I recently attended a free tax workshop led by Enrolment Services Advisors (ES Advisors). The presenters immediately addressed the main question that perplexes many students: who exactly has to file taxes?
Who has to file taxes?
The answer can be broken down into two components - whether or not you were a resident in Canada during the 2017 tax year, and whether or not you made income during that time.
For tax purposes, you are considered a resident in Canada if you have lived in the country for 183 days or more.
Income is any monetary compensation received during the 2017 year. This includes not only paychecks from a job but cash made from a side hustle, certain scholarships, interest received on investments, etc.
Therefore, those required to file taxes fall into 3 simple categories:
- If you’ve lived in Canada for 183 days or more and made any amount of income.
- If you’ve lived here less than 183 days, but made any amount of income in that time.
- If you’ve lived here for 183 days or more, but made no income.
Based on the above criteria, this means that international students, you, too, will likely need to file taxes!
Tax FAQs
After clarifying who has to file taxes, the presenters transitioned into explaining taxes in more detail, addressing a lot of the questions that students frequently ask on the topic:
What are taxes?
Income taxes are mandatory payments to the Canadian and BC government. They help cover general services like public transportation, hospitals, and schools. If you’ve taken the 99 B-Line or visited Vancouver General Hospital, taxes helped pay for these services.
What if I didn’t have an “official” job - do I still need to disclose my income?
Yes! Even informal work paid in cash needs to be declared as income on your tax return. So if you’ve tutored for cash or had any other side hustle, this should be recorded as income earned.
Is my scholarship or bursary considered income?
It depends. If you’ve received funding for school, log in to the Student Service Centre and check the financial section. If there is any amount from a scholarship or bursary that needs to be declared as income, you’ll find a T4A form that you will submit as part of your tax return.
If I didn’t make any money in 2017, should I still file my taxes?
Yes! You could be eligible for refundable and non-refundable tax credits. (And if you did make income in 2017, you will still be eligible to receive these benefits.)
Refundable tax credits reduce the amount of tax you pay and can help get you a tax refund from the government.
For example, you could receive a GST/HST credit of $280.00—a type of refundable tax credit—that will feel like free money (it’s essentially a refund to offset the taxes you pay on items purchased in Canada over the past year).
Non-refundable tax credits mean that you won’t receive any money back, but you can use these credits to lower your taxable income.
Fun fact: even if you don’t use them (because, for example, you didn’t make enough money in 2017 to be taxed), you can still transfer these credits to your parents. This means they’ll be able to reduce their taxable income (and you’ll get to repay some of the money you’ve likely borrowed from them during university).
You can receive non-refundable tax credits for the following:
- Moving costs
- Transit passes (including your U-pass)
- Interest on student loan
- Tuition
- Donations
When do I have to file my tax return by?
April 30th is the deadline to submit your tax return - so if you are going to procrastinate from studying, do so by filing your taxes!
Need help?
Taxes are specific to your personal income situation, so returns will vary from student to student. It’s a good idea to research what you can claim and to get help if you’re confused.
Here are further resources to help you get started:
- Learn more about the benefits of filing taxes from a Financial Wellness Peer
- Get an overview of filing taxes in Canada
- Attend a free tax preparation clinic in Vancouver to get one-on-one help (see if you’re eligible)
- Watch this video series that Canada Revenue Agency created to help students with taxes:
Financial Wellness Workshops
The ES Advisors-led Filing Taxes workshop was extremely useful in helping me understand who has to complete a tax return and the overall reasons for doing so. Not only did I get a snack, but I could also ask my questions directly.
I would highly recommend attending a Financial Wellness workshop if you want to learn more about how to stay on top of your finances. ES Advisors offer workshops on a variety of financial topics regularly. Check out students.ubc.ca/finances periodically to see upcoming workshops — and best of luck during this tax season!
