and
-your or your spouse's or common-law partner's children who were under 19 years of age on December 31, 2015.

Who can claim?

Depends on what you're doing to earn this income. Generally, line 104 can be used for odd cash jobs. Best practice is to get some sort of documentation for each pay. Or at the very least, keep track of it yourself, who paid you, for what service/work, just to cover yourself if questions arise.

Lots of people are paid by cash, it doesn't mean they don't report it or that they don't pay tax.

if he's reporting his income, he's doing his part. it's not his fault that the employer will only pay him cash. if the employer that pays him is doing something shady, they are the ones that will have problems.

When I'm doing my taxes for 2015, my martial status is transitioning from single to common law status.

Any major differences when you're filing for income taxes?

Yes, I know this - maybe you didn't read my thing entirely.

I bought them. From my income.
I have receipts. I have the passes.
...I just didn't use them, lol.

Ah, I read the original post as if you had 2x the monthly passes for the same months (for yourself AND her).


-you have the receipt to support your claim
-whether you used the pass or not is irrelevant

lol. you guys are cute. fuck the tax man, pocket that cash and fuck the tax man. they take enough from us as is. take that cash you earn and spend it on nights out at clubs and restaurants. fuck it.

the government audited my sister last year for 27cents. yes. twenty seven fucking cents is what she owes them. the amount of paper that was printed and sent to her is worth more. its god damn joke.

Correct, but his employer can always fuck him out of a pay cheque if he's not actually registered as an employee, also if he is injured on said job he has zero benefits like WCB.

CRA normally doesn't charge nor refund anything less than $2.00 ... so...... :badpokerface: unless she owes $2220.27 vs 2220.00

Well they aren't collecting from her but it's still a god damn joke. It really was 27cents.

I owed $4.00 back in 2012, CRA never collected from me.

How dare CRA audit people. :rukidding:

what she owes as a result of it is not the same as what she was being "audited" for. they could have "audited" her for $1,000 and after she provided documentation, the difference was the 27 cents. that's how it works. it would be ridiculous to think that they "audited" her for 27 cents.

drunken pointless rant. if i was sober like i am now, i wouldnt have even posted that. lol

Owe the guberment $900 according to the HR tax calculator :derp:

Do union start up dues count as part of union dues?

don't take this as fact, but many years ago when I was a waiter, it was communicated that the accepted standard for tips was income inclusion of 10% of your salary.

not sure what there is to back that up, but no way is it accurate (tips were 200%+ of my wage)

They are starting to track down on tips. At the casino, dealers making $15/hr have to report their yearly income based on $25/hr regardless of how much tips they get, something like that.

the only way the CRA could audit you as a waiter would be to go through Credit / Debit card slips to review tips (they may be able to extrapolate that over your sales to account for cash tips, as POS systems will have your sales records). they could also look at your bank account, but that would be much harder to prove anything.

i think a rule of thumb based on certain research is a good way to go. if you make less, then declare that - you're never doing wrong by declaring accurately, but reasonable rules of thumbs would not be looked down upon.