Damn... I'm still waiting on two t4 slips to come... I'm hoping they arrive before the deadline so I have a better idea of how to maximize my rrsps + tuition credits

wow how much $$$ is your tuition originally if you're getting 6-9k back?

Hey guys, just kinda curious about filing my tuition along with my T4(s), when the time comes, as I've always just had my parents get my taxes done. But now that I'm paying for school, I'd like to make sure I know how to file it for a return.

Also, should I just bite the bullet and take it to H&R Block, or get someone else?

yogen....try turbotax. It is free if you are a student and earn less than $20k. You can start your return without paying and use it to figure out what you owe or your refund.

There are several other online programs other than Turbo Tax that are just as easy. Most have step by step instructions that will walk you through the process.

Hypediss...depends on what you plan on doing with the $9k. If you are going to spend it all on modding your car, only use enough of your tuition credits to reduce your taxes owing to zero and carry the rest forward to future years. If you plan on investing the $9k in say a TFSA use all your tuition credits.

SirV...use your final paycheque of 2012 to estimate your T4 amounts. You should be able to calculate your T4 without it and your school should have a statement of account area that lets you print off your 2012 payments.

MY RANT: If anyone comes on here bragging about how much money they got back and are one of 'those' people who asks their employer to withhold extra tax from each pay chq, you will cause a kitten to die. Seriously, if you want someone to hold your money for you for a year I am quite willing to do it and will even pay you interest, unlike the government, for the use of your money.:banghead:

Or studiotax, which is free for anybody. I used it last year and just filed my taxes for this year -- StudioTax - Canadian Personal Income Tax Software

Such bullshit. According to the program, I'm getting a return this year of .... $0.46. Damn it!

Filed mine immediately. Somehow getting over $300 back! Yay!

~$275 for me.

you dont get to choose how to use your tuition credits. they are automatically applied in the years you need them until they are used up. no point stressing or thinking about this.


your tuition credits are applied at a rate of 15% (as are all the other nonrefundable tax credits), so you can work backwards to figure it out, but i doubt all of his 6-9k refund is solely from tuition credits.

again, you don't have a choice on when to use your tuition credits. there is no "if".

not true, as your paycheques only give you the net-payment and not the individual deductions taken off (tax, cpp, ei, union). If you're talking about the paystub, it's still not necessarily true, as not all employers issue pay stubs that show a year-to-date amount. i would not recommend doing this unless you have absolutely no way of obtaining the T4 (employer out of business, or you moved provinces).

Truth. kittens will die.

most people here are confused as to why others get significantly larger refunds, but this is exactly why. if your employer is withholding too much tax from each of your paycheques, then you will have paid in excess for taxes. contrary to popular belief, the government is not trying to take every penny away from you and is actually returning to you the excess taxes you have paid.

you can ask your employer to increase or decrease the taxes withheld to your liking. hell, you can ask them to take 0 off for the entire year and pay ALL your taxes in one go on your tax return if you'd like (well, not really, but that's another topic)


******************


unless you only have 1 or 2 T4 slips, filing your returns early is actually not the best thing to do as most employers and financial institutions wait until the last possible day to send out tax slips to you. so if you file early, you take a chance that you'll miss some of those slips (especially those investment ones that you easily forget about). it is your responsibility to report ALL your income, so if you are filing early, you better be 100% sure you have everything. otherwise you will get reassessed later on in the year and get dinged on it. HOWEVER, you should always start preparing and getting ready early on.

Yep I was gonna file early since I had my 2012 year end pay stub (I get paid on the 15th and last day of the month so my YTD amount on my last pay stub is accurate) but then I realized the T4 has my pension adjustment as well as a couple other boxes with numbers that don't appear on my last paystub so it's always better to wait.

I owe $86 :(

I'm getting a little over $500 back.

Still haven't received my RRSP contribution forms from the bank yet. Would rather wait for those to come in first before I file. :(

just did my taxes, getting back $1200

I know i paid last year but this year i contributed to rrsp so im hoping to get something back..last minute contribution FTW!
Posted via RS Mobile

Thank you for correcting me Bobbinka. You are right when you say you can't choose which year you claim your tuition.

I will stand by using your final pay statement of the year to ESTIMATE your tax refund or payment. As per the ESA a pay statement can't just show net pay. On paydays, an employer must give each employee a written wage statement for the pay period, which includes the following information:
•The employer’s name and address;
•The hours worked by the employee;
•The employee’s wage rate, whether hourly, salary, flat rate, piece rate, commission or other incentive basis;
•The employee’s overtime rate(s);
•The hours worked at the overtime rate(s);
• Any money, allowance or other payment the employee is entitled to. (This would include vacation pay or statutory holiday pay);
•The amount and purpose of each deduction;
•If the employee is paid other than by the hour or by salary, how the wages were calculated;
•The employee’s gross and net wages;
•Any amounts withdrawn from the employee’s time bank and how much time remains;

A wage statement must be a document separate from an employee’s pay cheque, so that it can be kept by the employee if desired.

I would never recommend filing based on a pay statement but if you wanted to calculate in order to make a last minute RRSP contribution before the March 1 deadline it is better than guessing your earnings.

The government hates your kind!

The government loves your kind!

If you get a fat refund, that means you gave Harper and Co. an interest free loan for one year. Sometimes I am guilty of such as well.

$2100 back... most i've ever gotten back in returns! yay!

last year was the most i have ever gotten, this year is getting up there as well. Just have to enter in the Jan/Feb RRSP numbers and I'm good to go ;)

I owed over a $1000! =(
Posted via RS Mobile

Never filed last years, owed $1400 from then, and I got back $180 for this year. Crap

In general, how long do you guys have to wait to get your return? Mailing mine out monday, no direct deposit. I always feel like mine takes forever.

could be faster or slower depending on various things, but generally 4 to 6 weeks

Noice, thanks^

I'm pretty excited, its my first time getting back more than the worth of a happy meal :fuckthatshit:

I'm doing my taxes for the first time..how do I claim tuition? It asks for my notice of reassessment for 2011 for tuition credits. Where do I get it?
Posted via RS Mobile

Where do you go to school? There should be an option to print out tax forms from the site where you register for classes/pay tuition