10 Commonly Missed Tax Credits & Deductions for 2024
We would like to inform you about some of the tax breaks and credits now, giving you enough time to gather the documentation you’ll need to claim them when tax time rolls around.
While many Canadians are familiar with common tax breaks, several lesser-known opportunities often go unnoticed. In this guide, we’ll uncover the top 10 missed tax credits and deductions for the tax year 2024.
Here are ten tax credits and deductions you may not know about:
1. Child Care Deduction
Parents can deduct eligible child care expenses when they are reported on the annual income tax return. This deduction helps to offset some of the costs associated with childcare services.
You can claim up to $8000 annually for each child under 6 and $5000 annually for each child aged 7 to 15. This covers nannies, babysitters, daycare, preschool, etc.
2. Medical Expenses Deduction
You can claim medical expenses that you, your spouse or common-law partner, and your dependent children incurred. Expenses relating to medical issues that are not covered by your healthcare, such as ambulance services or therapy animals, can be claimed on your taxes.
Eligible expenses may include prescription medications, dental services, eyeglasses, medical treatments, certain travel expenses for medical treatments, and more.
You can also claim medical expenses for other dependents, such as parents or grandparents if they meet certain criteria.
3. Student Loan Interest Deduction
Every year, you’re eligible for a 15% tax credit on the interest you pay on your federal student loans. You can claim this credit for interest paid on federal student loans as well as provincial or territory student loans.
4. First Time Home Buyer
In Canada, you could be eligible for a sizable tax credit when purchasing your first house. When a home is purchased by a first-time buyer, they are eligible to receive a non-refundable tax credit of up to $750.
5. Lifetime Learning Credit
The Canada Training Credit called CTC is a refundable tax credit offered to Canadians with the cost of qualifying training fees. You can claim the CTC for tuition and other fees paid for courses that you took during the year.
If you file an income tax and benefit return each year, the CRA will evaluate the qualifying requirements and, if you meet the requirements, increase your CTCL by $250, with a lifetime limit of $5,000.
6. Charitable Donations
You may be eligible to claim federal, provincial, or territorial non-refundable tax credits if you or your spouse or common-law partner donated money or other assets as a gift to specific institutions.
Generally speaking, you can claim all or a portion of the qualified amount from your donations, up to a maximum of 75% of your annual net income.
7. Home Office Tax Credit (even if you’re an employee)
You can be eligible to claim some home office expenditures if you work as an employee. Commission employees who sell products can claim some expenses that salaried employees cannot.
You can claim expenses for office supplies like paper and pens, mobile phone minutes, and power and internet access fees that you spent for your home office, as well as rent using the temporary flat rate method.
8. Solar Tax Credit
The “residential clean energy credit,” sometimes referred to as the solar tax credit, may pay you for up to 30% of the installation costs of solar energy devices, such as solar panels and water heaters.
9. Electric Vehicle Tax Credit
The federal and provincial governments of Canada are offering financial incentives to encourage the purchase of electric vehicles. Point-of-sale incentives are provided by the iZEV (Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles) program to customers who purchase or lease a ZEV vehicle.
Up to $5,000 might be awarded for battery-electric, hydrogen fuel cell, and extended-range plug-in hybrid automobiles. Up to $2,500 can be awarded for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles with a shorter range.
10. Canada Child Benefit (CCB)
It is a monthly tax-free payment given to qualified families to assist with the expenses of parenting children under the age of 18.
The Children’s Contribution Board (CCB) will provide 522 CAD per month for children aged 1 to 6 and 619 CAD per month for children aged 7 to 18. The federal government sets these benefit rates and they apply to all. User our CCB Calculator.
Tax Credits & Deductions 2024
Remember that tax rules and regulations can change. So we advise you to refer to the most recent resources offered by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and speak with One Accounting specialists for the most precise and current information on tax benefits.
Checkout our blog how to pay CRA. If you need any assistance with personal tax or corporate tax, contact us right now!