Completing a return for a deceased person

If you are completing a return for a person who died in 1997, you cannot claim Ontario property and sales tax credits, or the Ontario Home Ownership Savings Plan (OHOSP) tax credit.

You can claim the Ontario political contribution and, if the deceased person was self-employed, the co-operative education and graduate transitions tax credits. You can claim the Ontario child care tax credit, but only if qualifying child care expenses are claimed on the deceased person's return.

If you have a spouse

The term spouse includes a common-law spouse as defined on page 10 of the federal tax guide. When calculating your Ontario tax credits, you have to include your net income and the net income of your spouse with whom you lived on December 31, 1997.

If you lived with your spouse on December 31, 1997, either one of you may claim the property, sales, child care, and OHOSP tax credits for both of you. If one spouse is 65 or older, that spouse has to claim the property, sales, child care, and OHOSP tax credits for both of you. Either spouse can claim the political contribution tax credit. The self-employed spouse has to claim the co-operative education and graduate transitions tax credits.

Involuntary separation

Although you have shown your marital status on your return as married or living common-law , you and your spouse may have occupied separate principal residences for part or all of the year for medical, education, or business reasons. If this is your situation, we will consider you to be "involuntarily separated" during that period for property, sales, child care, and OHOSP tax credit purposes.

If you and your spouse were involuntarily separated at any time in the year, but you lived together on December 31, 1997, one of you has to claim property, sales, child care, and OHOSP tax credits for both of you based on your combined net income for the year. If one spouse is 65 or older, that spouse has to claim these tax credits for both of you.

If you and your spouse were involuntarily separated on December 31, 1997, each of you may claim property, sales, child care, and OHOSP tax credits. Use only your net income to calculate your credits. Be sure to complete the "Certification of involuntary separation" section on Form T1C (ONT.) or Form T1C (ONT.) Seniors.

Separated or divorced

If you and your spouse were separated or divorced on December 31, 1997, each of you may claim Ontario tax credits. Use only your net income to calculate your credits.

If you have dependent children

For the Ontario tax reduction (Form T1C (ONT.) TC) and the Ontario sales tax credit (Form T1C (ONT.) and Form T1C (ONT.) Seniors), a child is a dependent child if you are the parent (legal or in fact) of that child, and all of the following conditions apply:

• the child was born in 1979 or later;
• the child lived with you in 1997; and
• the child was resident in Canada in 1997.

A child for whom anyone claims an equivalent-to-spouse amount on line 305 may be a dependent child. However, a child for whom anyone claims a spousal amount on line 303 or receives an amount under the federal Children's Special Allowances Actis not a dependent child.

For the Ontario child care tax credit (Form T1C (ONT.) and Form T1C (ONT.) Seniors), the child must be a dependent child who was born in 1991 or later, and must have lived with you or your spouse when the child care expenses were incurred.

Property tax credit

You can claim this credit if you were a resident of Ontario on December 31, 1997, and;

• rent or property tax on a principal residence in Ontario was paid by or for you in 1997; and
• you were 16 or older on December 31, 1997.

A principal residence is a housing unit in Ontario which you usually occupy during the year. It can be a house, apartment, condominium, hotel or motel room, mobile home, or rooming house. A principal residence does not include a residence exempt from property tax.

You cannot claim this credit if you were under 19 on December 31, 1997, and you lived with someone who received a Child Tax Benefit payment for you in 1997.

Receipts - Do not attach property tax or rent receipts to your return, but keep them in case we ask to see them. If you are using EFILE, show your receipts to your EFILE service provider.

Occupancy cost

If you were a homeowner, occupancy cost is the property tax paid on your principal residence in 1997. If you rented, occupancy cost is 20% of the rent paid in 1997.

If you were a farmer, base your occupancy cost on the property tax or on the rent paid for your principal residence and one acre of land. If you lived in a mobile or modular home that you owned, and it was situated on leased land, base your occupancy cost on either the property tax paid (the property tax for the home and lot), or on the rent paid (20% of the total of rent paid for the land and property tax paid for the home).

Your occupancy cost has to cover the period you lived in your principal residence.

Your occupancy cost cannot include amounts such as:

• payments to relatives or friends, unless they report the amounts as rental income on their returns;
• property tax or rent paid on part of a home you used for rental or business purposes; or
• property tax or rent paid on a second residence, such as a cottage, if you claimed property tax or rent on your principal residence for the same period.

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If you and your spouse lived together on December 31, your occupancy cost is based on the total rent or property tax paid during the year, including amounts paid by each spouse during a period of separation.

If you and your spouse separated during the year and lived apart on December 31, your occupancy cost is based on your share of the rent or property tax for the part of the year before the separation, plus your rent or property tax after the separation.

If you lived in a nursing home, hospital, charitable institution, group home, or a similar institution, and the institution paid full municipal and school taxes, your occupancy cost must not include any accommodation subsidy paid by a government agency.

If you shared a principal residence with one or more persons (other than your spouse), your occupancy cost is based on your share of the rent or property tax you paid for the year.

College residence - If you lived in a designated Ontario university, college, or private school residence, you can claim only $25 as your occupancy cost for the part of the year you lived in such a residence. To find out if your residence is designated, contact your residence administrator or the Ontario Ministry of Finance at the address or numbers listed on the Information Sheet for Residents of Ontario.

Sales tax credit

You can claim this credit if you were a resident of Ontario on December 31, 1997, and:

• you were 16 or older on December 31, 1997; and
• no one else claimed an Ontario sales tax credit for you.

