Annual union, professional, or like dues
Annual dues are defined as a amount of money that you have paid through your employment or in some cases has been paid for you and is therefore included in your income. These can include:
- annual dues for membership in a trade union or an association of public servants
- professions board dues required under provincial or territorial law
- professional or malpractice liability insurance premiums or professional membership dues required to keep a professional status recognized by law
Annual dues do not include initiation fees, licences, special assessments, or charges for anything other than the organization's ordinary operating costs. You cannot claim charges for pension plans as membership dues.
Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP)
- An RRSP is a retirement plan that Revenue Canada registers and that you or your spouse or common-law partner establish and contribute to. RRSP contributions are tax deductable and can be used to reduce your tax.
- Any income you earn in the RRSP is usually exempt from tax for the time the funds remain in the plan. However, you generally have to pay tax when you cash in, make withdrawals, or receive payments from the plan.
- Calculating your 2009 RRSP deduction limit
- Your limit is determined from information on your 2008 and previous year's returns, and from information that revenue Canada keeps on record. If any of that information changes, your 2009 RRSP deduction limit may also change. In most cases, Revenue Canada will inform you of any change to your 2009 RRSP deduction limit.
- The maximum RRSP deduction limit for 2009 is $21,000. However, if you did not use all of your RRSP deduction limit for the years 1991-2009, you can carry forward the unused amount to 2010. Therefore, your RRSP deduction limit for 2009 may be more than $21,000
Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) credit
The GST/HST credit is a tax-free quarterly payment that helps individuals and families with low and modest incomes offset all or part of the GST or HST that they pay.