Terms starting with the letter A

Accumulated Income Payments

Amounts generally paid to the subscriber of the income earned from a registered education savings plan (RESP).

Administrator

Volunteer who schedules appointments, makes follow-up calls, books space for tax clinics and performs other administrative tasks.

Allowance

A monthly non-taxable benefit available to individuals aged 60 to 64 who have a modest income, are the spouse or common-law partner of a guaranteed income supplement recipient and live in Canada. Other residency criteria and income threshold requirements must also be met. The amount received is found in box 21 of the T4A(OAS) slip, under Net supplements paid.

Terms starting with the letter B

Band council

The Indian Act defines a band council as the council elected, or chosen, by a body of Indians for whose collective use and benefit lands have been set apart, or money is held by the Crown or who have been declared to be a band for the purposes of the Indian Act.

Basic personal amount

A non-refundable tax credit that all individuals can claim. It is on line 30000 of the tax return.

Terms starting with the letter C

Canadian resident

An individual is considered a resident of Canada for tax purposes when they live and have enough residential ties in Canada. Most newcomers who move to Canada with the intention of staying here are considered residents from the time they enter Canada.

Client Data Enquiry

An information page available to authorized representatives that allows view access to various data elements of an individual’s account. The page provides a detailed summary of a client's account, including any amounts that apply.

Common-law

Someone who lives in a marriage-like relationship with another person but is not legally married to that person and at least one of the following situations applies:

• The individual and their partner have lived together in a marriage-like relationship for at least 12 continuous months (including any time they were separated for less than 90 days because of a breakdown in the relationship)
• The individual is the parent of their partner's child by birth or adoption
• The individual's partner has custody and control of the individual's child (or had custody and control immediately before the child turned 19 years of age) and the child depends entirely on the individual's common-law partner for support

CVITP Organization Identification Number (COIN)

A unique and permanent eight-digit identification number, given to organizations that are participating in the CVITP, or ITAVP in Quebec. It is used for statistics and reporting purposes.

Terms starting with the letter D

Date of acquisition

Date of which the individual last acquired the property.

Date of disposition

Date when an individual gives up possession, control and all aspects of property ownership.

Dependant

Someone reliant on another individual, on a regular and consistent basis, for support. They must be one of the following persons by blood, marriage, common-law partnership or adoption:

• Parent or grandparent
• Child or grandchild
• Sibling
• Uncle or aunt
• Niece or nephew

Divorced

Someone who was married and is now legally divorced from their former spouse.

Document control number (DCN)

A number that is generated upon EFILE transmission or upon printing the form TIS60. This number does not mean that the tax return has been successfully transmitted to the CRA.

Terms starting with the letter E

EFILE number

A number issued by the CRA to allow tax preparers to submit an individual's tax return electronically. Tax preparers must apply for an EFILE number and renew their existing EFILE account yearly.

Eligible child

An eligible child (for child care expenses only) is one of the following:

• The individual or the individual’s spouse’s or common-law partner’s child
• A child who was dependent on the individual or the individual’s spouse or common-law partner and whose net income for the year did not exceed the basic personal amount on line 30000

The child must have been under 16 years of age at some time in the year. However, the age limit does not apply if the child had an impairment in physical or mental function and was dependent on the individual or their spouse or common‑law partner.

Eligible dependant

Must be one of the following persons by blood, marriage, common-law partnership or adoption:

• A parent or grandparent
• A child, grandchild or sibling under 18 years of age
• A child, grandchild or sibling 18 years of age or older with an impairment in physical or mental functions

Terms starting with the letter G

Greeter

The individual’s first point of contact at in-person clinics.

Guaranteed income supplement

Also known as GIS, it is a monthly non-taxable benefit provided to old age security (OAS) recipients who have a modest income and live in Canada. Other residency criteria and income threshold requirements must also be met.

Terms starting with the letter I

Identification number

A number other than a social insurance number (SIN), such as an individual tax number (ITN) or a temporary tax number (TTN), that allows individuals to submit their tax return and apply for benefits.

Interpreter

Volunteer who facilitates communication between the individual and other volunteers by acting as a translator.

Terms starting with the letter L

Legal representative

An individual or organization appointed by a legal document. The limit of the actual authority is defined in the legal document.

Terms starting with the letter M

Marital status

The status of being married, common-law, single, widowed, divorced or separated. The marital status reported on a tax return must reflect an individual's status as of December 31 of the tax year.

Married

Someone legally married to a person.

Terms starting with the letter N

Net income (net federal income)

Net income is calculated by subtracting all eligible deductions from the total income for the year. It is used to determine eligibility and to calculate certain tax credits and federal or provincial benefits.

Net world income

Income from all sources, both inside and outside Canada, minus any allowable deductions. It includes income from employment, pensions, social assistance, worker’s compensation benefits and investment income.

Non-refundable tax credit

Non-refundable tax credits reduce the amount of tax owed but if the total of these credits is more than the tax owed, there will not be a refund for the difference.

Non-residents

Individuals who normally live outside of Canada, or who do not have enough residential ties with Canada and spent fewer than 183 days in Canada. Generally speaking, newcomers are non-residents until the day of their arrival in Canada.

North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code

A six-digit code that best describes the business’s main revenue-generating business activity.

Terms starting with the letter O

Occasional earnings

A type of employment income that may not be found on a T4 slip. All occasional earnings are taxable. Amounts earned from January 1 through December 31 must be reported on the tax return.

Terms starting with the letter P

Power of attorney (POA)

A legal document giving one person the power to act on behalf of another person. POA can be granted to act on behalf of an individual specifically for property and finances, specifically for health or personal care decisions, or for both. It is important to ensure that the individual has the correct authority before proceeding.

Principal residence

A property for which all of the following conditions apply:

• The property is a housing unit that the individual owns alone or jointly
• The individual or their spouse or common-law partner or their child lived in the property
• The individual designates the property as their principal residence

Principal residence exemption

The condition under which any capital gains from the sale of a property are not taxable because the entire property was designated as the individual’s principal residence for all the years they owned it.

Proceeds of disposition

The amounts an individual received or will receive for their property. In most cases, it refers to the sale price of the property.