DAVID WILKENFELD, CPA, CA, canadian tax CONSULTANT

Archive for April, 2012|Monthly archive page

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What’s Your Tax Issue? Travel For Medical

In Canadian Income Tax, Personal Tax on April 22, 2012 at 2:28 pm

The Tax Issue

Last year, I was vacationing in Florida and experienced some shortness of breath. I went to the hospital and they suggested I return home to Canada on an emergency basis for further workup. My flight back home cost $1,198. Can I claim this as travel for medical attention?

The Answer

According to the law, transportation costs to receive medical attention are only allowed in very restricted circumstances. First of all, the travel must be from your home to wherever you seek attention, and only if substantially equivalent medical services were not available near your home. The distance traveled must be at least 40 kilometres from your home, and it must be reasonable to expect that you would travel to that place for attention.

If you had to travel at least 80 kilometres (one way) from your home to obtain medical services, you may be able to claim accommodation, meal, and parking expenses in addition to your transportation expenses as medical expenses.

In your case, since the travel was not from your home I would suggest that your plane fare would not qualify as a medical expense.

For more information, visit the CRA’s web page on this topic.

Erratum – Exam Fees

In Canadian Income Tax on April 18, 2012 at 5:24 pm

In my last post I stated that exam fees paid to a professional order were not eligible for the tuition tax credit. In fact, for 2011 and future years, the law was changed and these fees will qualify.

The post has been corrected and my thanks go out to my attentive readers for pointing this out.

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What’s Your Tax Issue? Exam Fees

In Canadian Income Tax, Personal Tax on April 18, 2012 at 1:44 pm

The Tax Issue

I am a physician doing my residency at McGill Unversity. Last year, I paid $3725.00 to the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in respect of exam fees required for my professional designation. I have a very official looking receipt but I’m being told that these fees may not be deductible. I’m getting different opinions everywhere. Do these fees qualify as tuition for tax purposes?

The Answer

Prior to 2011, the short answer was no. Only exam fees paid to a an educational institution were considered eligible for the tuition tax credit. As a small consolation, the CRA did suggest that if you are a self-employed professional, the exam fees might qualify as an eligible capital amount if they are paid in respect of your business or profession.

However, the 2011 federal budget contained amendments that will allow examination fees paid to a professional association, provincial ministry, or other institution for an examination required to obtain a professional status recognized by federal or provincial statute, or to be licensed or certified to to practice a trade or profession in Canada. These amendments apply to examinations taken in 2011 and subsequent taxation years.

 

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What’s Your Tax Issue? Sale of Estate Assets

In Canadian Income Tax, Personal Tax on April 13, 2012 at 8:08 pm

The Tax Issue

I am in the midst of settling my mother’s estate and my accountant has told me I have to sell her house within one year or else I’ll have to pay capital gains tax. He is also telling me that all my mother’s possessions such as jewellery, furniture and  and artwork may be subject to tax. I’ve never heard of this. Can you tell me if he is right?

The Answer

OK, the first thing you must know is that generally, upon the death of an individual, she is deemed to have disposed of all her capital property immediately before her death for proceeds equal to fair market value at that time.

First, let’s deal with the house. I’m assuming your mother lived in the house for the full time she owned it and it is eligible for the principal residence exemption. That means there will be no tax on the gain at death, but you will still inherit the place at a tax cost to you equal to the fair market value of the house at the time of her death.

Now the question is, how do you determine what the fair market value was at the time of death? Well the best way is to actually sell the house immediately. The closer the date of the sale to the date of death, the better estimate you have of the value at death. The longer you wait to sell, the more you will have to rely on an estimate of the value at the time of death based on valuation methods. Whatever the difference is between the value at the time of death (i.e., your tax cost) and the actual sale proceeds when you sell will become a capital gain or loss in your hands.

If you feel the value will be going up in the future, then if you plan to sell, do it sooner rather than later if you want to avoid having to report a capital gain on the increase in value from the time of death.

If the value goes down, then selling within the first year of death allows you to make a special election to use the capital loss against any gains reported on your mother’s final tax return.

