Northern Resident Deduction

[croberts]

I do my taxes every year with no issue, however we just moved to Fort Mcmurray and was told that we would get a Northern Resident Deduction for living here.  My question is whenever I input the information into the proper tab, it starts asking about employer contributions.  My husbands employer does not contribute anything that is why we moved here in the first place so he wouldnt have to rent and pay for his own travel.  so when i leave the spot blank it is asking for 

Employee benefits with respect to northern travel

The taxable benefits received from the employer for the northern travel is required.

 

Cost of the lowest return airfare

The cost of the lowest return airfare available at the time of the trip between the airport closest to your residence and the nearest designated city is required. 

 

How do I bypass this as like I said we never recieved any money from his employer.

[Geo123]

 

Northern resident's deduction
You live in a northern area as prescribed by the CRA and for residents of Quebec, the regions are identical to the federal government, except for the "Îles-de-la-Madeleine" region, which is recognized as a northern zone in Quebec only.

To qualify for Northern resident's deductions, you must have lived on a permanent basis, in a northern or intermediate zone for a continuous period of at least six (6) consecutive months.

The basic amount can be claimed by all occupants.

The additional amount may be claimed only if another person has not requested the basic amount.

If only one occupant claims for the basic residency amount for the residence, that person can also claim the additional residency amount. Calculate the taxable income of each member of the household to determine which of you would benefit most from the home deduction (basic residency amount).

However, if more than one occupant applies for the basic amount for the same period, no member of the household can claim the additional amount for the residence.

For more information on Northern resident deductions, we suggest that you consult the following guides:

For the CRA:

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/segments/northern-residents.html

Revenu Québec:

https://www.revenuquebec.ca/en/online-services/forms-and-publications/current-details/tp-350.1-v/

To claim your basic and/or additional amount, please follow these steps:

1.  On the "Left side menu on the Interview tab", select "Other deductions and credits".

2.  On the screen on the right, click on the plus "+" icon to the right of the line "Federal line 25500 - T2222 - Northern resident's deduction".

3.  On the page that appears entitled "T2222 - Northern resident's deduction", enter the required information.

4. On the "Residency deduction" section, go to the line "Area for which you are claiming the northern deduction" and in the drop-down menu to your right, select the option that suits you among the 3 available, the third being the Îles-de-la Madeleine, which is considered an intermediate zone at the federal level and a northern zone in Quebec.

5. Enter the relevant information in the "Start and end dates of the northern residence" section.

6. On the line "Number of days to consider for the additional residency amount", enter the number of days you can apply based on the choice you made.

7. The non-taxable board allowance received from your employer appears in box 31 of the T4 slip and is not included in box 14.

If you wish to request "Travel Expenses", please note that certain rules must be followed.

You can only claim 2 trips per year for reasons of holiday or family. As for the number of trips for medical expenses, there is no limit.

If your employer has paid you travel benefits, these benefits appear either in boxes 32 or 33 (medical expenses) of your T4 slip. For residents of Quebec, they are entered in box K of the RL-1.

For travel rules, please read Step 3 of Form T2222.

1. Still on page "T2222 Northern resident deduction", see "Deduction for travel benefits" section, you must enter all relevant travel information for which you received a registered taxable benefit in Box 32 or 33 of the T4 slip.

2. If you have received a taxable benefit from the employer, enter the amount on the line "Employee benefits with respect to northern travel", enter the amount and fill in the appropriate boxes for the expenses of the trip. Please note that you must enter the "Lowest return airfare for the northern area travel", even if you have not used an airplane to travel.

3. If you have made several trips for which you received a benefit choose the line, "+ Add another" which is to the right at the bottom of the page.

4. If you have made trips for medical reasons and you have not received a taxable benefit from your employer, you can claim the basic amount for these expenses in the section ''Medical, disability, caregiver".

NOTE: You can only claim this deduction for your own personal trips or for family or medical reasons, and for those made by members of your household (who lived with you at the time of the trip), and whose starting point was a prescribed northern area. Please note that you can not claim this deduction for travel required by your employer or for those related to your job.

The program will generate Form T2222 for the federal return and for residents of Quebec, the form TP-350.1 will be generated.

The deduction will be carry over to line 25500 of the federal return and for residents of Quebec on line 236 of the Quebec declaration.

NB : Note that the form has changed starting in 2021 :

*use either the value of the taxable travel benefit received from employment (if any) or, under proposed changes, a portion of the $1,200 standard amount

*If an individual uses the standard amount to calculate a travel deduction in the year, $1,200 is the maximum total amount that may be claimed for each individual who travels, for all trips taken in the year by that individual, whether the trips were medical or non-medical, and regardless of which individual (either you or an eligible family member) is claiming the travel deduction. It is an amount per person, not per trip.

 

Number of trips: Under proposed changes, you can claim, for other (non-medical) reasons, up to two trips that you took and up to two trips taken by each eligible family member. You also can claim any number of medical trips taken by you or an eligible family member. However, no more than two non-medical trips taken by any individual (themselves or an eligible family member) in a year can be claimed by all taxpayers combined.

 

[Outdorsman19]

Hi There! 

In entering my taxes on ufile for northern deductions and claiming travel expenses, it is asking for travel destination TO a notrthern zone. however, on the T2222 form, it does not specify that travel has to be TO a northern travel zone. How do i submit this correctly? leave it blank?

[Geo123]

Hello Outdorsman19,

Below is an example of how to complete the form including the To

Data Entry :
Northern area where you travelled Zone A (Resident of prescribed northern area)
Name of the person who travelled to or from the northern destination 1
Purpose of the trip to a northern area Other
Date of beginning of trip to a northern area 05-05-2022
Date of end of trip to a northern area 10-05-2022
Destination TheNorth
Select the method to be used between the taxable benefit and the standard amount Let MaxBack decide (default)
1- Employee benefits with respect to northern travel $0.00
2- Northern travel expenses: Plane $1,500.00
3- Lowest return air fare for the northern area travel $1,500.00

Tax Return :

Chart A
                                    Individual
A Enter the name of each individual, including yourself, whose        1
travel you are claiming. See Step 3 in the instructions.
B Enter the name of everyone (including                    Name 1: MyName
yourself) who is claiming a deduction
for trips taken by the individual in row A
and the total portion of the $1,200
standard amount allocated by each
claimant for all trips by that individual.

Amount 1:                                $1,200.00
Name 2:
Amount 2:
Name 3:
Amount 3:
C
Enter the total of all amounts in row B.                $1,200.00
This total  cannot be more than $1,200

Step 3 – Calculate your travel deduction
Line 14 plus line 15 Travel deduction $1,200.00  <---MAX is $1,200.00
Step 4 – Calculate your northern residents deductions
Line 17 plus line 18                    
Enter this amount on line 25500 of your return   Northern residents deductions $1,200.00