Last year I claimed my rent, and schooling on my taxes, with the T220 (forget the rest) paper that the school provided me.

For my rent, I just gave H&R Block my rent receipts, which simply stated my name, the month, and how much rent I paid. Just simple receipts I got from Staples. I gave my landlords name, but i'm pretty sure the last name I gave was wrong. I only knew his first name, and the receipts I made myself. He was never around and we hardly knew him, which I didn't mind because the property was really well-maintained, he had cleaners come in every 2 weeks, everything was in tip top shape. Also, the phone number I gave was his old number, which was since disconnected by the time I did my taxes, and I didn't know how to contact him anymore.

Needless to say, I got the refund, got back about half my rent from H&R after claiming my receipts. My question is, if your a student, and your paying rent, do you even have to provide your landlords contact info on your taxes? A friend of mine told me he didn't even give that information, just his written receipts with how much he paid for rent, and that's all, he got his refund.

I'm a bit iffy on that because I can easily go and write that I paid $600/month, rather than $400/month to rent a room, on the receipts, and claim that, but apparantly from what i've heard from a lot of students, they do just that.

????

Originally Posted by Greco

Last year I claimed my rent, and schooling on my taxes, with the T220 (forget the rest) paper that the school provided me.

For my rent, I just gave H&R Block my rent receipts, which simply stated my name, the month, and how much rent I paid. Just simple receipts I got from Staples. I gave my landlords name, but i'm pretty sure the last name I gave was wrong. I only knew his first name, and the receipts I made myself. He was never around and we hardly knew him, which I didn't mind because the property was really well-maintained, he had cleaners come in every 2 weeks, everything was in tip top shape. Also, the phone number I gave was his old number, which was since disconnected by the time I did my taxes, and I didn't know how to contact him anymore.

Needless to say, I got the refund, got back about half my rent from H&R after claiming my receipts. My question is, if your a student, and your paying rent, do you even have to provide your landlords contact info on your taxes? A friend of mine told me he didn't even give that information, just his written receipts with how much he paid for rent, and that's all, he got his refund.

I'm a bit iffy on that because I can easily go and write that I paid $600/month, rather than $400/month to rent a room, on the receipts, and claim that, but apparantly from what i've heard from a lot of students, they do just that.

????

I would give as much information as you have been given. Some landlords don't provide a lot (I got a tiny sliver of paper from one landlord that had the companies name, the amount I paid, that was it. Others choose to give you much more.

If you give no information at all (i.e. no receipt of any kind) you may in the end get screwed. You don't want to ever be found you claimed more than you actually paid...shit will hit the fan.

Yea, i'm not gonna write more than I actually paid, but I virtually had no contact information for my landlord.

Just the makeshift receipt that I wrote each month on a receipt pad I bought from Staples.

I can't see the auditing students though, lol.

They definitely audit students! I was audited for my rent, as well as about four other students I know, and the son of one of my mom's friends. It happens, so make sure you have all of your information before you claim it on your taxes.

so then I shouldn't claim my rent if I have no contact info for my landlord?

The numbers disconnected and the rental property isn't rented out anymore, so I have no idea, lol.

my ex mother-in-law worked for revenue Canada so here's what I remember her saying:

initially nobody cares about your rent receipts (which is why you "got away with" the faked ones as do other people - even people who put the wrong amounts down).

where it DOES matter is if you ever have to do an audit. They can ask for proof of anything and everything you ever claimed as far back as 7 years ago (which is why you should always keep your tax records as complete as possible and not throw them out!) at that point, if it's proven that you cheated (which you didn't, but they'd ask you to produce REAL receipts) uh oh!

the way they usually audit is anything that's blatently obvious, they automatically flag for an audit... but then they also do random samples in the general population so you take your chances.

it's actually your landlord's LEGAL DUTY to provide proper rent receipts - so if there's a way to still contact him, insist that he give you something - even a printout with all of the months and monies paid is sufficient with his name/company name, contact info - and tell him you need it for your tax records.

and yes, you absolutely can claim your rent! if you've really lost contact with him, keep at least the minimal information that he gave you so that IF you get an audit, you can at least give them that much to help them track him down if necessary. and from now on, from future landlords, insist on some sort of receipt or record so you've covered your own behind.

