Who can answer a tax return question? yes I'm slow getting them done ...

[KerriMc]

Hello ... wondered if someone could help me with a tax question here! It is about the Home Renovation tax ....

We signed a contract to have a pool put in last April (2009). We did the financing and everything at that time and have been paying for it. We then ended up realizing we needed to move and they held onto the pool for us until we found a new house. We did that and moved here in January. The pool is going to go in here next month. Can we claim these expenses towards the home reno credit? Seeing as we purchased it last year and have paid for it, doesn't that count too?

I'm so confused .... I want to claim it, but don't want to get into trouble if I'm not supposed to

Thank you!!

Kerri

p.s. Should my hubby or I claim it? He is the higher income earner ...

 

[Alderbrook]

Either can claim it, it doesn't matter. As long as the receipts are dated for before Feb 1/10 you can claim it.

I only work part time, my DH is the higher income earner so I put all our receipts for the HRTC on his return. You have to remember this is a tax credit, not a rebate.

I just got our income tax back on Friday, everything was correct & my #'s matched what we got back (we mail them away) & I claimed everything on my DH's return.

They only care about the receipt dates. You actually keep all the receipts, you don't send them in. They just want you to keep them in case they audit you. I have mine in an envelope in my tax files.

 

[mollyseven]

I didn't even know you could claim a pool as a reno credit.
Just claim it as I am sure it will be fine.

 

[laura001]

As long as you paid for it in the specified period, you can use it as part of your tax credit!

 

[SaskDisNut]

You had better check out the HRTC FAQ's. According to #3, only work performed prior to Jan. 30, 2010 is eligible for the tax credit even if payment is made. You might want to consult a tax expert with a situation like yours.

I hope you are able to claim something. It sure helped us get a few $$ back from the government.

 

[CdnKayDee]

You can claim the portion you are paying related to the value of the pool itself not the labour to install. Here is a quote from CRA's website:

The HRTC is based on eligible expenses for work performed or goods acquired after January 27, 2009, and before February 1, 2010. Eligible expenses for goods acquired during this period, even if they are installed after January 2010, will still qualify. If an eligible expense involves work performed by a contractor or a third party, and the work is not completed by the end of the eligible period, only the portion that is completed before February 1, 2010 will qualify even if a payment has been made.

Hope this helps.

 

[Alderbrook]

I would still claim it. We bought interior doors before Feb 1. They're still sitting waiting to be installed. How on earth would they know that the doors weren't installed before Feb 1 - they aren't going to come to my house to check.

 

[bbangel]

I would still claim it. We bought interior doors before Feb 1. They're still sitting waiting to be installed. How on earth would they know that the doors weren't installed before Feb 1 - they aren't going to come to my house to check.

As a pp mentioned - you can claim for the item but not the labour. So you can claim for your doors but not any costs associated with hanging them (if you didn't do it yourself). Anything that is dependant on installation - like a roof - you likely will get push back from them on.

 

[Alderbrook]

As a pp mentioned - you can claim for the item but not the labour. So you can claim for your doors but not any costs associated with hanging them (if you didn't do it yourself). Anything that is dependant on installation - like a roof - you likely will get push back from them on.

Yes, but how would they know? If it's been paid for & the receipt reflects a date of before Feb 1/10 there's no way of them knowing when it's being done. If they labour's been paid for, how would they know when it's being done?

If I paid someone to hang my doors on Jan 31/10 & they showed up on Feb 1/10 there's no way for the government to know right?

 

[SaskDisNut]

Yes, but how would they know? If it's been paid for & the receipt reflects a date of before Feb 1/10 there's no way of them knowing when it's being done. If they labour's been paid for, how would they know when it's being done?

If I paid someone to hang my doors on Jan 31/10 & they showed up on Feb 1/10 there's no way for the government to know right?

So then this doesn't apply in your situation.

If an eligible expense involves work performed by a contractor or a third party, and the work is not completed by the end of the eligible period, only the portion that is completed before February 1, 2010 will qualify even if a payment is made.

I guess you can file your taxes any way you want but be prepared in case you are audited and be able to back up any questions they might have for you.

 

[bbangel]

Yes, but how would they know? If it's been paid for & the receipt reflects a date of before Feb 1/10 there's no way of them knowing when it's being done. If they labour's been paid for, how would they know when it's being done?

