Have You Done Your Taxes Yet?

Most people wait till the very last moment before filing their taxes, as it’s a bit of a chore and it can be intimidating to most people. I tend to do them as soon as I have the last slip I need because I just want to get it out of the way. Kind of like eating the spinach on my plate first as a little kid.

The Canadian government has created a handy website that can help Canadians figure out which tax credits you can apply for. Go here to check it out.

They’ve broken up the tips into categories: a taxpayer, a parent, a person with a disability, a senior, a student, or a tradesperson. This is helpful since you just need to click the appropriate category, and you’ll see tax credits and tips that will apply to you. If you’re looking for some tips and help on your 2008 tax return, I recommend you check out the Canada Revenue Agency’s website.

How many of you go and have your taxes done by a professional? Some place like H&R Block? Did you know that you’ve got several online options as well? Remember that not everyone can submit their taxes online, so you’ll have to check the paper work CCRA sent you a few months ago to see if you qualified. Since my return is fairly simple (income, savings accounts, and RRSP contributions), I am eligible. Don’t forget that if you file online, you’ve got to keep your tax slips handy, because the government might want to take a look at them. They asked me for my T4s last year after I filed online, which delayed my return by a few days, but nothing that I couldn’t handle. It’s good practice to keep your slips and any other tax information for 7 years, just in case.

This year I’m excited to do my taxes because I know I’m going to be getting a good refund. How do I know this already? Well, firstly, I changed jobs, which always means I over contribute to EI and CPP. It’s annoying that I don’t earn any interest on that money, but at least they give it back to me. PLUS, I also made RRSP contributions this through my group RRSP at work, so that also has the added bonus of lowering my income (and reducing my taxable amount), AND ensures I get more of a refund back from the government.

And while my refund is going to be a hefty amount, I’m not going to do the “usual” and spend it all. I’ll be putting 1/3 towards debt repayment, 1/3 towards my emergency fund, and I haven’t decided what to do with the other 1/3. I  might also put that towards my debt repayment, but I also might just put it towards my travel fund, since I will be doing some travelling over the next 12 months, and I’ll need the money. In fact, that last 1/3 might actually just top up my Italy fund, now that I think about it. Hmm, I should look into that.

At this point I’ve only just done a draft of my taxes, as I am waiting for one more RRSP contribution slip (my 60-days of contributions in 2009 slip.) I didn’t actually contribute a lot more in these first 60 days of 2009, but every little bit helps, right? For all of you non-Canadians out there, we’re able to claim not only any RRSP contributions we made during the appropriate tax year (2008 in this case), but also any made in the first 60-days of the following year (Jan-Feb of 2009.)

I’ll post again later on what service I’m using for my tax return. Are you all getting ready for the tax man? How ready are you?