Discussions

I know that there are several tools to do your taxes, by professional, by softwares or by yourself. And amount of tax refund depends on everybody individual situation.  
I do my taxes myself manually without software. I try to claim as much as i can, but I do not get much refund back! Maybe few hundred dollars. I heard from someone who got few thousand dollars in tax refund. I am thinking may be i have been missing something for long time which I could claim and I have not but I read the guid throughly and claim the lines that I can (or I think that!). Just wondering approximately how much does everybody get back, say less than 1000, 1000 to like 3000, 3000 to 5000 or more? Which above tool do you use to do your taxes?  
 
Edited by Deb1, 2016-03-10 21:02:42

I usually get back $2500 minimum. I get my taxes done by a professional. I contribute to RRSP every year which benefits my tax bracket. I've had years where I got close to $4000 back, but it was when I was single.  
 
My wife on the other hand gets few hundred dollars to max a grand back. No contributions to RRSP as her salary is low, so nice benefit.

It really depends on each persons situation.  
you can claim:  
rent/property taxes,  
childcare,  
dental/medical,  
donations.  
some special requirements for special medical needs,  
union dues you pay off your work checks.  
some programs you pay for your child,  
if you are working low income there is a special deduction for that,  
do you have a small home business? there is a whole other section for that,  
 
this is just some that I can think of.  
 
You can also go to your employer and get more tax money off each check so you can get a bigger refund.  
 
You could also check on line at a free site. check it against your hand done return.

personally i have gotten as little as $100. and as much as $12,000.  
 
but a lot has to do with your income and how much tax you have paid first in order to get the refund in the first place, then dont forget how your employer taxes the tax off too, if they always add a touch more deduction just in case then you will get a higher refund,if they calculate correctly, and you have no additional deductions to add you will be really close to even  
 
the year i got the huge refund i came into some money and topped up my RRSP plus i was in a high income bracket that year and had high medical expenses ect which meant i paid lots of tax but managed to change my claim to where i got most of it back  
 
so in the end even if you are not getting a huge return you may not be missing anything

gotten under $5.00 dollars back in the last two years and the crazy revenue Canada sent me a cheque forit

I think it's this year or next year that they will stop issuing cheques and everything will need to be direct deposited.

A tax refund is just your money that you paid too much to the government and they are paying it back to you, interest free.  
 
Presume that you are just a straight wage earner, no deductions. Come tax time, you get a $2400 refund. That means that every month, you are paying an extra $200 for income tax out of your pay cheques. The government is using your money for up to a year and not paying you any interest for the privilege of using your money.  
 
A much better scenario for you would be to have to pay a few hundred dollars of income tax come tax time. That means that you have been using your money, and not the government using your money. If you can take that $200 a month and invest it, or pay down debt each month, you will be further ahead.

As nice as it is to get a refund it really means too much tax was taken off your pay throughout the year [based on your personal situation] and the government is giving you back your money.  
 
It may still be worthwhile to have a professional tax preparer review your taxes to ensure you are not missing any credits.

You can try using online software to do your taxes this year (after you've done them manually) and compare. Most software will take a "comprehensive" approach, meaning it will ask you about every single thing, just to make sure nothing is missed. It would likely be cheaper to do this than to take it to someone if you're concerned about cost.  
 
You could also try 7th Street access centre if you're low income. I think they still do volunteer income tax preparation, and they're pretty good at making sure you claim everything as long as you've got a fairly straight forward tax situation.  
 
We usually get refunds, but we try to minimize them by filling out a TD-1 to get less taxes taken off at source. Like ZachT says, it's your money and it's usually better to keep it through the year instead of giving the government a free loan. I use GeniunTax to do our returns.

If you bought your first home in 2015, remember to claim the First Time Home Buyer credit. ITs worth $750 credit on your taxes.  