You cannot claim this credit if either of the following apply:

• you were under 19 on December 31, 1997, and you lived with someone who received Child Tax Benefit payments for you in 1997; or
• you were confined to a prison or a similar institution on December 31, 1997, and you were there for a period of more than six months during 1997.

Dependent children

You can claim a sales tax credit for your dependent children as defined on the previous page. Only one person can claim a sales tax credit for a dependent child. Enter at box 6099 the number of dependent children you have.

Ontario home ownership savings plan (OHOSP) tax credit

As a planholder, you can claim this credit if you were a resident of Ontario on December 31, 1997, and:

• you were 18 or older on December 31, 1997;
• you made contributions to a plan in 1997; and
• your net income is less than $40,000. If you have a spouse, or if you are claiming an equivalent-to-spouse amount, your combined net income is less than $80,000.

You cannot claim this credit if you closed your plan without buying a home.

Your claim is based on contributions made during the first five calendar years of a plan, starting with the calendar year in which you opened your plan.

If you lived with your spouse on December 31, 1997, only one of you can claim the OHOSP tax credit for both of you based on contributions made to your and/or your spouse's plan. If you bought a home in 1997, you can claim a tax credit for contributions you made to your plan up to the date of the home purchase.

Calculate your claim on Form T1C (ONT.) or Form T1C (ONT.) Seniors, whichever applies. Use the OHOSP tax credit factor table on page 4 of this information sheet to determine the tax credit factor for your OHOSP credit.

Receipts - Attach to your return the official T1C-OHOSP receipts for qualifying contributions, issued by the financial institution where you have your plan. If you are using EFILE, show your receipts to your EFILE service provider.

Political contribution tax credit

You can claim this credit if you were a resident of Ontario on December 31, 1997, and:

• you contributed to a registered Ontario political party or constituency association, or to a candidate in an Ontario provincial election; and
• your Ontario tax payable is more than your property and sales tax credits.

Only claim contributions you made during 1997. You or your spouse can claim the credit, but a contribution cannot be divided between both of you if only one receipt was issued.

Use the chart below to calculate your credit. Enter the result on line 29 of Form T1C (ONT.) or Form T1C (ONT.) Seniors, whichever applies. If your contributions are $1,700 or more, enter $750 on line 29.

Receipts - Attach official receipts to your return. If you are using EFILE, show your receipts to your EFILE service provider.

Child care tax credit

If you were a resident of Ontario on December 31, 1997, and you or your spouse paid child care expenses to earn income from employment or self-employment, or to attend school full-time, you may be able to claim this tax credit.

The credit is limited to $400 for each dependent child under age 7 on December 31, 1997, who lived with you or your spouse when the child care expenses were incurred. The credit is reduced by 4% of net family income over $20,000.

If you and your spouse lived together on December 31, 1997, and one or both of you claimed a deduction for child care expenses on line 214 of the return, only one of you can claim the child care tax credit for both of you. The credit is equal to 25% of qualifying child care expenses claimed by you and your spouse.

If you and your spouse were separated or divorced on December 31, 1997, use only the qualifying child care expenses claimed on line 214 of your return.

Calculate your claim on Form T1C (ONT.) or Form T1C (ONT.) Seniors, whichever applies.

Receipts - Do not attach supporting documentation or receipts to your return, but keep them in case we ask to see them. If you are using EFILE, show your receipts to your EFILE service provider.

Co-operative education tax credit

If you are self-employed, you may be able to claim a tax credit equal to 10% of eligible expenditures incurred when you provide qualifying co-op work placements for co-op students enrolled in an Ontario university or college. The tax credit is limited to $1,000 for each qualifying co-op work placement. Eligible expenditures are salaries, wages, and other remuneration you paid to a student in a qualifying co-op work placement, or payments made to an Ontario university or college, or a placement agency, for a qualifying co-op work placement which is usually in Ontario.

Enter your credit on the back of Form T1C (ONT.) or Form T1C (ONT.) Seniors, whichever applies.

The amount of the credit is considered taxable government assistance in the taxation year in which the qualifying co-op education work placement ends.

Certificates - The university or college will provide you with a certificate for each qualifying co-op education work placement. Do not attach these certificates to your return, but keep them in case we ask to see them. If you are using EFILE, show your certificate to your EFILE service provider.

Graduate transitions tax credit

If you are self-employed, you may be able to claim a tax credit equal to 10% of eligible expenditures incurred when you hire unemployed Ontario post-secondary graduates for a minimum of six months. The tax credit is limited to $4,000 for each new graduate hired after May 6, 1997.

Eligible expenditures are salaries, wages, and other remuneration you paid to the post-secondary graduate in the first 12 months to work at a permanent establishment in Ontario.

Enter your credit on the back of Form T1C (ONT.) or Form T1C (ONT.) Seniors, whichever applies.

The amount of the credit is considered taxable government assistance in the taxation year in which the credit is claimed.

Documentation - Do not attach documentation to your return, but keep the following records on file in case we ask to see them:

• the social insurance number (S.I.N.) of the post-secondary graduate;
• the post-secondary graduate's résumé or application for employment;
• a copy of the post-secondary degree, diploma or certificate verifying the type of degree conferred and the date of graduation; and
• a statement signed by the post-secondary graduate attesting to the fact that he or she meets the eligibility criteria for the credit.

If you are using EFILE, show your documentation to your EFILE service provider.

OHOSP tax credit factor table

To determine your tax credit factor, use the amount from line 35 of Form T1C (ONT.) or Form T1C (ONT.) Seniors, whichever applies.

[View OHOSP tax credit factor table]