What's new for T1 Internet version 14.01/02?

The latest DT Max program update is now available for downloading. It features the T1/TP-1 program for the tax years 2000 to 2010 inclusively.

Please note that the T1/TP-1 version 14.01/02 supports paper filing but does not support EFILE transmission due to its early release date. The EFILE module will be integrated in the next version of DT Max that will be stamped 14.10 and made available on CD-Rom and via www.dtmax.ca to all DT Max clients. This will take place as soon as we receive all relevant certifications towards the end of January or early February 2011.

In this version...

Program certification
Version highlights

1. DT Max program enhancements for 2010
1. T1-M - Moving Expenses Deduction
2. Disposition of depreciable property and federal Schedule 3 interconnection
3. New Quebec diagnostic "Indian exempt employment income"
4. New option for keyword CHILD-WEEKS
5. New in-house form "Quebec remission order"
2. New forms and options relating to tax changes
1. ON-BEN - Application for the 2011 Ontario Senior Homeowners' Property Tax Grant, the 2011 Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit, and the 2011 Northern Ontario Energy Credit
2. Ontario Children's Activity Tax Credit
3. Quebec Schedule D - Solidarity Tax Credit
4. Federal Schedule 13 - Employment Insurance Premiums on Self-Employment and Other Eligible Earnings
5. Newfoundland-and-Labrador - Dividend Tax Credit
6. Manitoba Fertility Tax Credit and Advance Tuition Fee Income Tax Rebate - MB479
7. GST370 - GST/HST rate and form changes
8. New client letter "Client_letter_no_elections.10E"
3. Technical changes to existing forms
1. Universal Child Care Benefits (UCCB) - Designated as income for an eligible dependant
2. Federal Schedule C: New keywords for Non-Resident Tax Withholdings (new)
4. Upcoming forms for DT Max T1 version 14.10
1. Capital losses - Final Income Tax Return
2. Form RC310 - Election for Special Relief for Tax Deferral on Employee Security Options
Preliminary status advisory
New client letter variables

Program certification

DT Max is certified for paper filing under the following authorization numbers:

Federal: RC-10-119
Quebec: RQ10-TP75

Version highlights

1. DT Max program enhancements for 2010
   1. T1-M - Moving Expenses Deduction

      We have added this functionality to enable users to select the simplified method of calculating meal and mileage expenses with respect to this form. The simplified method of calculating the above-mentioned expenses can easily be used by choosing the option "Current year expenses (simplified method)" through the keyword Moving .

   2. Disposition of depreciable property and federal Schedule 3 interconnection

      In response to feedback from our valued clients, we have greatly enhanced the processing of transactions that involve the disposition of depreciable property and capital gains.

      Capital gains relating to the disposition of depreciable assets will be automatically calculated based on the information you provided and will be instantly reported on Schedule 3. If a Quebec TP-1 income tax return is applicable, the appropriate information will also be reported on Quebec Schedule G.

      Also, as an addition to our input screen, we have added the keyword CalcCapGain.cca . This keyword appears only if you have indicated that a disposition of an asset in a specific class took place (i.e. keyword Disposition = "Yes"). It will enable the user to override the automatic calculation of capital gains/losses resulting from the disposition of depreciable assets.

   3. New TP1 diagnostic "Indian exempt employment income"

      In cases where DT Max has detected that a tax return is being completed for a Status Indian individual with exempt employment income and a registered pension plan (RPP) deduction, a warning for Q293 will appear in the Notes and Diagnostics form to advise the tax preparer that DT Max deducted on line Q293 the amount entered on Box R of the RL-1, "Indian exempt employment income", minus the amount deducted on line 205 as an RPP deduction.

   4. New option for keyword CHILD-WEEKS

      The new option "Spouse died - Claim the child care expenses" for the keyword Child-Weeks will allow you to claim the child care expenses on the surviving spouse's return as per the information regarding form T778.

      This is in accordance with the example outlined in the information sheet in regards to form T778, where a surviving spouse or common-law partner is considered to be the only supporting person eligible to claim child care expenses paid while living with the child, provided that the expenses were not claimed on the return of another person.