Between my wife and I we get a whole 500 dollars back this year. Thank god we put away almost 12 grand in RRSP's. Before the RRSP's we were sitting owing another bloody 4500. That isn't making huge money either. Friggin' crooks! Yet changing the province to Alberta we would have got almost 9 grand back. Sigh....I guess I should be proud that I have a job right?  

I received 2400$ (2250 after fees) for my refund. I filed commonlaw. My partner got 660 (600 after fees). My refund was much more because I claimed our rent on my taxes. We also got a spousal bonus since we made less than 50,000$ as a couple last year, I also claimed rent and got an entire month (750) back as well. We went to h&r block and did same day cash back.

I also had 20$ extra tax taken off each pay cheque. You don't notice 20$ off the cheque, but it means I paid an extra 520$ approximately and got it back. And I definitely noticed that :p

Jellybeanqueen91 said "I also had 20$ extra tax taken off each pay cheque. You don't notice 20$ off the cheque, but it means I paid an extra 520$ approximately and got it back. And I definitely noticed that :p "

So you're cool with lending the government $520, interest-free? Because that's what you did.  
 
Your tax bill should be as close to zero as possible. Get a big refund, and you're paying too much. Have a big amount owing, and you're not paying enough each cheque.  
 
The only time it usually makes sense to have more taxes taken off at source is if you have income somewhere that you don't get deductions on, like tips, a newspaper route, or selling products like Avon, Living Oils, Usana, etc.

Deb1 said "I know that there are several tools to do your taxes, by professional, by softwares or by yourself. And amount of tax refund depends on everybody individual situation.   I do my taxes myself manually without software. I try to claim as much as i can, but I do not get much refund back! Maybe few hundred dollars. I heard from someone who got few thousand dollars in tax refund. I am thinking may be i have been missing something for long time which I could claim and I have not but I read the guid throughly and claim the lines that I can (or I think that!). Just wondering approximately how much does everybody get back, say less than 1000, 1000 to like 3000, 3000 to 5000 or more? Which above tool do you use to do your taxes?     Edited by Deb1, 2016-03-10 21:02:42"

to what other poster have said, make sure if you are single parent to claim your kids as "equivalent to spouse" and make sure you claim the WITB (Working Income Tax Benefit) if you qualify for it (usually it's for low income earners). If you use your vehicle as "condition of employment" meaning you NEED it for work daily (IE: community support workers, delivery drivers, sales reps, etc), make sure you fill out mileage sheet. I don't recall the form number but it's on CCRA page.  
 
I tell all my friends and we have gotten thousands $$ more! You can even go back several years and claim these. I got a huge rebate due to an accountant that my employer uses sharing these tidbits of valuable info with me.  
You can claim kids as dependent until they turn 19...not 18.  
In Manitoba there is a fitness, medical and transit deductions.  
The CRA cares about our health, because the longer we live, the more tax we pay! haha  
 
Enjoy the day. Cheers.

Especially if you are a single parent. But in my case my 17 yr old made more than the deduction for her I could claim. I use 3 different free tax programs online to see if they all give me the same bottom line... Most of the time they are pretty close. The best one is studio tax only because you can actually see the tax forms ( just like the paper ones).

Jellybeanqueen91 said "I also had 20$ extra tax taken off each pay cheque. You don't notice 20$ off the cheque, but it means I paid an extra 520$ approximately and got it back. And I definitely noticed that :p "

I used to do what you do for extra income tax taken off but I now just setup an automatic withdrawal on my paydays to go into an RRSP. It works out the same come income tax time as you get a tax break on the amount of money you contributed to the RRSP but now your money is working for you rather than paying it to the government. Something to think about maybe. Cheers

I am single with dependent children, plus I am a full time student (tuition and loans), income is minimal, and pay rent. What would I be looking at for things to make sure I claim? And how do I decide where to get my taxes done?

While on this subject....I had my papers prepared & mailed them away on Feb. 22 nd. I will be receiving a refund through direct deposit.... When I can look to see it in my bank account.... Thanks