HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-02-07, Page 7THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2013. PAGE 7.
NC –The days are starting to get
longer, and you can feel that spring
is right around the corner. With
spring, of course, comes tax-filing
season, so as “filing taxes” joins
“spring cleaning” on your to-do
list, here are 10 ways to save
you money – and even land you
that refund you’ve been hoping
for.
• Tax-free savings account: Using
a TFSA is a smart way to save on
tax. Generally, the interest,
dividends, and capital gains earned
on investments in a TFSA are not
taxed—not when they are held in the
account or when they are withdrawn.
• Registered retirement savings
plan: Pay less tax and save for your
retirement at the same time. Any
income that you earn in your RRSP
is usually free from tax as long as the
funds stay in the plan.
• Charitable donations: Donations
of cash, goods, land or listed
securities made to a registered
charity or other qualified donee may
be eligible for a tax credit.
• Parents: All those mornings spent
at the hockey rink and afternoons
spent at the ballet studio can mean
savings—with the children’s fitness
and arts tax credits. Child care is also
deductible, so gather up your
receipts.
• Family caregivers: If you have a
dependant with a physical or mental
impairment, you could be eligible
for an additional $2,000 this year
with the new family caregiver
amount.
• Student: Were you a student in
2012? You may be able to claim
tuition, textbook, and education
amounts, as well as moving
expenses if applicable. And if you’ve
recently graduated, you can claim
the interest you paid on your student
loan.
• Public transit amount: If you are
a public transit rider, you may be
able to save by claiming the cost of
your transit passes. You can get
up to 15 per cent of the amount
claimed.
• Seniors: If you receive income
from a pension, you can split up to
50 per cent of eligible pension
income with your spouse or
common-law partner to reduce the
taxes that you pay. You may also be
eligible to claim the age amount,
medical expenses, and the disability
amount.
• Home buyers: You may be able to
claim up to $5,000 if you bought
your first home in 2012.
• Hiring an apprentice: Did your
business employ an apprentice? An
employer who paid a salary to an
employee registered in a prescribed
trade in the first two years of
his or her apprenticeship contract
qualifies for a non-refundable tax
credit.
Make filing your taxes this spring
even easier by doing it online.
It's fast, secure and you may be
able to use cost-free filing software.
The Canada Revenue Agency
offers step-by-step instructions at
www.cra.gc.ca/getready.
MS –Many men and women with
heavy debt are vague when asked to
describe how they got there, often
expressing a notion that the debt
seemingly piled up overnight.
Though it’s possible to incur a
substantial amount of debt in a short
period of time, many debtors witness
their financial pitfalls gradually
increase, with interest rates adding
up over time.
Men and women who know their
debts didn’t occur overnight may
have missed the warning signs that
they were heading for financial
trouble. The following are a few
signs that your problem with debt
might be on the way to spiraling out
of control.
• Minimum payments: Every
credit card statement includes the
outstanding balance as well as the
minimum payment due. In addition,
statements now include a forecast of
when the debt will be paid in full if
consumers make only the minimum
payment, and those with substantial
debt may notice that they won’t be
paying off their debts any time soon
if they only make the minimum
payment.
Men and women who can only
afford to make the minimum
payment on an outstanding balance
should recognize that as a warning
sign that they are carrying too much
debt and should begin an analysis of
their finances immediately before
that debt gets out of control.
• Frequent use of credit: Using
credit wisely is a great way to build
your financial reputation. But using
credit poorly can do significant harm
to your reputation, affecting your
ability to rent an apartment, finance
a vehicle or secure a home loan,
among other things.
If you find yourself using credit to
make purchases you should be
making with cash (or a debit card),
such as fast food, your morning
coffee or monthly utilities, then
you’re likely setting yourself up for
significant debt in the future. Such
purchases have a way of adding up.
Before you know it your balance
could be higher than you had
anticipated and you might have
already used your cash supply for
other purchases you assumed were
affordable. Credit cards should not
be used to pay for life’s necessities
or every day expenditures, as doing
so only increases your cost of living
when you factor in the interest you
will have to pay when using credit to
pay for these necessities.
• Routinely checking balances:
Though it’s important to stay on top
of your finances, there’s a difference
between checking your accounts for
discrepancies and checking to
determine your available balances.
The former is responsible, while the
latter suggests you may have a
problem with impulse spending. If
you don’t have a general idea of
what the balances on your credit
cards are and you find yourself
frequently checking those balances
before making purchases, then
consider that a warning that
you don’t have a handle on your
debt.
• No savings: One of the most
telltale signs that you might be
carrying substantial debt, which,
thanks to interest charges will likely
only increase, is a lack of savings.
You should be saving money every
pay period. If you’re not capable of
saving, then your debts are likely
exceeding your income, which
puts you on a crash course with
substantial debt. If you’re not
saving money but you are still
piling up debts with purchases made
on credit, expect to face some
serious consequences down the
road.
Few people can say they have
never experienced a problem with
debt at least once in their lives. But
those who often overcome issues
with debt are those who recognized
some telltale warning signs
that a storm of debt was coming
and acted quickly to keep those
debts from becoming over-
whelming.
NC –A lifetime dedicated to your
career has finally paid off in
precious retirement years. You’ve
worked hard, and you deserve to
enjoy your future. But while
retirement is often referred to as the
golden years, living on a fixed
income can be stressful and requires
some smart financial planning. Here
are a few ways that seniors can
stretch their retirement dollars by
saving money at tax time:
• Public transit saves money that
you might have otherwise spent on
rising gas prices, parking and car
maintenance. Not only do seniors
typically pay less for public transit,
but the cost of transit passes can be
claimed on your tax return.
• You may be able to split your
eligible pension income with your
spouse or common-law partner,
allocating up to 50 per cent of your
pension to him or her, to lower your
taxes.
• If you or your spouse or
common-law partner has a severe
and prolonged impairment in
physical or mental functions and
meets certain conditions, you might
be eligible for the disability tax
credit.
• If you care for a spouse or other
family member who has a physical
or mental illness that makes them
dependent on you for care, the new
family caregiver amount could save
you money.
• If you receive the Guaranteed
Income Supplement or Allowance
benefits under the Old Age Security
program, you can usually renew
your benefit simply by filing your
return by April 30. If you choose not
to file a return, you will have to
complete a renewal form. This form
is available from Service Canada.
• Applying for the goods and
services tax/harmonized sales tax
(GST/HST) credit helps to offset all
or part of the GST or HST that you
pay.
Other helpful tax-time
information for seniors can be found
on the Canada Revenue Agency
website at www.cra.gc.ca/seniors.
To make it easy on yourself this
year, why not consider filing online?
It's simple, secure and will save you
time. Information to get you started
is available at www.cra.gc.ca/
getready.
10 ways to save money, grow your refund
Tax savings for senior citizens
Debt warning signs: how to recognize them
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