Topic hub · 46 pages
Tax credits and benefits
Tax credits, deductions and government benefits explained for Ontario residents: medical expenses, donations, child care, the Trillium benefit and the GST/HST credit.
A bridge from a filed return to the credits, deductions and benefit payments that depend on it.
Visual labels: Your filed return; Credits and deductions; Benefit payments.Credits and deductions work differently, and benefits are a separate matter again. A deduction lowers the income you are taxed on, a credit reduces the tax itself and a benefit is a payment based on your return. Missing any of them usually means filing late, filing without the right information or not knowing the claim exists.
The pages in this hub explain the claims that people ask about most often, including medical expenses, charitable donations, child care costs and the benefits that depend on a filed return. Each page describes who may qualify in general terms, what records to keep and where to confirm the current rules. Eligibility often depends on family income, the age of a child or who in the household makes the claim, so treat the articles as a starting point. Gather receipts through the year, file every return even when income is low and ask an accountant whether any claim is worth reviewing for your household.
General information, not advice for your situation. How these pages are written and checked.
Guides (5)
Step-by-step checklists and plain-language walkthroughs.
CRA benefit payment dates 2026
The remaining 2026 payment dates for the CCB, OTB, Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, CPP and OAS, what is not yet published for 2027, and what to do if a payment is late.
Read the guide Personal taxDisability tax credit application: a step-by-step checklist
How to apply for the disability tax credit with Form T2201: who completes each part, how to submit, what happens after the decision and how to claim approved years.
Read the guide PayrollGroup health benefits and tax: what employers need to know
Which employer-paid health, dental, life and disability premiums are taxable benefits, how a plan qualifies as a private health services plan, and what to report.
Read the guide Business essentialsIssuing official donation receipts: a checklist for charities
A step-by-step checklist for registered charities: confirm the gift and the true donor, work out the eligible amount, complete every required field, then correct, store and reconcile receipts.
Read the guide Personal taxNew parent benefits checklist: what to apply for, and in what order
A step-by-step order for new parents in Ontario: direct deposit, birth registration, Canada child benefit, EI maternity and parental leave, and the filing habits that keep payments coming.
Read the guideArticles (15)
Longer explanations of the decisions behind the numbers, newest first.
- Personal tax
Charitable donation tax credit in Ontario: how it works
How the federal and Ontario charitable donation tax credit works: rates on the first $200 and above, official receipts, spouse claims, the 75% limit and carry-forward.
Read the article - Personal tax
Child care expense deduction explained for Ontario parents
Who claims the child care expense deduction, the per-child limits on Form T778, which costs qualify, how day and overnight camps differ, and the receipts to keep.
Read the article - Personal tax
First-time home buyers’ tax credit: who qualifies, how to claim
How the federal home buyers’ amount works on line 31270: who is a first-time buyer, what counts as a qualifying home, how couples split it, and what records to keep.
Read the article - Personal tax
Home accessibility tax credit: who qualifies and how to claim
How the federal home accessibility tax credit works: who qualifies, which renovations count, the $20,000 annual limit, family claims and the records to keep.
Read the article - Personal tax
Home child care provider taxes: income, expenses and receipts
How home child care providers in Ontario report daycare income, deduct food, supplies and home costs, issue receipts to parents and handle GST/HST.
Read the article - Payroll
How to calculate payroll deductions in Ontario
Work out CPP, CPP2, EI and income tax on an Ontario paycheque, what the employer share adds, and when the amounts are due to the CRA, using 2026 figures.
Read the article - Personal tax
Medical expense tax credit: what qualifies in Canada
See which medical expenses can qualify for the federal credit, how the 12-month period and income-based threshold work, who can claim, and what receipts to keep.
Read the article - Personal tax
Multigenerational home renovation tax credit: who can claim
The MHRTC is a refundable credit for creating a self-contained secondary unit so a senior or an adult with a disability can live with family. Who qualifies, what counts, and how to claim.
Read the article - Personal tax
Ontario Trillium Benefit and GST/HST credit: what to know
How the Ontario Trillium Benefit and the GST/HST credit (now the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit) work, which return sets payments, and why they stop.
Read the article - Personal tax
Tax credits for seniors in Ontario: what you can claim
Which federal credits and Ontario payments apply once you turn 65, how the age amount and pension income amount work, and what income can reduce them.
Read the article - Personal tax
Tax deductions for contractors and trades in Ontario
Which costs a self-employed contractor or tradesperson can usually deduct: tools under and over $500, vehicle use, job costs, GST/HST credits, subcontractors and the records to keep.
Read the article - Personal tax
Tax planning for a new baby: benefits, leave and RESP
A new-baby tax checklist for Ontario parents: birth registration and SIN, the Canada child benefit, EI maternity and parental benefits, RESP grants and the return you file next.
Read the article - Personal tax
Tax tips for students in Ontario: credits and deductions
Practical tax tips for Ontario students: filing with low income, using tuition amounts, taxable scholarships, student loan interest and moving expenses.