   5. New in-house form "Quebec remission order"

      For the convenience of our clients who have a large expatriate and non-resident population of clients, we have added an in-house form attesting to the right of a non-resident subject to Quebec tax to waive the obligation to pay the 48% non-resident surtax in favour of the Quebec abatement.

      This new in-house form will save a considerable amount of time for our clients, avoid manual entries, and also serve as a reminder that a note must be attached to certain non-resident returns where the Quebec abatement should be allowed and the taxpayer is not subject to the non-resident surtax.

2. New forms and options relating to tax changes
   1. ON-BEN - Application for the 2011 Ontario Senior Homeowners' Property Tax Grant, the 2011 Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit, and the 2011 Northern Ontario Energy Credit

      Ontario has enhanced some existing tax credits and introduced some new tax credits for low and modest income residents of Ontario. These credits are:

      • The 2011 Ontario Senior Homeowners' Property Tax Grant;
      • The 2011 Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit; and
      • The 2011 Northern Ontario Energy Credit.

      The above-mentioned credits relating to the year 2011 need to be applied for using Form ON-BEN. The following keyword entries are required to perform this application for credits:

      Residence : with the options of
      

      i) "Owner",
      ii) "Tenant",
      iii) "Student in residence", and
      iv) "Application for the 2011 credits and grant (ON-BEN)".
      
      

      The last option ("iv") will provide only Form ON-BEN with ticks for the appropriate 2011 tax credit application. You may also be required to use the keyword twice if, for example, the taxpayer doesn't qualify for the 2010 tax credits but may be able to claim them for 2011. Otherwise, Form ON-BEN should appear automatically by default based on the information provided for the 2010 application.

      Sub-keywords for ON-BEN and ON479:

      Street.or ; City.or ; Postal-Code.or : Required to indicate the taxpayer's address correctly.

      Months.or: The number of months of residence during the year.

      Municipality : The taxpayer's municipality.

      PropertyTax : The amount of property tax paid (for owners).

      SchoolTaxes : The amount of school tax paid (for owners).

      RentPaid : The amount of rent paid (for tenants).

      Landlord : The name of the tenant's landlord.

      School-Name : Name of the designated university, college or private school residence (for students).

      EnergyComponent : With options i) "Total amount of home energy cost paid on a reserve", or ii) "Total for accommodation in a public long term care home".

   2. Ontario Children's Activity Tax Credit

      The Ontario government has extended a tax credit for children enrolled in certain qualifying activities. To this extent, we have enabled the existing keyword Sport-Recreation to calculate this credit. If for any reason the eligible federal amount differs from the provincial amount, you should use the ALT + J keys to enter the provincial amount separately from the federal.

      We allow users the flexibility to override our automatic calculation with respect to this credit with the use of the keyword Transfer-OV with the option "ON 479 - Sport and recreational expenses". You can designate the claimant and the amount by using the sub-keywords Claim and Amount respectively. Also, any remaining expense can be designated as "Transfer to other supporting person" or "Ignore balance" through the sub-keyword Share-Claim .

   3. Quebec Schedule D - Solidarity Tax Credit

      The government of Quebec has amalgamated the QST credit, the Property Tax credit, and the Northern Residence tax credit into the Solidarity Tax Credit. These credits will now be paid in monthly instalments instead of one lump sum amount.

      In addition, if taxpayers wish to receive this credit, having an account with direct deposit with a financial institution located in Quebec will be mandatory. To claim this credit, we have introduced the following keywords and sub-keywords:

      Solidarity : Option i) "Solidarity tax credit (Schedule D)" to claim the credit, or ii) "Do not claim the Solidarity tax credit".

      DATE-COMPLETED : Indicate the date on which Schedule D was completed.

      Have-A-Spouse : i) "Yes" or ii) "No". Indicate if the taxpayer had or did not have a spouse or common-law partner.

      Live-WithSpouse : Did the taxpayer i) "Live with the spouse", or ii) "Did not live with the spouse" (applies likewise to common-law partner)?

