Federal Budget

[Lazybones]

Rolling vs volumn of pennies.. Since interac is everywhere it isn't much of a problem but growing up we used to amass HUGE jars of pennies and other coins... pennies never seemed worth rolling or you would always run out of rolling paper... dumping a HUGE jar of pennies in one of these things seems worth it to me... If the gift card avoids some of the charge I have no problem with that, especially if it is to a place a normally shop.

[Mr. Analog]

Growing dependence on Interac is somewhat alarming, witness the chaos of a busted connection at a Tim Hortons

That said, I don't usually carry cash anymore and dump any change I get into a big jar...

[Lazybones]

Growing dependence on Interac is somewhat alarming, witness the chaos of a busted connection at a Tim Hortons

That said, I don't usually carry cash anymore and dump any change I get into a big jar...

That is more a dependance on electronic tills in general.... Even places that take mostly cash seem to fall apart if the power goes out... No one can break out a calculator and do purchases because it screws up the inventory control numbers.

[Mr. Analog]

True enough...

[Thorin]

Federal Budget 2015 is set to drop tomorrow afternoon.  I wonder what changes it will hold for us taxpayers.  If the tax rates go up, they better go up for the corporations as well!

[Darren Dirt]

Federal Budget 2015 is set to drop tomorrow afternoon.  I wonder what changes it will hold for us taxpayers.  If the tax rates go up, they better go up for the corporations as well!

Reminds me, on a provincial level, is every party OTHER THAN the P"C" party promising to add a percentage point or two onto the corporations' tax load?

[Thorin]

I haven't had time to read the details yet, maybe tonight.  But it looks like the big items are:

- the Family Tax Cut (lets you reduce your taxes if you have a spouse and kids and your spouse has a significantly different income than you)
- the increase to the Universal Child Care Benefit (gives money to families who have kids, then gets taxed as part of the lowest parent's income)
- a bit of an increase in military spending
- a claim that they'll stop the deficits (and pass laws about not being allowed to run a deficit in the future)
- a bunch of promises for program expenses in future years (what the hell?  why announce spending that won't start until 2018?)

I appreciate the $2,000 Family Tax Cut and $2,460 UCCB increase ($1,746.60 after taxes).  My family just happens to be the right composition to take advantage of those changes to the tax code.  The UCCB increase will help all families, especially poorer ones as they'll pay little or no tax on that money.

The Family Tax Cut, though, really only helps two-parent families where one parent makes significantly more than the other.  Then again, those two-parent families where one makes more than the other used to pay more tax than two-parent families where the parents made equal money.  For instance, one family makes $70k-$30k, the other makes $50k-$50k.  Both families make $100k total, but the first used to pay more tax.

Neither of these changes help non-family taxpayers, though.

[Lazybones]

- the Family Tax Cut (lets you reduce your taxes if you have a spouse and kids and your spouse has a significantly different income than you)
- the increase to the Universal Child Care Benefit (gives money to families who have kids, then gets taxed as part of the lowest parent's income)
<snip>
The Family Tax Cut, though, really only helps two-parent families where one parent makes significantly more than the other.

Ding Ding!

[Mr. Analog]

BOOOOOOOO

[Thorin]

- the Family Tax Cut (lets you reduce your taxes if you have a spouse and kids and your spouse has a significantly different income than you)
- the increase to the Universal Child Care Benefit (gives money to families who have kids, then gets taxed as part of the lowest parent's income)
<snip>
The Family Tax Cut, though, really only helps two-parent families where one parent makes significantly more than the other.

Ding Ding!

I take it you're trying to say this will help you quite a bit?

If I remember right, you'll benefit fully from the Family Tax Credit, and you'll see a bunch more money from the UCCB increase, and hopefully you've been getting the Child Disability Benefit for some of your kids.  When my little guy's ASD was finally confirmed by a doctor and the requisite paperwork filled in, I got about $18,000 back on taxes paid in the previous six years.  Sounds like a lot, but it got rolled into medication costs, therapy costs (lego therapy is awesome), and life experiences to help him learn how to live a better life.

