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resa1983
Premium Member
join:2008-03-10
North York, ON

resa1983 to MaynardKrebs

Premium Member

to MaynardKrebs

Re: Got My Tax Refund Today

said by MaynardKrebs:

said by Xstar_Lumini:

There's a great difference between doing your own taxes on your PC or letting a professional guy that knows tax loopholes do it for you. My co-workers PAY back from $500 to $1,200 each year while I make the same money as them with less expenses and I get almost $5,000 back. This has ocurred in the last 6 years.

Anyone who gets a tax refund is a fool.

Yes & no.. Unless you have tax software, you can't really plan for how much of a difference some changes will make.

We put our son in daycare for 11 of 12 months in 2012, and it took our refunds from minor to almost $900.

Raptor
Not a Dumptruck
join:2001-10-21
London, ON

Raptor to BigSensFan

Member

to BigSensFan
said by BigSensFan:

Why pay for software? StudioTax is free and is Netfile approved

+1 for StudioTax. Filed for both myself and the woman in about an hour last night. Basic T4s, T4PS, T5, etc and RRSP stuff. Definitely a breeze for anyone with a normal return. I'm curious to see how it holds up with next years return when things get more complex (new HBP, investments, etc.).

It looks like it's from the Windows 98 era graphically, but it does the trick. Definitely recommended and as stated, it's free.

I normally have to eat a payment at year end due to profit sharing/bonuses being not/under taxed , but a hefty RRSP contribution for the HBP resulted in a nice return instead. I don't have direct deposit setup and I'm waiting for a CRA code to activate my CRA online account (though I did already netfile), so I'm not sure on the speediness of the return processing compared to the OP since it'll likely be snail mail. We shall see....

horsey
@eastlink.ca

horsey to Xstar_Lumini

Anon

to Xstar_Lumini
said by Xstar_Lumini:

It's not tax fraud it's perfectly legal because my company pays me ONLY for the travel and not to work

It's like Steve Jobs that only got paid $1 a year to avoid paying $5 million in taxes, meanwhile his face was getting creamed with stocks worth $20 million every year... is this not tax fraud? or is tax fraud only if a blue collar worker does it?

Dude DONT cheet the gov and boast about it.
You can demand 2x for ot and pay tax on that.
I get 2x after 20 hr. same union as you.

corster
Premium Member
join:2002-02-23
Oshawa, ON

corster to BigSensFan

Premium Member

to BigSensFan
said by BigSensFan:

Why pay for software? StudioTax is free and is Netfile approved

StudioTax does the job just fine, but it's the computer equivalent of filling your taxes out on paper. You need to know what credits you're claiming and what forms to fill out, as the software won't always remind you.

uFile or Turbotax is more the computer equivalent of going to a tax place like H&R Block - they will point out some deductions you may not have heard about, but the advice isn't always solid. Still, they'll make sure you fill out the necessary forms and give you some information on various credits.

There really is no software equivalent of a real accountant who actually knows their way around tax law, but I do see the benefit in paying for TurboTax or uFile vs. StudioTax in some cases.

This year, I found uFile was having difficulty with my "Quebec Resident working outside Quebec with a Quebec RL-1 form" situation. Turbotax handled it fine so i've switched software. I will probably stick with them until the next time I have a problem. Didn't even try StudioTax.

BryceS
join:2007-09-17
Stouffville, ON

BryceS to digitalfutur

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to digitalfutur
Paid my dad $46,000 from the family company this year.

Not one cent in income tax, CPP, or EI.

Gotta love the $0 returns and $46K dividends and the Canadian tax system for small business owners.

joeblow3
join:2000-12-27
h0h0h0

joeblow3

Member

Gee isn't dividends taxable? It may not be wages/salary but it is taxable for him on his T1

Mike2009
join:2009-01-13
Ottawa, ON
TP-Link Archer C7
Technicolor DCM476
Grandstream HT701

Mike2009 to MaynardKrebs

Member

to MaynardKrebs
said by MaynardKrebs:

said by Xstar_Lumini:

There's a great difference between doing your own taxes on your PC or letting a professional guy that knows tax loopholes do it for you. My co-workers PAY back from $500 to $1,200 each year while I make the same money as them with less expenses and I get almost $5,000 back. This has ocurred in the last 6 years.

Anyone who gets a tax refund is a fool.
All it means is that there are too many deductions taken from your pay throughout the year.
There are forms you can file to reduce the tax bite on each paycheque.
It's better to either own nothing or a small amount come April 30th than to let Herr Harpler have an excess amount of your money all the prior year.

True. I did this when I was paying $14,000 a year on daycare and it made things easier by having a bigger paycheque every two weeks.
MaynardKrebs
We did it. We heaved Steve. Yipee.
Premium Member
join:2009-06-17

MaynardKrebs to BryceS

Premium Member

to BryceS
said by BryceS:

Paid my dad $46,000 from the family company this year.

Not one cent in income tax, CPP, or EI.

