Year-end tax planning: Recover missing tax savings

Under-the-radar GST/HST Rebate often overlooked

There are a number of usual suspects in the missed claims department, especially for do-it-yourself tax filers who now wish to hand over their tax and financial advisory work to professionals. This is a great opportunity to find new money with obscure tax provisions like the GST/HST Rebate.

For those of you in the financial services, do note that participating in a 10-year review process will also help you understand tax efficiency gaps and identify investment opportunities to maximize refundable tax credits. One of the most commonly missed tax deductions is the GST/HST Rebate, but the good news is that this one is recoverable.

The GST/HST Rebate is claimed on Form GST370. Check to see if you have qualified for it in any of the past 10 years. If it was missed, the rebate is recoverable. Alternatively, as many employees will be claiming home office expenses for the first time in 2020, there may be some GST/HST rebating.

Here are some quick tax facts about making a claim: Employees who claim employment expenses on Line 22900 of their T1 return and are not in receipt of a reasonable allowance for those expenses may apply for a cash rebate of any GST or HST paid on these expenses on Line 45700 as long as their employer is a GST registrant.

Expenses eligible for the rebate include:

Office expenses
Travel expenses
Entertainment expenses
Meals and lodging
Motor vehicle expenses
Leasing costs
Parking cost
Miscellaneous supplies (e.g., street maps, stamps, pens, pencils, and paper clips)
Capital cost allowance on motor vehicles, aircraft, and musical instruments acquired after 1990
Tradesperson’s tools
Apprentice vehicle mechanic’s tools

Taxpayers who have failed to claim the GST/HST rebate in prior years may file adjustments to recover this credit for the prior 10-year period.

Evelyn Jacks is an award-winning financial educator, best-selling author, tax expert, and founder of Knowledge Bureau™, a widely respected financial education institute and publisher which has welcomed thousands of students from the various financial services to its online and in-class programs. Follow Evelyn Jacks on Twitter @EvelynJacks. Visit her blog at www.evelynjacks.com.

Notes and Disclaimer

The foregoing is for general information purposes only and is the opinion of the writer. No guarantee of investment performance is made or implied. It is not intended to provide specific personalized advice including, without limitation, investment, financial, legal, accounting or tax advice.