Last updated: January 09 2018
Did you know that starting in the 2017 tax year, the federal government has introduced a new Canada Caregiver Credit (CCC)? It replaces the Family Caregiver Tax Credit, the Caregiver Tax Credit, and the Credit for Infirm Dependants. But, it’s complicated! Here, in our first tax tip of the new 2018 tax filing season, we offer you a few details:
This credit comes in two parts; to make things easier to understand we refer to them as a “mini” and a “maxi” credit:
We will show you how to help caregivers make the claim for three different profiles of dependants, this week starting with infirm spouses:
Infirm spouses, common-law partners, and eligible dependants. This Canada Caregiver Credit is complicated for spouses because you may be able to claim the Mini CCC of $2,150 in conjunction with the spousal amount. However, if you can’t claim the spousal amount then you may be able to claim part of the Maxi amount of $6,883. Three questions are important:
The good news – if you are using tax software – it will do all of this for you! Remember, only one claim may be made for the Canada Caregiver Credit for your spouse or eligible dependant. No claim may be made for a dependant to whom the taxpayer is required to make spousal support payments, except in the year of marital change, when the taxpayer may claim either the dependant or the support payments made.
Note that the figures used to compute the CCC are indexed annually. For 2018, the $2,150 figure is indexed to $2,182; the $6,883 figure is indexed to $6,986, and so on. Join us next time when we will discuss claiming the Canada Caregiver Amount for minor and adult children.
Additional Educational Resources: Join us for Canada’s best Advanced Tax Update at the CE Summits, with Evelyn Jacks and special guest experts, being held in six cities starting next week. Early registration savings end midnight January 10 but we still accept registrations. Please note that Regular Fees apply after deadlines.
Evelyn Jacks is President of Knowledge Bureau and author of the New Essential Tax Facts: How to Make the Right Tax Moves and Be Audit-Proof, Too
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