GST HST Credits

By Victoria E. Turnbull

GST/HST Credits

The GST/HST Credit is a tax-free quarterly payment that is sent to individuals and families with low and modest incomes to help to offset some of the GST/HST that they pay during the year. Since the benefit is tax-free, it does not affect the amount of income being reported to the CRA during the submission of a tax return, unlike the Universal Child Care Benefit. Read more about the taxable Universal Child Care Benefit.

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Since 2014, eligible recipients of the GST/HST Credit no longer need to apply for the benefit. The CRA automatically determines eligibility of the benefit during the processing of income tax returns, which is another reason to ensure that your personal tax return is completed and returned to the CRA on time. Without a tax return, the CRA is unable to determine if an individual is eligible for the benefit.

The benefit amounts for 2015 – 2016 differ based on the individual; however the basic guidelines for payment amounts are a maximum of $272.00 for eligible adults and $143.00 for qualified children under 19 years of age. There are a number of other related benefits that may be processed during the same time as the GST/HST credit, such as the Ontario Trillium Benefit; to learn more about the Ontario Trillium Benefit, read the CRAs information regarding the administration of benefit programs of Ontario.

One of the most common questions we are often asked is what the cut-off income levels are for the GST/HST credit. The cut-offs for each family type are below:

• Single Adult $43,765
• Single Parent & 1 Child $49,205
• Single Parent & 2 Children $52,065
• Single Parent & 3 Children $54,925
• Single Parent & 4 Children $57,785
• Married/Common-law Couple $46,345
• Married/Common-law Couple & 1 Child $49,205
• Married/Common-law Couple & 2 Children $52,065
• Married/Common-law Couple & 3 Children $54,925
• Married/Common-law Couple & 4 Children $57,785

For more detailed information about the GST/HST Credit, contact one of the experts at Hamilton Accounting Solutions, or visit the GST/HST Credit Q&A section of the CRA website at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/bnfts/gsthst/fq_pymnts-eng.html

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