If I paid someone to hang my doors on Jan 31/10 & they showed up on Feb 1/10 there's no way for the government to know right?

Clearly you have never been through an audit. Why would you chance that for a tax credit?
When a third party is involved they also have things they report so it is entirely probable that they will know. Also, usually receipts that include costs for labour give the date of expected installation.

Bottom line - it is never a good idea to lie/cheat or hedge on your taxes.

 

[Alderbrook]

So then this doesn't apply in your situation.

No, this doesn't apply to our situation at all. All our renos were done & completed in the time frame to qualify properly.

We had a roof company come & give us a written quote in November & had the work done in December. I never received a new receipt with the actual work date, I just wrote them a chq for that day & the guy signed the quote/receipt - when I claimed the roof, I had to use the November date since that's what the receipt was dated.

The auditor would have some real digging to do if you were audited if all payments & receipts were dated for before Feb 1/10.

If it were me & I was really unsure, I would just call Revenue Canada & ask & explain the situation & see what they had to say.

 

[KerriMc]

Well I claimed them and mailed them off yesterday ... so it is done! There is no separation on our bill b/w cost of pool and cost of labour ... it is all included in the one hefty cost of $31,500 ... so claiming to a max of 10,000 - but actually only 9000 as they have you deduct a grand ... I think I'm covered on labour and such!

Ah well ... if they audit then they audit ... we have nothing to hide. We lead fairly boring lives in terms of taxes! LOL

Thanks for all of the help!

As for having things done before the date - I do remember Rona and Lowes and all those places staying open late on the last final day to BUY the home reno stuff, so it would just be the goods you have to buy before that final date, not the services to have it put in ... so I am thinking your doors are just fine! lol

 

[Alderbrook]

Well I claimed them and mailed them off yesterday ... so it is done! There is no separation on our bill b/w cost of pool and cost of labour ... it is all included in the one hefty cost of $31,500 ... so claiming to a max of 10,000 - but actually only 9000 as they have you deduct a grand ... I think I'm covered on labour and such!

Ah well ... if they audit then they audit ... we have nothing to hide. We lead fairly boring lives in terms of taxes! LOL

Thanks for all of the help!

As for having things done before the date - I do remember Rona and Lowes and all those places staying open late on the last final day to BUY the home reno stuff, so it would just be the goods you have to buy before that final date, not the services to have it put in ... so I am thinking your doors are just fine! lol

I'm sure it will be fine. I work in Real Estate & one time a whole bunch of agents at the office got audited for GST. One of the really busy agents got hammered huge by the auditors. The audit went on for weeks & the agent was getting really frustrated. When it was all said & done, Revenue Canada ended up owing the agent, turns out he hadn't claimed enough LOL. All that time & energy spent on trying to bust the agent for overclaiming GST just to end up having to pay him.

We lead a fairly boring life as well especially when it comes to taxes. If you've always been honest, I highly doubt they're gonna target you for a pool

We're hanging our doors on our own, so not a problem for us, I was just trying to make a point

 

[NikP]

I'm sure it will be fine. I work in Real Estate & one time a whole bunch of agents at the office got audited for GST. One of the really busy agents got hammered huge by the auditors. The audit went on for weeks & the agent was getting really frustrated. When it was all said & done, Revenue Canada ended up owing the agent, turns out he hadn't claimed enough LOL. All that time & energy spent on trying to bust the agent for overclaiming GST just to end up having to pay him.
We lead a fairly boring life as well especially when it comes to taxes. If you've always been honest, I highly doubt they're gonna target you for a pool

We're hanging our doors on our own, so not a problem for us, I was just trying to make a point

I have been through a GST audit from Revenue Canada for the company I work for. Revenue Canada audited us because we have been in business for less than 5 years and have a high volume of transactions. Revenue Canada wants to make sure the person actually completing the GST returns are doing them correctly. My audit did not go on for weeks, I had all the supporting documentation and provided quick and concise answers to the auditor. We did not owe anything, or did we pay anything.

As for your real estate friend that ended up with a payable from Revenue Canada, this shows that they were doing their return incorrectly. If they were doing their return correctly the net effect would have been zero. So if your real estate friend continued to complete their return incorrectly, the problem would snowball. It is quite possible that in the future they would end up owing the government etc. So I am not sure all the auditors time was wasted "trying to bust the agent".