Now to the other stuff. Technically speaking, all personal belongings are referred to in the law as “personal use property”, and they are subject to special rules. They are also deemed disposed of at the time of death at fair market value. The only difference is that each item has a deemed minimum cost base and minimum value for tax purposes of $1,000. So, any item that is worth less than $1,000 will not be taxed.  Gains will be taxed, and losses, if any, may be applied only against gains from other personal use property.

Items such as jewellery and artwork are another subset of personal use property called “listed personal property”, and are also subject to the above rules. Losses on this type of property, however, can only be applied against gains from other listed personal property.

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An Unexpected Penalty for Unsuspecting Taxpayers

In Canadian Income Tax on April 10, 2012 at 8:17 pm

My son Victor who is hard at word assisting me with tax returns this year, today learned of a little known penalty that hits many average Canadians who file their returns honestly and in a timely fashion every year. If you’d like to know what it is, just visit his blog.

Thanks for reminding everyone about this Vic. Now get back to work!!

What’s Your Tax Issue? What’s a Full-Time Course Load?

In Canadian Income Tax on April 9, 2012 at 10:10 pm

The Tax Issue

I am enrolled as a part-time student at Ryerson University.  I have an issue in which I was listed for full-time status for a semester for which I took 3 classes (9 hours a week).

My Student Fees office claimed that 9 hours a week is considered a full-time course load, but from what I have found on the Canadian Revenue Agency website is a 10 hour benchmark.  I am only inquiring as there is a huge difference in money for this switch for my tax return.

When enrolled as a part-time student, can the number of classes in a semester affect your taxes?

The Answer

A “full-time” student may be entitled to claim a tax credit based on $400 per month as an education amount and $65 per month as a textbook credit. For a part-time student, those amounts drop to $120 and $20, so your status will definitely make a difference.

The term “full-time” is not defined in the law. You could, for example be considered as a full-time student taking a 9-hour course load as your school suggests.

Your confusion stems from the fact that access to the tax credit requires a two-fold test. Not only must you be a full-time student, you must also be enrolled in a “qualifying educational program”.

A qualifying educational program is defined as a program at a post-secondary level of not less than 3 weeks in duration that requires at least 10 hours of per week on courses or work in the program. The hours must be part of the course, not home study.

So, the short answer is the 10 hour requirement must be met in order for you to claim the full-time credits. Certainly a roundabout way of getting there, but that’s our government hard at work to simplify the tax Act.

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What’s Your Tax Issue? Quebec Business Income

In Canadian Income Tax, Personal Tax on April 2, 2012 at 8:21 pm

The Tax Issue

I live in Ontario. I have $130K  of self employment income earned in Ontario and $12K  of  self employment income earned in Quebec. Do I have to file a Quebec return? Will I have any balance of taxes owing given the amount I earned in Quebec?

The Answer

Every self-employed person resident in Canada may have to perform an allocation of income if their income is earned through a permanent establishment (“PE”) in a different province. If you don’t have a PE in another province through which you earn your business income, then no allocation is necessary.

A PE is defined as a “fixed place of business”, and includes an office, a branch, a mine, an oil well, a farm, a timberland, a factory, a workshop or a warehouse. You will also have a PE if:

(a) You have an employee or agent established in the province if he has the general authority to contract on your behalf or if he has a stock of merchandise from which he regularly fills orders; or

(b) You have made use of substantial machinery or equipment in the province at any time during the year.

If you have a PE in another province, you must make an allocation of your income among the provinces in which you do business. There is a specific formula you must use to make the allocation, which is done on form T2203. The allocation you make will affect your provincial tax payable.

And yes, if you have PE in Quebec, which has its own tax return, then you must file a Quebec tax return. Report the full amount of your income on the Quebec return. Then the provincial allocation is made and the Quebec tax payable is apportioned based on the allocation.

So, to answer your question, if you have a PE in Quebec, you will have a Quebec tax return to prepare and you will likely have some Quebec tax to pay, based on the formula.