Good gord, the number of sports cars I could've bought if I didn't have kids

Ugh, looking back at the numbers, I can't believe I still paid $66,000 in taxes (not including CPP and EI) after the disability benefit refund over those six years...

[Lazybones]

3 kids and single income household so it should help but only if they are refundable.

As you note I also have the disability credit, so I normally have surplus "non refundable" credit.

[Thorin]

You should be getting:

refundable credits:
CCTB - Canada Child Tax Benefit, reduced once your income is over the first tax bracket (which I think you are)
NCBS - National Child Benefit Supplement, drops to zero by the time your income is over the first tax bracket, you probably don't get it
CDB - Child Disability Benefit, reduced once your income is over the first tax bracket (or actually higher even)
GSTC - GST Credit, reduced pretty quickly, you probably don't get it
BCECTB - BC Early Childhood Tax Benefit, started this month in BC, for kids under six

taxable payments from the government:
UCCB - Universal Child Care Benefit, used to pay $100/month per kid six or younger, now it's $160/month per kid six or younger and $60/month per kid seventeen or younger

non-refundable credits that are added up and then multiplied by 15%:
Basic Personal Amount - everyone gets this
Spousal Amount - this might get reduced a bit when your UCCB goes up
Amount For Children - you get more if you get the family caregiver amount, which you can get for those that are considered disabled
CPP - your total CPP contributions
EI - your total EI contributions
Canada Employment Amount - pretty much everyone with a job gets this
Public Transit Amount - since you take public transit
Children's Fitness Amount - dunno if your kids are in any sports
Children's Arts Amount - we've been able to claim Lego Therapy under this
Disability Amount Transferred From a Dependant - this is a surprisingly large amount, about $13,000 per kid

I'm guessing your non-refundable credits above are around $65,000, so 15% would be $9,750

non-refundable credits that are not multiplied by 15%:
Family Tax Cut - up to $2,000 depending on how much of your income you can "transfer" to your spouse; I'm guessing you can get the full amount

Your non-refundable credits before the Family Tax Cut are $9,750.  To have left-over non-refundable credits there, you'd have to make about $58,300 or less.

Your non-refundable credits with the Family Tax Cut will be $9,750 + $2,000 = $11,750.  To have left-over non-refundable credits there, you'd have to make about $67,400 or less.

So if you make more than $67,400, you'll probably see the full benefit from the Family Tax Cut.

Now I could have guessed wrong, maybe all three kids qualify for the Disability Amount and maybe your wife does, too, in which case you're looking at another $3,000 in non refundable credits, and your income to have leftover credits without the FTC would need to be $71,900 or less and with the FTC it would need to be $81,000 or less.

So if I guessed wrong and you can claim more, you'll probably see the full benefit from the Family Tax Cut if you make more than $81,000.

[Thorin]

Oh, I should say, $81,000 in income without owing tax is surprisingly good.  On the other hand, that assumes you're supporting three kids and a wife all with disabilities while taking the bus to work living in the Vancouver area where everything's expensive.

As opposed to a single non-disabled person who would owe about $10,500 in taxes (so about $900/month).

[Lazybones]

On the other hand, that assumes you're supporting three kids and a wife all with disabilities while taking the bus to work living in the Vancouver area where everything's expensive.

At the moment only one child / dependant is certified for the disability credit. However that may change.  Doctors don't sign those papers unless they can back them up.

The income splitting is new for this tax cycle so you are probably correct I won't have surplus and will get more benefit.

And yes the house hold income is north those figures, it has to be for where we live. That is why I like the income splitting, as you note single income households kind of got shafted. I can make great money but where I live eats that up along with those other extras you noted.

Btw going with a home schooling program you can get a lot more time for art therapy etc since your funding is not dumped into the school district pool. That is one advantage to having your spouse stay at home.