[Derrick]

Does anybody know if the existing GST/HST credit 'form' is going to be updated for the Ontario Trillium Benefit (OTB)?

At present it calculates the Ontario Sales Tax Credit which ceases to exist in July this year.

It would be useful if it did the OTB calculation and included this on the letter for Ontario residents.

[adamee]

Derrick, on 04 January 2012 - 03:56 PM, said:

Does anybody know if the existing GST/HST credit 'form' is going to be updated for the Ontario Trillium Benefit (OTB)?

At present it calculates the Ontario Sales Tax Credit which ceases to exist in July this year.

It would be useful if it did the OTB calculation and included this on the letter for Ontario residents.

To apply for the OTB there is a check box on the form ONBEN line 6118 and as per my reading the OTB will be paid in installments. Please read the CRA bulletin for the OTB

[Derrick]

adamee, on 05 January 2012 - 08:23 PM, said:

To apply for the OTB there is a check box on the form ONBEN line 6118 and as per my reading the OTB will be paid in installments. Please read the CRA bulletin for the OTB

Thanks, I understand that but what I am trying to find out is if Intuit has, or is going to, put the calculation of the benefit in the software. They have the OSTC but like I said that ceases to exist as a separate benefit this summer. It seems that Cantax is doing the calculation.

For low income Ontario residents the OTB is more important than the GST/HST credit and if the Alberta Family Employment Tax credit can be included in the letter there should be no reason the OTB can't be.

[Rich Aknk]

Good question Derrick. The OTB starts in July and is paid monthly. It would be nice to provide clients with proper information. Could someone at Intuit respond whether this will be found in future updates.

[buck512]

What I can gather is that the Trillium credit is based on the net income of the Ontario individual. Yes, but I hope the Ontario government is nice about it. I would think that now every time that we prepare a return that form should be filled out regardless of the income just in case, until further details are available. Tick all the boxes if need be.

[dunner]

Bucks512, the Trillium Benefit is just going to consolidate the existing Property & Energy Credit, Northern Ontario Energy Credit, and Ontario Sales Tax Credit and pay them out monthly instead of the previous methods. All they're doing is averaging the benefits over 12 months to give the recipient more predictable income. It should still be pretty easy to determine whether someone qualifies for a particular benefit and so the "tick every box" method really shouldn't be needed.

[Rich Aknk]

dunner, on 23 January 2012 - 09:40 AM, said:

" It should still be pretty easy to determine whether someone qualifies for a particular benefit and so the "tick every box" method really shouldn't be needed."

It still would be nice to be able to advise the client how much they'll be receiving on a monthly basis, just as we do for the GST credit. It's not so easy to do that.

[dunner]

I couldn't agree more, Rich. I just don't think ticking every box is required to determine eligibility. If Profile doesn't add a schedule, I will do something for my clients in Excel (with an appropriate disclaimer) to estimate the tax credits, summarizing Child Tax Benefit, GST credit, and Trillium Benefit.

[melotm]

I've looked everywhere in Profile for this calculation ...can someone from Profile please respond to this topic?

[Hardev@Intuit]

melotm, on 11 February 2012 - 05:12 PM, said:

I've looked everywhere in Profile for this calculation ...can someone from Profile please respond to this topic?

Plan is to introduce Ontario Trillium Benefits calculation worksheet in Profile release version 2011.4.0 provided all goes as planned. For manual calculation you can use the OTB TAX Credits calculator by clicking the link below:
http://www.rev.gov.o...orQuestions.asp

Hope the above helps.

Thank you.
Hardev

[Rich Aknk]

That link takes us to the calculator based on the 2010 tax return. Have the calculations changed based on the 2011 tax return?

[melotm]

Has anyone been able to enter the amount of the Ontario Seniors Property Tax Grant received in 2011on the ONBEN?

[Robin]

I called the Ontario Ministry of Finance and confirmed that it's not necessary to enter the amount of the Ontario Seniors Property Tax Grant received in 2011 on the ONBEN.

[Hardev@Intuit]

Rich Aknk, on 15 February 2012 - 04:13 PM, said:

That link takes us to the calculator based on the 2010 tax return. Have the calculations changed based on the 2011 tax return?

The message on the Ontario site reads:

2011 Tax Credit Calculator

Please note: We are updating our tax credit calculator to serve you better!

You and your family may be eligible for Ontario tax credits and benefits. Come back in late February to see how much you could get by filing your 2011 personal income tax return.

Until then, you can use the calculator below to see what you may be eligible to receive by filing your 2010 personal income tax return.

[jwillis]

Ellen Rossman wrote an article on this in the Saturday Star today.http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1140158--income-tax-changes-eliminate-refunds-for-many-ontario-residents

[jwillis]

Ellen Rossman wrote an article on this in the Saturday Star today.

http://www.thestar.c...tario-residents