When it comes to doing your taxes, whether you do them on your own or hire an accountant, you will need to get your papers in order. Examples of items you will need to do your taxes are as follows:
1. Charitable donation receipts
2. Moving expenses
3. Medical, dental, medical insurance, and nursing home expense receipts
Essential Tax Facts 2011 Edition: Simple Tips For Preparing Your 2010 Tax Return And Saving Money The Rest Of The Year by Evelyn Jacks
The 2010 tax season is upon us and as such I have decided to check out various tax books from the local library. I stumbled upon a useful tax book by author Evelyn Jacks titled Essential Tax Facts
Canadians have until March 1st to make an RRSP contribution towards their Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) in order to take advantage of a tax deduction for the 2010 tax year.
Before you make this important decision, be sure to consider a few things:
Do you have the ability within your budget to make a contribution?
If you haven’t been contributing regularly all year, have you set enough money aside in order to make a lump sum contribution?
If you will be dipping into your emergency funds in order to make your contribution or you will be left just scraping by, then perhaps it is wise to just hold off in making any contributions this year. Why? Because if you are depending on your RRSPs as a back up emergency fund then there is no point in putting money into an RRSP in the first place. There are just too many tax penalties and negative implications for making an RRSP withdrawal.
Smart Tax Tips: Winning Strategies To Reduce Your Taxes by Grant Thornton
Before you file your taxes for 2010, I would recommend that you skim through Grant Thornton’s book titled Smart Tax Tips
A major benefit to reading this book is to help you understand what tax credits and tax deductions are available for Canadians. The book includes information about the Child Tax Credit, Disability Tax Credit, the Eligible Dependant Credit, and many more. By reading this book you may discover a way to save a lot of money in taxes that you didn’t even realize was available to you.
The book also contains a lot of important information about Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs), including what happens if you overcontribute, how the carry forward rules work, etc.
There is also information about Old Age Security clawbacks, pension income splitting, and tips on how to effectively use a Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA).
If you have children, you will benefit from reading about what childcare expenses are eligible for tax deductions. You might be surprised at how many expenses are actually eligible, even including some after school recreational activities if the fees are incurred in order to allow a parent to work. It is worth your time as parents to dig deeper and minimize your tax bill.
This book is written to help out both young and old in managing their tax bill. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning how to reduce their taxes and who wants to have a better understanding of our complicated tax system. Be sure to select the most updated version of this book so you are reading the most accurate and up to date information, the cover will say that it has been updated for 2010.
As we draw nearer to doing our taxes for 2010, it is important for us to understand the difference between a tax deduction and a tax credit.
A tax deduction reduces your taxable income, and the actual amount of taxes you save depends upon your personal tax rate. If you are in a high tax bracket, a tax deduction can provide you with substantial tax savings, but if you are in a low tax bracket the savings will be lower. If you have no taxable income, a tax deduction does not benefit you at all.