      SP-DWELLING : Did the spouse or common-law partner live with the taxpayer as i) an "owner", ii) "tenant or sub-tenant", iii) "did not live in an eligible dwelling"?

      Sp-NorthVillages : Did the spouse live in a northern village? i) "Yes", or ii) "No".

      ONLYPERSON : Other than your spouse, i) "You are the only person who meets the requirements", or ii) "You are not the only person who meets the requirements".

      Dwelling : Is the taxpayer living in an eligible dwelling of which he is the owner, the tenant or subtenant? Same options as SP-DWELLING .

      ELIG-INDIVIDUALS : Enter the number of persons, other than the taxpayer's spouse, who are eligible for the credit and live with the taxpayer in the same dwelling as owners, co-tenants, or subtenants.

      NBR-CHILDSUPPORT : Enter the number of children living with the taxpayer for whom the taxpayer or taxpayer's spouse receives the child assistance payment from the Régie des rentes du Québec (RRQ).

      NBR-CHILD-ASSIST : Enter the number of children included under NBR-CHILDSUPPORT for whom the child assistance payment was determined based on shared custody.

      Northern-Village : Is the taxpayer's residence located in a northern village?

      NORTHERN-CHILD : Do the children indicated on line 56 of Schedule D live with the taxpayer in a northern village?

      RegistQDirectDep : Is the taxpayer registered for direct deposit?

   4. Federal Schedule 13 - Employment Insurance Premiums on Self-Employment and Other Eligible Earnings

      Schedule 13 relates to a program that is available through Services Canada to self-employed individuals so they could have access to the Employment Insurance (EI) program. More information can be found with respect to this program at the following government web site:

      www.servicecanada.gc.ca

      To complete Schedule 13 correctly, you need to use the keyword EI-Self-Employ with the option "Participant - EI Measure for Self-Employed People" and subsequently pick the correct option for the sub-keyword EI-Self-Earnings . The options for EI-Self-Earnings are the following:

      • Total net self-employment income
      
      
      • Insurable earnings from a T4 (employed by a corporation)
      
      
      • Total tax-exempt self-employed income (Indian)

   5. Newfoundland-and-Labrador - Dividend Tax Credit

      Newfoundland instituted two different rates with respect to the dividend tax credit for eligible dividends. Taxable eligible dividends made before July 1, 2010 benefit from a tax credit of 9.6%, whereas taxable eligible dividends paid after this date benefit from a credit of 11%.

      If your client is a resident of Newfoundland as per the keyword Prov-Residence , the sub-keyword ELIGDIVBEFJULY1 will appear under the keyword T-Slip when the appropriate slip is selected, in order for you to indicate the amount of dividends subject to the lower credit percentage.

      In addition, if your client has received dividends for which no T5 or T3 slip was issued, you may use the keyword DIVELIGBEFJULY1 to enter such dividends. In these cases, the taxable dividend should be entered for this keyword.

   6. Manitoba Fertility Tax Credit and Advance Tuition Fee Income Tax Rebate - MB479

      Two new credits have been introduced by the province of Manitoba. These new tax credits are the Fertility Tax Credit, and the Advance Tuition Fee Income Tax Rebate, which are featured on form MB479, lines 6146 and 6145 respectively.

      To this extent, the new option "Infertility treatment services to a fertility clinic in MB" was added to the existing keyword Infertility to allow you to claim the Manitoba fertility tax credit.

      In addition, to claim the Manitoba advance tuition fee credit, the option "Advance tuition fee income tax rebate" was added to the existing keyword TUITION-TAX .

   7. GST370 - GST/HST rate and form changes

      2010 is a notable year of change with respect to the GST/HST tax regimes. British Columbia and Ontario embarked with the HST mid-year, and Nova Scotia raised its rate from 13% to 15%. Consequently, form GST370 has undergone significant changes in format to account for these changes. See the chart below for a summary of these changes:

