Line of Credit

Multiply the assessed value of the property by the tax rate for its property class. Assessment is set by a provincial assessment authority on its own cycle and increases are often phased in, so the value lags the market. The rate is set each year by the municipality out of its budget, with an education portion added by the province. Both figures appear on your notice, which is why identical homes in different municipalities carry different bills.

A tax credit reduces the tax you owe, whereas a deduction reduces the income the tax is calculated on. Non-refundable credits, such as the basic personal amount or tuition, can bring tax down to nil but pay nothing beyond that. Refundable credits, such as the GST/HST credit, are paid out even when no tax is owing. Almost every credit is claimed on the return, so filing is what releases the money.

Different deductions, not different rules. Withholding follows the TD1 forms you filed, so a colleague claiming more credits, tuition or a disability amount has less tax taken off. Other causes are a different province of employment, a second job where each employer applies the basic personal amount, taxable benefits added to your pay, a higher salary reaching the next bracket, and pay-period timing. CPP and EI also stop at their annual maximums, which higher earners reach sooner.

Tax free means no tax is payable on the amount at all, as with growth inside a TFSA, most gifts and inheritances, lottery winnings and certain non-taxable employee benefits. It differs from tax-deferred, where an RRSP only postpones tax until withdrawal. In sales tax it means something narrower again: zero-rated supplies are taxed at nil while exempt supplies sit outside GST/HST, which decides whether the seller can recover tax paid on costs.