Are there any Tax Deductions for Canadian PR?

[KevinsJane]

I'm a Canadian Permanent Resident ; landed November of 2009, sponsored by my Canadian Husband. I have a few tax filing questions:


1)Are we able to claim any of the immigration fees; filing, medical, criminal checks, etc. (receipts in hand)

2)Are we able to claim any of my moving expenses to Canada; meals, lodging, rental vehicle? (receipts in hand)

3)Are we able to claim monies my husband sent to me while I maintained a residence in the US, for living costs; while I was awaiting on my file to be accepted?

4)If not, are we able to claim any of that money as a gift from husband to wife? What is the max that can be claimed? (we have the copies of the Canadian Bank based checks cashed; which were deposited into my American Bank Account)

4)As far as charitable. what is the max we can claim? Once I arrived, we combined our households. We donated practically a 1-bedroom apartment furnishings to Value Village. (still looking for the receipt)

5) When filing it asks if I am a Canadian Citizen...based on some of the mix terminology...I believe I would answer no?

I appreciate your time and knowledge on any 'possible' tax deductions we are missing!

Thank You,
KJ

 

[toby]

I'm a Canadian Permanent Resident Wink; landed November of 2009, sponsored by my Canadian Husband. I have a few tax filing questions:


1)Are we able to claim any of the immigration fees; filing, medical, criminal checks, etc. (receipts in hand)

Don`t think so. It is expenses incurred to create (taxable) income that are deductible. Same with moving expenses: if you had to move more than a certain number of miles to get a new job, then yes, deductible. In your case you moved to live with hubby, not to get a new job.

2)Are we able to claim any of my moving expenses to Canada; meals, lodging, rental vehicle? (receipts in hand)

3)Are we able to claim monies my husband sent to me while I maintained a residence in the US, for living costs; while I was awaiting on my file to be accepted? Same principle. The money your husband spends on food and residence in Canada is not deductible; neither are your expenses in the USA.

4)If not, are we able to claim any of that money as a gift from husband to wife? What is the max that can be claimed? (we have the copies of the Canadian Bank based checks cashed; which were deposited into my American Bank Account)
Gee, I hate to be a curmudgeon, but I don`t think that gifts are tax deductible. Otherwise, husbands and wives would be gifting each other Mercedes!!


4)As far as charitable. what is the max we can claim? Once I arrived, we combined our households. We donated practically a 1-bedroom apartment furnishings to Value Village. (still looking for the receipt)
Charitable gifts are deductible up to a certain percentage of income -- Quicktax will calculate this for you in the blink of an eye. But you must have a receipt from a registered charity -- otherwise I could issue receipts for the expensive bottle of red wine I know you really want to give me, and you could deduct the cost.
5) When filing it asks if I am a Canadian Citizen...based on some of the mix terminology...I believe I would answer no? Right, you`re not a citizen (yet).

I appreciate your time and knowledge on any 'possible' tax deductions we are missing! Not missing anything. But let`s work on the red wine thing.

Thank You,
KJ