Provincial Tax Credits

The last item in our simplified guide is about provincial tax credits. Provincial tax credits will often mean that you will actually get some money back, unlike the non-refundable tax credits which just go to reduce the amount of tax that you pay. You have to fill out form 479 to find out if you have any provincial tax credits. We have made a simplified form 479 to make things easier for you. The actual form 479 has a lot of sections and lines that you probably won't use. In our simplified form we have given you the sections that let you claim property and sales tax credits. These are the credits most people will be able to claim. These are the credits usually claimed by people with low or moderate incomes.

Claiming Ontario Tax Credits

In order to claim your Ontario tax credits, you have to do some math. You have to add and subtract, and you also have to work out some percents. The amount you can claim is also related to your age. If you are under 65 on December 31 of the tax year, you do one set of calculations. If you are 65 or over on that date, you do another set of calculations using different dollar amounts and different percents. Be sure you make the right calculations. If you have a spouse or partner, your property and sales tax credits are based on your combined net income. You entered your net income on line 236 of your tax return.

Instead of getting you to give details of your own income and the rent you paid, we'll give you some figures to use for a made-up person. We will use Maria and Jack for our taxpayers.