Gotta love the $0 returns and $46K dividends and the Canadian tax system for small business owners.

The business paid tax on the dividend amount prior to distribution.
There ain't no tax-free anything, it's just that the tax rate may sometimes be zero.
MichelR
join:2011-07-03
Trois-Rivieres, QC

MichelR to horsey

Member

to horsey
said by horsey :

said by Xstar_Lumini:

It's not tax fraud it's perfectly legal because my company pays me ONLY for the travel and not to work

It's like Steve Jobs that only got paid $1 a year to avoid paying $5 million in taxes, meanwhile his face was getting creamed with stocks worth $20 million every year... is this not tax fraud? or is tax fraud only if a blue collar worker does it?

Dude DONT cheet the gov and boast about it.
You can demand 2x for ot and pay tax on that.
I get 2x after 20 hr. same union as you.

More like don't cheat the government, period. By defrauding the government, he's really stealing from all of us.

DKS
Damn Kidney Stones

join:2001-03-22
Owen Sound, ON

DKS to MaynardKrebs

to MaynardKrebs
said by MaynardKrebs:

Anyone who gets a tax refund is a fool.
All it means is that there are too many deductions taken from your pay throughout the year.

And that is nonsense. There are certain tax credits which you can only claim when filing. Contract workers with expenses are one, and expenses on a rental property are another. Then there are medical expense deductions, and charitable tax deductions, which are credits which can not be claimed until filing. Everyone's tax situation is different. There is no "one size fits all".

BryceS
join:2007-09-17
Stouffville, ON

BryceS to MaynardKrebs

Member

to MaynardKrebs
said by MaynardKrebs:

said by BryceS:

Paid my dad $46,000 from the family company this year.

Not one cent in income tax, CPP, or EI.

Gotta love the $0 returns and $46K dividends and the Canadian tax system for small business owners.

The business paid tax on the dividend amount prior to distribution.
There ain't no tax-free anything, it's just that the tax rate may sometimes be zero.

We setup the business so its revenues, for the most part, always match its expenses in the last few years. The dividends are from accumulated retained earnings over the decades.

Corporations are great retirement vehicles. Let the corporation pay 15% income tax on profits in the early years and then keep the withdrawals below $50K per year to live off of.

My father can also arbitrarily restrict their income levels, so that I receive financial based funding for my university as the household income can drop from $100 to $50 the moment I enter university and then go back up again as needed.
peterboro (banned)
Avatars are for posers
join:2006-11-03
Peterborough, ON

peterboro (banned)

Member

said by BryceS:

We setup the business so its revenues, for the most part, always match its expenses in the last few years.

Pray tell how this does not trigger a CRA review of reasonable expectation of profit or it does not constitute a bona fide business enterprise?

nitzguy
Premium Member
join:2002-07-11
Sudbury, ON

nitzguy

Premium Member

said by peterboro:

said by BryceS:

We setup the business so its revenues, for the most part, always match its expenses in the last few years.

Pray tell how this does not trigger a CRA review of reasonable expectation of profit or it does not constitute a bona fide business enterprise?

CRA may have 'bigger' fish to fry unfortunately...or maybe they'll get to him eventually. I feel like they're clamping down more though as the gf received something from EI in regards to her employer stating $626 worth of income for the 1 week period, when she said $500 for the period as she was estimating as she hadn't received the official paperwork from the school board yet, which wouldn't entitle her to benefits anyways...

I hate our taxation system...it stinks.

J E F F4
Whatta Ya Think About Dat?
Premium Member
join:2004-04-01
Kitchener, ON

J E F F4 to BryceS

Premium Member

to BryceS
said by BryceS:

We setup the business so its revenues, for the most part, always match its expenses in the last few years.......
My father can also arbitrarily restrict their income levels, so that I receive financial based funding for my university as the household income can drop from $100 to $50 the moment I enter university and then go back up again as needed.

Wow...

Gone
Premium Member
join:2011-01-24
Fort Erie, ON

Gone to peterboro

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to peterboro
said by peterboro:

Pray tell how this does not trigger a CRA review of reasonable expectation of profit or it does not constitute a bona fide business enterprise?

If the business is breaking even the CRA won't even blink. It only becomes an issue if they're constantly reporting large losses each year.

Those reviews happen with racehorse owners all the time as it sometimes takes years to turn a profit with massive losses leading up to it.
Gone

Gone to J E F F4

Premium Member

to J E F F4
said by J E F F4:

Wow...

Pfft, that's nothing.

Xstar_Lumini
join:2008-12-14
CANADA

Xstar_Lumini to J E F F4

Member

to J E F F4
said by J E F F4:

[
Working overtime and getting it paid as "travel time" doesn't make you look clever. You're a thief.

Yeah right, keeping more of my own money makes me a thief but working time-and-a-half and forking half of that to the government makes me a honest good citizen eh? I pay more than $13,000 in federal taxes even after using those loopholes.

