cs3b3aj@maccs.McMaster.CA (Stephen M. Dunn) (04/01/89)
When I got the income tax certificate from McMaster saying what I paid in tuition, it said that I could only claim 1/2 of the amount this year, and that the rest could be claimed on next year's tax by submitting the second copy of the form (so that I would then no longer have any parts of the form). I don't have any problem with claiming tuition for classes taken in that calendar year, but I _do_ have a problem with the rules switching in mid- stream (especially since I had a higher income in 88 than in 87 but I only get half of my tuition). But to top it all off, scholarships in excess of $500 seem to be taxable _not_ as they apply to tuition (half this year, half next), but rather are taxable entirely in the year they're awarded. Even if I thought that the government should be taxing scholarships (which I don't, although I must admit I'm rather biased on the subject), I can not agree with the government treating them differently from tuition fees. What difference does it make? Well, for me, being allowed to claim only half my tuition means I pay almost $200 more tax. I haven't worked out what a fair treatment of scholarships would gain for me, but in my case, I'm sure it would amount to several hundred dollars. Sour grapes? Perhaps to a certain extent, but I think that most people would agree with at least some of what I've said. Comments, anyone? Regards, -- ====================================================================== ! Stephen M. Dunn, cs3b3aj@maccs.McMaster.CA ! DISCLAIMER: ! ! I always wanted to be a lumberjack! - M.P. ! I'm only an undergrad ! ======================================================================
morrison@grads.cs.ubc.ca (Rick Morrison) (04/03/89)
I second that emotion. Anyone know when the education expenses deduction
was last increased? I know it's been $50/month since at least 1973.
Seems to me expenses have gone up since then.
---------------------------------------------
Rick Morrison | {alberta,uw-beaver,uunet}!
| ubc-vision!ubc-csgrads!morrison
Dept. of Computer Science| morrison@cs.ubc.ca
Univ. of British Columbia| morrison%ubc.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa
Vancouver, B.C. V6T 1W5 | morrison@ubc.csnet (ubc-csgrads=128.189.97.20)
(604) 228-4327kocic@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu (Miroslav Kocic) (04/03/89)
In article <1589@ubc-cs.UUCP> morrison@grads.cs.ubc.ca (Rick Morrison) writes: >I second that emotion. Anyone know when the education expenses deduction >was last increased? I know it's been $50/month since at least 1973. >Seems to me expenses have gone up since then. It's $60/month in Ontario right now. I think it went up last year.
manderso@ugly.cs.ubc.ca (mark c anderson) (04/03/89)
In article <1589@ubc-cs.UUCP> morrison@grads.cs.ubc.ca (Rick Morrison) writes: >I second that emotion. Anyone know when the education expenses deduction >was last increased? I know it's been $50/month since at least 1973. >Seems to me expenses have gone up since then. Actually, it has been increased to $60 per month this year. Of course, it's now a "non-refundable credit" rather than a deduction now, whatever that means. I do agree that it was rather unpleasant of RevCan to switch the tuition deduction calculation on us... especially since I was on a work term for the first term this year, and so the only tution fees I could claim were the $133 co-op fee. Had I known about this a year ago, I would have claimed on the "calendar-year" basis. -Mark manderso@ugly.cs.ubc.ca uunet!ubc-cs!ubc-ugly!manderso mark_anderson@ubcmtsg.bitnet
majka@moose.cs.ubc.ca (Marc Majka) (04/03/89)
In article <1589@ubc-cs.UUCP> morrison@grads.cs.ubc.ca (Rick Morrison) writes: >I second that emotion. Anyone know when the education expenses deduction >was last increased? I know it's been $50/month since at least 1973. It is up to $60 this year! That should cover the costs of your texts and other expenses, n'est pas? --- Marc Majka
cs3b3aj@maccs.McMaster.CA (Stephen M. Dunn) (04/04/89)
In article <1589@ubc-cs.UUCP> morrison@grads.cs.ubc.ca (Rick Morrison) writes: >I second that emotion. Anyone know when the education expenses deduction >was last increased? I know it's been $50/month since at least 1973. >Seems to me expenses have gone up since then. It just did ... it's now $60 per month, although I still wonder how the @#$% they expect us to live on $60 a month ... I always thought the poverty line was somewhat over $720/yr! grumble grumble snarl snarl -- ====================================================================== ! Stephen M. Dunn, cs3b3aj@maccs.McMaster.CA ! DISCLAIMER: ! ! I always wanted to be a lumberjack! - M.P. ! I'm only an undergrad ! ======================================================================
dave@lsuc.uucp (David Sherman) (04/05/89)
In article <1603@ubc-cs.UUCP>, manderso@ugly.cs.ubc.ca (mark c anderson) writes: > In article <1589@ubc-cs.UUCP> morrison@grads.cs.ubc.ca (Rick Morrison) writes: > >I second that emotion. Anyone know when the education expenses deduction > >was last increased? I know it's been $50/month since at least 1973. > >Seems to me expenses have gone up since then. It's rather unclear what the education deduction/credit is supposed to be there for, aside from a general vague "don't tax students too much" feeling. Perhaps it's perceived as offsetting the cost of books. There's no inherent reason why, if a student earns income which is subject to taxation, the student should not pay tax. Far more appropriate would be to exempt scholarship income from taxation, or at least provide a more meaningful exemption than the long-standing $500. > Actually, it has been increased to $60 per month this year. Of course, > it's now a "non-refundable credit" rather than a deduction now, whatever > that means. I guess you didn't read my tax tips #20 posting. The credit is actually about 25% of the $60 (it varies by province). The $60 reflects a deduction off the bottom rather than the top. If your taxable income is under $27,500 it comes to the same thing. > I do agree that it was rather unpleasant of RevCan to switch the tuition > deduction calculation on us... especially since I was on a work term for > the first term this year, and so the only tution fees I could claim were > the $133 co-op fee. Had I known about this a year ago, I would have claimed > on the "calendar-year" basis. You can go back and change your prior year's return. Just write a letter to your District Taxation Office explaining what you want to do and why. As long as the reassessment can be issued within 3 years of the date of the original assessment (which for 1987 is likely summer 1988), Revenue Canada's administrative policy is to allow you to amend your return. This policy is set out in Information Circular 75-7R3. (As a question of law, your right to have the return changed expires 90 days after the mailing of the original assessment.) David Sherman -- Moderator, mail.yiddish { uunet!attcan att utzoo }!lsuc!dave dave%lsuc@ai.toronto.edu