By: The Investor Educator Fund
If you owe tax, you have to file a tax return. If you don’t owe tax, you still might want to file a return to take advantage of certain tax credits.
1. You owe tax or want to receive a refund
If you are a resident of Canada for part or all of a tax year, you must file a tax return if you owe tax or want to receive a refund.
2. Recover any tax you overpaid from your pay cheque
You may have had too much tax deducted from your pay cheque and not benefited from all the deductions and tax credits you were entitled to.
3. Take advantage of refundable tax credits
Examples of refundable tax credits: Child Tax Benefit, GST/HST Credit, the Working Income Tax Benefit. You won’t receive these credits if you don’t file a return.
4. Create contribution room in an RRSP
If you have earned income, you can make RRSP contributions, which reduce your net income. If you don’t use your contribution room in any year, you can carry the unused amounts to future years. Learn more about RRSPs.
5. Carry forward or transfer any unused tuition, education or textbook amounts
If you don’t have enough income to use these tax credits, you can carry them forward to future years. Or you can transfer them to a family member.
When you don’t have to file a return