Foreign Tax Credit

Income tax is tax charged on the income you earn in a year, levied by both the federal government and your province or territory. Rates are graduated, so successive slices of taxable income are taxed at higher rates, and credits such as the basic personal amount reduce the tax calculated. Employment income is taxed through payroll withholding and settled on your T1 return. Quebec residents also file a separate provincial return with Revenu Quebec.

A tax deduction is an amount subtracted from your income before tax is worked out, so it reduces the income being taxed rather than the tax bill directly. Its worth depends on your marginal rate: the higher the rate, the more the deduction saves. Common examples are RRSP contributions, child care costs, union dues, moving expenses and business expenses. Credits work the other way, reducing the tax calculated on that income.

Multiply the pre-tax price by the combined rate for the province where the supply is made, then add that amount to the price. If the price already includes tax, divide the total by one plus the rate to get the pre-tax amount, and the difference is the tax. The rate depends on the province of supply rather than where your business sits, so verify the current rate for that province and confirm the item is not zero-rated or exempt.

A T4E is the statement of Employment Insurance and other benefits. Service Canada issues one for each year in which EI was paid, covering regular, sickness, maternity, parental, caregiving or fishing benefits, and it shows the total received, the income tax already withheld and any amount to be repaid. Those figures go on the personal return for that year. Benefits paid under a different program come on their own slip.