      2010 Provincial Adoption of the HST and GST/PST/QST Rates
      Rates Before July 1, 2010						Rates Starting July 1, 2010
      Province	GST	PST	QST	GST/HST		GST	PST	QST	GST/HST
      BC1	5.00%	7.00%	N/A	N/A		N/A	N/A	N/A	12.00%
      AB	5.00%	N/A	N/A	N/A		5.00%	N/A	N/A	N/A
      SK2	5.00%	5.00%	N/A	N/A		5.00%	5.00%	N/A	N/A
      MB3	5.00%	5.00%	N/A	N/A		5.00%	5.00%	N/A	N/A
      ON4	5.00%	8.00%	N/A	N/A		N/A	N/A	N/A	13.00%
      QC5	5.00%	0.00%	7.50%	N/A		5.00%	N/A	7.50%	N/A
      NL	N/A	N/A	N/A	13.00%		N/A	N/A	N/A	13.00%
      NS6	N/A	N/A	N/A	13.00%		N/A	N/A	N/A	15.00%
      NB	N/A	N/A	N/A	13.00%		N/A	N/A	N/A	13.00%
      PE7	5.00%	10.00%	N/A	N/A		5.00%	10.00%	N/A	N/A
      NT	5.00%	N/A	N/A	N/A		5.00%	N/A	N/A	N/A
      NU	5.00%	N/A	N/A	N/A		5.00%	N/A	N/A	N/A
      YT	5.00%	N/A	N/A	N/A		5.00%	N/A	N/A	N/A

      Notes:

      ¹ BC replaced the PST with a 12% HST (5% Federal and 7% Provincial) effective July 1, 2010.

      ² The 5% SK provincial tax is known as the "Saskatchewan Provincial Sales Tax".

      ³ The 5% MB provincial tax is known as the "Manitoba Retail Sales Tax".

      ⁴ Ontario replaced the Basic Ontario Retail Sales Tax (RST) with the HST (5% Federal and 8% Provincial) effective July 1, 2010.

      ⁵ The QC QST is applied to the selling price plus the GST for an effective rate of 12.875%.
          The 2009 QC budget proposed an increase to 8.5% effective January 1, 2011.
          The 2010 QC budget also proposed an increase to 9.5% effective January 1, 2012.
      

      ⁶ NS increased the HST on July 1, 2010 from 13% to 15% (5% Federal and 10% Provincial parts).

      ⁷ The PE Island Revenue Tax is applied to the sales price plus the GST.

      Although our approach in filing form GST370 has not changed, it is worth noting that the default rate for each province is the rate in effect on December 31st, 2010. Also, if the DT Max-calculated values for the GST370 form are not the desired result, then manual overrides may be required to attain the results you want.

      In addition, due to the GST/HST rate changes, we have made additional in-house charts for leased vehicles to represent the period of time before and after changes made to GST/HST rates. The appropriate charts will appear automatically based on the taxpayers' province of residence on December 31st of 2010 and the term of the leasing contract.

   8. New client letter "Client_letter_no_elections.10E"

      New for 2010 we are providing a client letter that does not have a paragraph discussing the question relating to "Elections Canada."

3. Technical changes to existing forms
   1. Universal Child Care Benefits (UCCB) - Designated as income for an eligible dependant

      For 2010, non-married and non-common-law taxpayers will be able to choose to have UCCB benefits designated as income for an eligible dependant, if such a scenario is more beneficial to the taxpayer. We are currently working on an approach that will allow users to derive the optimal scenario for their clients with minimal intervention. We will advise our clients of the approach we took with our next release.

      In the meantime, please note that the RC62 should always be entered in the family head's file, and that we have activated an option within the keyword Transfer-OV to enable you to transfer UCCB benefits as income for the eligible dependant.

   2. Federal Schedule C: New keywords for Non-Resident Tax Withholdings (new)

      The CRA has introduced some format changes to Schedule C - Electing Under Section 217 of the Income Tax Act. Although the overall calculation remains similar, the format changes are aimed at streamlining and simplifying this form.

      With respect to this matter, we have instituted a default tax rate of 25% for income mentioned in Part 1 of this form. Should the rate of non-resident tax withholding differ, you are required to specify the rate for each type of income using the following keywords:

      Tax-Treaty : With options i) Yes, or ii) No, to specify if the rate of withholding is subject to a tax treaty between Canada and a foreign country, and;

      Elig-Inc-Rate : Choose the type of income from the drop-down menu and specify the appropriate rate of non-resident withholding tax.

