March 31 Deadlines and Tax Changes for Renters
There are two benefits and rebates available:: one for low-income renters and one for those who own farmland. But the deadlines are fast approaching; the deadline for both of them is March 31, 2023.
And there are some changes on the 2022 Personal Income Taxes when renters are claiming the rent they pay.
Canada Housing Benefit
The one-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit aims to help low-income renters with the cost of renting. You may be eligible for a tax-free one-time payment of $500 if your income and the amount that you pay on rent qualify.
The Basics of the Canada Housing Benefit
- 2021 net income: $35,000 or less for families (includes single parents); $20,000 or less for individuals
- Have 2022 eligible rent that you paid in the 2022 calendar year
- Rent is at least 30% of your 2021 net income
- If you share rent (roommates), each of you can claim even if only one individual was making payments to the landlord; use the portion of the rent that you paid
- If you paid rent to a parent or another relative, only include this as rent if the payment would be considered by the CRA as rental income for tax purposes for the parent or relative who received it.
- Must apply by March 31 2023!
How to apply
You can apply online using CRA My Account or by using My Service Canada Account (MSCA). If you do not have online access, get registered now. You can search CRA My Account to find out how.
To apply for the Canada Housing Benefit, applicants will need to provide the address of their principal residence, the total rent paid in the 2022 calendar year for that residence, as well as the name and contact information of the persons to whom the rent was paid.
Keep your receipts
Keep your records and receipts to support the amounts in your application for six years. The CRA routinely checks to confirm that recipients were entitled to the payment they received.
If your application is selected for review, the CRA may ask you to provide additional information.
Manitoba Farmland School Tax Rebate
If you live on some acreage, check to see if your property tax bill refers to “farm property”.
If so, you may qualify for the Farmland School Tax Rebate. You do not need to be “farming”.
We discovered this many years ago. I was assisting a client apply for the rebate and said, “I didn’t think you actually farmed?” and the client replied, that the rebate is based on how the land is zoned, not how it is used.
I went home and checked our property tax bill and realized, yes, it said “farmland” on it (it’s mostly swamp, but that is how it is zoned!).
We didn’t realize we could claim this rebate; we always thought you had to be actually farming. After learning from the client, each year we apply for the Farmland School Tax Rebate.
The Application deadline is March 31, 2023, for the 2022 property taxes.
Search Manitoba Farmland School Tax Rebate to see how to apply online.
You do need to upload a digital copy of your property tax bill and a copy of the receipt that proves the taxes are paid in full. There may be an option to mail the application and copies of the property tax bill and receipt.
Manitoba Renters Tax Credit
The Province of Manitoba has made some changes to how renters claim the rent they pay.
First, the credit is based on the number of months. The credit is $43.75 per month to a maximum of $525 for the year. For most renters this will not be a change from previous years.
The second change is for those with roommates: this is the first year each of you can claim a portion. For example, two roommates can each claim 6 months and each receive ½ of the $525 on their taxes or $262.50. In previous years, only one could claim the credit and hopefully share it with the other roommate.
The third change is that a person cannot claim this credit for any month for a residence they shared with the owner of the residence. There is only one credit per home and the homeowner already receives it.
The fourth change is for those who receive rent assist. You can now claim and receive the Renters Tax Credit. In previous years, most individuals receiving rent assist could not receive the credit.
CRA and tax filing is now open!
CRA opened on Monday February 20 and since that date, we can now efile tax returns and also retrieve tax slips.
Retrieving tax slips is a gradual event. It depends on how quickly the issuer actually uploads the information to CRA.
Each year, CRA receives the government tax slips by mid-February, so we already have access to CPP, OAS, EI, EIA.
And this year we have already some T5s: Steinbach Credit Union, Caisse Financial Group and Cambrian CU; plus T4RIF SCU is now available too.
The rest of the banks and credit unions and other payers like T4 employers will eventually upload their tax slips too. They are required to mail or have available the digital copy by February 28 each year.
There are some exceptions: T3 investments, RRSP contribution receipts, T5008 sale of investments can be issued later, normally by Mar 31.
If you do not receive your tax slips by about the 10th of March, check your CRA My Account online to see if the tax slips are there. If you file your taxes with our office, we can check to see what CRA has.
The filing deadline is May 1, 2023. Do not wait until the last minute!
Anni Markmann is a Personal Income Tax Professional and Certified Financial Planner; living, working, and volunteering in our community. Contact Ste Anne Tax Service at 204.422.6631 (phone or text!) or 36 Dawson Road in Ste Anne (near Co-op) or info@sataxes.ca