Comments on: 2010 Canadian Taxes: Did you get your T2202 and T4a?

By: Scott

Scott — Thu, 17 May 2012 01:55:49 +0000

CPR is the right thing to do

By: cupones hostgator

cupones hostgator — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 09:19:26 +0000

I am delighted that I found this website , just the right information that I was looking for! .

By: Katie

Katie — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:39:18 +0000

Thanks for all of the comments – very interesting to learn that getting a PDF may cause one to make less!! While I’ll work under the assumption of the PDF being taxable, I’m curious if you have any advice on filing taxes for those of you that are in the USA? I haven’t started my PDF yet, but am just trying to make sure I know all of my options/considerations before I dive in. I assume any university supplement is considered US income, and the PDF as Canadian income? Yikes… I’m already dreading the tax filing process!! Thanks in advance

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 18:44:37 +0000

Hi Lance,

I’ll be writing a CAPS/Funding/Taxes type post this week coming, so definitely stay tuned for the full update. As usual, I can’t offer proper tax advice and many people have been hit with reassessments this year on previous years, so one must tread carefully.

One thing is very clear – the CRA will tax postdoctoral fellowships this year, with or without the T2202 form. As for other types of income that you can place it under, I believe that it has alot to do with the code that SSHRC issues you on your T4a – if it’s an 04 code, you are eligible for claiming certain research expenses that you may have incurred, but if it’s an 05, I’m not certain what your options are.

Sorry I can’t be more helpful!
Dave

By: Lance Robinson

Lance Robinson — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 00:14:44 +0000

I’m looking forward to updates, Dave. Since I’m not eligible for E.I. or CPP, and am not considered an employee of my university, I’m wondering if I can treat my SSHRC pdf as self-employment income (with the money from SSHRC being treated as gross income). I’m thinking that this would broaden the list of possible expenses to deduct from the gross income. Does anyone have experience with this?
The CAPS web site (http://sites.google.com/site/canadapostdoc/who-is-a-postdoc-in-canada) says that this has met with mixed success with CRA.
Lance

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 19:37:29 +0000

Hi Archie,
This is exactly the type of thing that the Canadian Association of Post-doctoral Scholars is trying to help with and I suggest that you get in touch with them regarding your story. It’s really unfortunate when supervisors and/or departments make promises that they do not live up to as “tax free fellowships” were certainly used by some to attract talent from abroad.

The lack of clarity on the issue was the main problem here and a general misunderstanding (esp. at the policymaker and government levels) of what a postdoc does/is and how many of them exist in Canada was probably a catalyst.

Do get in touch with CAPS though as they are collecting such stories and trying where possible to protect those who acted in good faith with an extremely unclear set of rules from the CRA.

At least things are clear moving forward (though not really much better), it’s a real shame that so many were put through such ordeals as yours.

By: archie

archie — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 14:47:31 +0000

Have been postdoc in UofT in 2005-2008, in 2006 was told by the faculty accountant about the tax free possibility for postdocs. Phoned to CRA 3-4 times, they have told me that for sure, postdoc fellowships are tax exempt and since it is the only income I had, I do not need to pay any taxes. I sent a letter in writing asking if that is true in 2007, and got no response till 2009, when CRA sent me a request to pay off taxes for these two years or present a T2202 form in addition of T4a code 05 I had. UofT rejected to issue me such a form as well as my supervisor rejected to write any letters to CRA to prove that the fellowship is for educational purposes. This was actually written in the fellowship contract I signed, but who cares. All in all, I had to pay about 11.500 CAD this year(tax+penalties+percents+transfer), which was a nightmare for a postdoc with dependents in Europe. Canada used to be a nice country at a time… What’s a pity it is not as good as before…

By: gino77

gino77 — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 19:02:50 +0000

This sounds like a difficult situation. I have a site here that can help deal with any specialized tax problems, so it may be useful here.

By: UPScholarship

UPScholarship — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 14:25:52 +0000

Very interesting topic. I’m canadian and i love to read this. I know better now about tax! Thanks for great share Dave

By: Larry Antoinette

Larry Antoinette — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 14:23:59 +0000

@Andrew : Maybe we have to hide our fellowship maybe? Is that cheating? But its not fair