23 Feb Changes For The 2014 Tax Year [Video]
Tax season is right around the corner. In order to maximize your personal tax refund, you need to get up to date on all the new tax credits, deductions and changes in the tax code that you may be eligible for. Here they are!
Family Tax Cut: The family tax cut is a new non-refundable tax credit of up to $2,000 for eligible families. The credit adjusts the taxable income of the higher earning spouse downwards by a maximum of $50,000.
- You must have an eligible spouse or common-law partner for the year who has not claimed the Family Tax Cut;
- You have a child who is under 18 at the end of the year at home.
- Neither you nor your eligible spouse elected to split eligible pension income in the year; and
- Both you and your eligible spouse filed a tax return for the year.
Children’s Fitness Tax Credit: An increase in the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit to $1000 (from $500) in the 2014 tax year and beyond has been effected Eligible fees include an amount paid related to the cost of registration or membership for your or your spouse’s or common-law partner’s child in a prescribed program of physical activity The child must have been under 16 years of age at the beginning of the year in which an eligible fitness expense was paid.
The Universal Child Care Benefit has been upgraded to include more benefits for children. The benefit has increased from $100 to $160 per month for children under the age of six. Also for children between the ages of 6 and 17, the benefit is now $60 a month, where previously there was no benefit at all.
Childcare Expense Limits have increased. Although this change affects the 2015 tax year, it’s important for parents to know. The maximum childcare expense deduction has been increased to $8,000 for kids under seven, $5,000 for kids from seven to sixteen, and $11,000 for any child who is eligible for the Disability Tax Credit. Again, this is for calendar 2015.