4. Upcoming forms for DT Max T1 version 14.10
   1. Capital losses - Final Income Tax Return

      Please note that with the upcoming version release, we will feature an in-house form entitled "Capital losses - Final Income Tax Return". This form will be a functional planning guide that will help users to determine how to best use existing capital losses and whether they should be applied in the prior or current year.

      Users dealing with "final" income tax returns for deceased taxpayers who have capital losses are advised to wait for our next software release to take advantage of this functionality.

   2. RC310 - Election for Special Relief for Tax Deferral Election on Employee Security Options

      For 2010, a taxpayer may be able to elect special relief, in respect of gains from a disposition of eligible securities on which he or she elected in a previous year to defer the security option benefit. Under proposed changes, the amount that can be claimed on line 249 of the federal income tax return may exceed 50% of line 4 of form T1212 - Statement of Deferred Security Options Benefits. To calculate the additional amount claimable on line 249, form RC310 - Election for Special Relief for Tax Deferral Election on Employee Security Options must be completed. Please note that for Quebec residents, form TP-1129, the Quebec counterpart to the RC310, will also be added to the upcoming version 14.10 of DT Max T1.

      To complete form RC310, the following keyword and sub-keywords are required:

      ELECTIONSTOCKOPT : To open form RC310. Subsequently, choose either option i) "Disposition is in 2010", or ii) "Disposition is prior to 2010".

      Sub-keywords:

      TAXATION-YEAR : If a year prior to 2010 is selected for the keyword ElectionStockOpt , then the sub-keyword Taxation-Year will appear to allow you to indicate the taxation year for which the tax deferral election on security options applies (2001 to 2009), i. e. for which taxation year form T1212 was filed.

      Election-Amount : This amount relates to line 1 of form RC310. This amount should correspond to line 4 of form T1212 that you completed for the tax year of disposition.

      CAPITALLOSS-DISP : This amount relates to line 3 of form RC310, or the deemed taxable capital gain in respect of the disposition.

      PROCEEDSSTOCKOPT : This amount relates to line 7 of form RC310, or the proceeds of disposition from the sale of the securities reported in column 2 of the Schedule 3.

      TOTAL-TAXCAPGAIN : This amount relates to line 5 of form RC310, as well as the amount of line 199 of Schedule 3 that you completed for the year of disposition.

Preliminary status advisory

Development and testing of sweeping tax changes require that we ask users to hold off filing returns with tax profiles that include the following items until they update their software to version 14.10:

Federal:

- T1136 - Old Age Security Return of Income

- T1163 - AgriStability and AgriInvest Programs Information and Statement of Farming Activities for Individuals

- T1206 - Tax on Split Income

- T1244 - Election, Under Subsection 220(4.5) of the Income Tax Act, to Defer the Payment of Tax on Income Relating to the Deemed Disposition of Property

- T1273 - Harmonized AgriStability and AgriInvest Programs Information and Statement of Farming Activities for Individuals

- T2203 - Provincial and Territorial Taxes for 2010 - Multiple Jurisdictions

- RC310 - Election for Special Relief for Tax Deferral Election on Employee Security Options (see previous section)

- Estimation of federal child tax benefits for the period of July 2011 to June 2012

Provincial:

- Estimated of the calculation of the provincial sales tax credits for the period 2011 to 2012

Quebec:

- Quebec child support payment estimates for the July 2011 to June 2012 period

- TP-726.30 - Income-Averaging for Forest Producers

- TP-1029.CS.1 - Solidarity Tax Credit for New Resident

- TP-1029.CS.3 - Notice of Change of Status - Solidarity Tax Credit

New client letter variables

Non-resident [1=Yes, 0=No]

F317 EI premiums on self-employment [$]

F430 EI premiums on self-employment [$]

Schedule D - Solidarity tax credit [0=No, 1=Yes]

Estimation of Solidarity credit (Jan. YEAR+2 - Dec. YEAR+2) [$]

YEAR+2 taxation year