Originally Posted by soltintal

my ex mother-in-law worked for revenue Canada so here's what I remember her saying:

initially nobody cares about your rent receipts (which is why you "got away with" the faked ones as do other people - even people who put the wrong amounts down).

where it DOES matter is if you ever have to do an audit. They can ask for proof of anything and everything you ever claimed as far back as 7 years ago (which is why you should always keep your tax records as complete as possible and not throw them out!) at that point, if it's proven that you cheated (which you didn't, but they'd ask you to produce REAL receipts) uh oh!

the way they usually audit is anything that's blatently obvious, they automatically flag for an audit... but then they also do random samples in the general population so you take your chances.

it's actually your landlord's LEGAL DUTY to provide proper rent receipts - so if there's a way to still contact him, insist that he give you something - even a printout with all of the months and monies paid is sufficient with his name/company name, contact info - and tell him you need it for your tax records.

and yes, you absolutely can claim your rent! if you've really lost contact with him, keep at least the minimal information that he gave you so that IF you get an audit, you can at least give them that much to help them track him down if necessary. and from now on, from future landlords, insist on some sort of receipt or record so you've covered your own behind.

Thank you!

What's the worst case scenario if I would've gotten audited? Just curious. As far as the rent went, I got back about $300 in refunds related to what I paid in rent. Would I just have to pay that back? get a fine? would it effect someones credit score or anything along those lines?

If the CRA were to audit you, and discover that the receipts your provided were fake, you could be charged with tax evasion, which is considered a criminal offense in Canada. This could lead to heavy fines, or jail time.

You asked for the worst case scenario, so there it is. Keep in mind, though, that there is a good chance you will not get audited. Yes, they do audit students, but of course they can't audit everyone. And even if they did happen to decide to audit you, they would pick a year, and it may not be the year for which you claimed the "questionable" rent deductions.

Going forward, be sure you keep proper records, and get real receipts from your landlords. It's not worth it in the long run to lie (or make it look like you lied by providing false receipts for real expenses) on your tax return.

sniderj is correct about "worst case scenario" BUT it's much more likely that they will recalculate what they feel were the correct amounts and make you pay any difference with interest. if you have any proof that you lived at the address for the amount of time you claimed - like bills with your name and address on it - hang on to them so that you can at least say "see, i lived at this address from this date to this date" - it's better than nothing.

Originally Posted by Greco

Yea, i'm not gonna write more than I actually paid, but I virtually had no contact information for my landlord.

Just the makeshift receipt that I wrote each month on a receipt pad I bought from Staples.

I can't see the auditing students though, lol.

My brother's been audited twice in the last 2 years.
They definitely audit students. XD

Originally Posted by lawleypop

My brother's been audited twice in the last 2 years.
They definitely audit students. XD

I was audited last year too.

Ahh I see. I didn't think they'd audit students since our tax claims are likely so little, compared to others with big incomes.

Well, I'm just going to submit the receipts I made. I paid the rent so I want to claim it. If they decide to audit me I guess i'll deal with finding my landlord then. I don't have any mail with my rent address on it, all my mail went to my permanant address.

Can we claim GO bus passes, anyone know?

Originally Posted by Greco

Ahh I see. I didn't think they'd audit students since our tax claims are likely so little, compared to others with big incomes.

Well, I'm just going to submit the receipts I made. I paid the rent so I want to claim it. If they decide to audit me I guess i'll deal with finding my landlord then. I don't have any mail with my rent address on it, all my mail went to my permanant address.

Can we claim GO bus passes, anyone know?

monthlies yes. https://www.msumcmaster.ca/servicesa.../GOTransit.htm

i've heard h and r block is not all that great because they miss money you could have got refunded and make mistakes, you're better off buying some sort of tax software.

Anyone know anything about claiming text books? In the Mountain News it said you could get as much as 65$/month.