Year-End Tax Tips: Missed GST/HST Rebates Recoverable

Evelyn Jacks

There are a number of usual suspects in the missed claims department, especially for do-it-yourself clients who now wish to hand over their tax and financial advisory work to professionals.  This is a great opportunity for professionals to find new money for their clients 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, this one is recoverable.

The GST/HST Rebate is claimed on Form GST370. Tax advisors should ask new clients if they 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 so 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 ten-year period.

Additional educational resources: Did you miss the November 18 CE Summit, where year-end tax tips were the focus of the curriculum? You can still register and take advantage of the Flex Study Option and study at your own pace from November 19 – 30. Enrol today!