Read the article - Personal tax
Taxes for content creators in Canada: income and deductions
How Canadian content creators report YouTube, Twitch, TikTok and sponsorship income, what counts as taxable, which costs may be deducted, and when GST/HST registration starts.
Read the article - Personal tax
Tradesperson’s tools deduction explained for employees
Employed electrician, plumber, mechanic or carpenter buying your own tools? How the CRA’s tradesperson’s tools deduction works, who certifies it and how to claim it.
Read the article
Encyclopedia terms (26)
Definitions with examples, in alphabetical order.
- Basic personal amount
What the basic personal amount is, the 2026 federal figures, how it works as a non-refundable credit, and why the Ontario amount is claimed separately on Form ON428.
- Canada caregiver credit
What the Canada caregiver credit is, which family members you can claim it for, how dependence is judged and what records to keep if the CRA asks.
- Canada child benefit (CCB)
What the Canada child benefit is, who can apply, how your income and children’s ages set the monthly amount, and why filing a return every year keeps it going.
- Canada workers benefit (CWB)
What the Canada workers benefit is, who qualifies, how income limits work for Ontario residents, and how advance payments and the tax return claim fit together.
- Disability tax credit (DTC)
What the disability tax credit is, who may qualify, why a medical practitioner must certify Form T2201, and how the amount can be transferred to a family member.
- Foreign tax credit
How the foreign tax credit works for Ontario residents: who can claim it, the limit, Form T2209, currency conversion and what to keep for the CRA.
- Immediate expensing
Immediate expensing lets a business deduct the full cost of qualifying equipment in the year it is ready for use. Learn how it differs from CCA and what is still proposed.
- Investment tax credit
Learn what a federal investment tax credit is, how it differs from a deduction and from a GST/HST input tax credit, and how corporations earn, carry and use it.
- Lifetime capital gains exemption
The lifetime capital gains exemption can shelter gains on qualifying small business shares or farm and fishing property. Learn the limit, the tests and the form.
- Moving expenses deduction
Learn when relocating for work, a business or full-time study lets you deduct moving costs in Canada, the 40 kilometre test, and what records to keep.
- Non-refundable tax credit
What a non-refundable tax credit is, how it reduces your tax but never creates a refund by itself, and what to check before assuming a credit is worth its full amount.
- OAS recovery tax
What the OAS recovery tax is, the 15% repayment above the income threshold, how it shows up on your return, and how to ask for lower withholding.
- Ontario child benefit (OCB)
What the Ontario child benefit is, how it is paid with the Canada child benefit, the July 2026 to June 2027 maximum and why you do not apply for it separately.
- Operating expense benefit
Learn what an automobile operating expense benefit is, how the 2026 per-kilometre rate and the optional half-of-standby method work, and how it is reported.
- PD7A remittance voucher
A PD7A is the CRA statement and voucher regular and quarterly remitters use to pay source deductions. See what it shows, when it arrives and how it differs from PD7R and PD7D.
- PDOC (Payroll Deductions Online Calculator)
PDOC is the CRA’s online calculator for payroll deductions. See what it works out, what it does not replace and how to check a pay run with it.
- RDSP (registered disability savings plan)
What an RDSP is: who qualifies through the disability tax credit, the $200,000 lifetime limit, government grants and bonds, and the 10-year repayment rule.
- Refundable tax credit
What a refundable tax credit is, how it differs from a non-refundable one, and why you generally need to file a return to receive credits such as the Canada workers benefit.
- RRSP (registered retirement savings plan)
What an RRSP is, where to find your own deduction limit, how the first 60 days of the year work and why withdrawals are generally taxed.
- Shareholder benefit
Learn what a shareholder benefit is, how the CRA treats personal costs paid by a corporation, and what records help show a payment was genuinely business.
- Source deductions
Source deductions are the CPP, EI and income tax an employer withholds from pay. See what you must deduct, why it is held in trust and the penalties for failing to deduct.
- SR&ED tax credit
What the SR&ED tax credit is, which research and development work qualifies, how the refundable credit works for CCPCs, and the claim deadline Ontario businesses must meet.
- Standby charge
Learn what an automobile standby charge is, when an employer-provided car creates one, how it is calculated and how it is reported on the T4.
- Tax deduction
A tax deduction lowers the income you are taxed on. Learn how deductions differ from credits, common personal examples and what records to keep.
- TD1 form
A TD1 is the personal tax credits return an employee gives an employer so the right income tax is withheld. See who completes it, when to update it and what happens without one.
- Tuition tax credit
How the tuition tax credit works for Ontario students: eligible fees, the T2202 slip, the $100 minimum, transfers to a parent and carrying amounts forward.
Who this affects (2)
Industries where this topic comes up often.
Personal tax
Your personal return done right, whether it’s simple or includes self-employment, rental or investment income.
What it involvesTalk it through with an accountant
Reading helps you ask better questions. When the rules meet your own records, a conversation settles what applies. Sora’s personal tax service is the closest match to this topic.
Start with Sora
Not sure where to start?
Answer a few quick questions or call us to talk it through. Your first consultation is free.