Now the government is going to dictate what I want to earn or what my company wants to pay me? Regarding that it's illegal for me not to get paid that's nobody business, I can work for free if I want and nobody can touch me for doing it. It's funny we have mexicans working our farms in inhuman conditions here in Ontario for $8 an hour but it's not illegal to do that.

Gone
Premium Member
join:2011-01-24
Fort Erie, ON

Gone

Premium Member

said by Xstar_Lumini:

I pay more than $13,000 in federal taxes even after using those loopholes.

Are you expecting some sort of round of applause for that or something? My wife would laugh at you right now.

Xstar_Lumini
join:2008-12-14
CANADA

Xstar_Lumini

Member

Why is your wife going to laugh at me? Because she doesn't pay anything?

Gone
Premium Member
join:2011-01-24
Fort Erie, ON

Gone

Premium Member

said by Xstar_Lumini:

Why is your wife going to laugh at me? Because she doesn't pay anything?

No, because she pays more than you and doesn't go on the Internet to bitch about it.

cpsycho
join:2008-06-03
Treadeu Land

cpsycho to digitalfutur

Member

to digitalfutur
We just finished with our taxes dating 5 years back. We make sure the government owes us money and its like money in the bank. We are getting back with gst checks and everything almost 10k. We also make sure we overpay taxes each year.

Nothing like a nice big check when you want it most.

Gone
Premium Member
join:2011-01-24
Fort Erie, ON

1 recommendation

Gone

Premium Member

The problem is that if you had control of that money yourself, you could invest it better.

*shrug* whatever works I guess. I would rather owe at the end of the year, but with all my write-offs I always end up getting money back anyway.
MichelR
join:2011-07-03
Trois-Rivieres, QC

MichelR

Member

I usually get some back because of my RRSPs, but with most of my usual RRSP money going into the mortgage instead, plus capital gains from selling investments for the down payment, I ended up owing a little over $277. Not as bad as I expected since some of the investments generated a decent return.

Anyway, I did this while congested, sneezing and with a mild fever, so I'll redo it again when I feel better, just to make sure I didn't miss anything. I need to look into that Trillium Benefit crap, though I'm pretty sure I make too much to be eligible.
quickdry21
join:2009-05-15
Westmount, QC

quickdry21 to digitalfutur

Member

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Because I've been travelling all over the country with work for the last year I haven't been able to submit my 2011 taxes. Just did them online with UFile, and apparently I'm getting $8000 back for that year. Pretty happy about that.

dirtyjeffer0
Posers don't use avatars.
Premium Member
join:2002-02-21
London, ON

dirtyjeffer0 to Gone

Premium Member

to Gone
my returns are usually pretty "boring"...i either get back a minimal amount, or in the case of this year, have to pay a minimal amount ($15)...like you said, i'd rather not give the government an interest free loan thank you very much.
NefCanuck
join:2007-06-26
Mississauga, ON

NefCanuck to digitalfutur

Member

to digitalfutur
Have to wait on the last RRSP slip and then efile it is.

I always arrange to get a refund because its easier to take the money and then pay those expenses that pop up around this time of year (I've always planned to put the refund into the mortgage, but my plans have always exploded into confetti because of expenses that blindside me)

NefCanuck

J E F F4
Whatta Ya Think About Dat?
Premium Member
join:2004-04-01
Kitchener, ON

J E F F4 to Xstar_Lumini

Premium Member

to Xstar_Lumini
said by Xstar_Lumini:

Yeah right, keeping more of my own money makes me a thief but working time-and-a-half and forking half of that to the government makes me a honest good citizen eh? I pay more than $13,000 in federal taxes even after using those loopholes.

What's your point? You're breaking tax laws. So I assume you have a form T2200 and all the receipts for your "travel expense" such as the fancy hotels you stayed at? And these are not 'loopholes'. It's known as tax evasion. There's a difference between tax evasion and tax avoidance. You're not doing tax avoidance (such as taking stock options or funnelling overtime into a pension plan), you're doing tax evasion.

No one "likes" paying taxes, but paying $13,000 in federal taxes hardly pays for anything.

BigSensFan
Premium Member
join:2003-07-16
Belle River, ON

BigSensFan

Premium Member

I filed mine on Tuesday at 2:00am (essentially Monday overnight I guess ) and the return is assessed and the refund will be in my account on March 14th
peterboro (banned)
Avatars are for posers
join:2006-11-03
Peterborough, ON

peterboro (banned) to digitalfutur

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So one of the people I do taxes for was waiting for his cheque and got his assessment today and......

POOF!



gone nada nothing...scooped by Alberta Department of Justice who have a deal with CRA.

BigSensFan
Premium Member
join:2003-07-16
Belle River, ON

BigSensFan

Premium Member

said by peterboro:

So one of the people I do taxes for was waiting for his cheque and got his assessment today and......

POOF!



gone nada nothing...scooped by Alberta Department of Justice who have a deal with CRA.

So he owed money on a fine, a judgement against him or something I assume?