Guess who got assessed?
To support the amount I claimed, I must provide:
- a monthly pass
- the date or period for which the pass is valid
- the amount paid for the pass
- and the rider's name or unique identifier
My Presto card doesn't support the first three demands but does support the fourth request. The letter addresses this saying, "if the transit pass does not contain all of the information mentioned above, we need a copy of the pass along with original receipts, copies of cancelled cheques, or debit/credit card statements".
Really? Receipts I don't have. I will admit I didn't take caution in keeping them knowing I'd get a report but debit and credit card statements, I can provide. This will be a huge pain in the ass.
In fact, the letter doesn't even outline that the transit usage reports provided by Presto are required to prove the amount being claimed.
There's a paragraph that reads, "to support passes for a period of less than a month, the pass must show it is valid for at least 5 consecutive days and the combination of one or more passes allow the unlimited use of the transit services for at least 20 days in a 28-day period", but on Presto's website under Tansit Usage Reports it says, "The Canada Revenue Agency has confirmed that they consider electronic public transit amounts eligible for the tax credit to be only those amounts which were paid to transit providers in any month(s) where 32 or more one-way trips were taken."
Anyone else been assessed and submitted a transit usage report and it was accepted? I'd like to hear from you.
oooo... and the fun begins!
ReplyDeleteAs I have only been using presto for this year, I have been printing paper copies and PDFs of the monthly usage report. That shows the amounts used and added. But, it sounds like I need to photocopy receipts as well (that new ink fades after a few months). When submitting the paperwork, I would also be submitting a printed copy (link included on the page) of the relevant presto pages.
Oh, and send everything in registered mail. The CRA has assessed me in the past for moving expenses and "lost" my paperwork in their office. Because of nasty phone calls and proof of delivery, they "found" it the next day.
Aren't all levels of government promoting and encouraging people to take public transit??? Then why do they make it so much fucking trouble to claim a deduction which you are entitled to??? GRRRRRRRRR
ReplyDeleteohhhh yes, excuse my language!
ReplyDeleteOne of my coworkers seems to get audited every year now. It all started because he claimed some 10-rides (he thought it was allowed as long as he took 32 rides in a single month).
ReplyDeleteI'd be screwed if I had to produce my TUR - it was wrong to begin with. I do have my montly usage statement that I'd send in. And I've keeping my receipts since I switched to PRESTO this year. But I'm lswgirl13 - so much effing hassle!
ReplyDelete@shirker – Same thing happened to me. It’s been 3 years in a row now that the CRA has demanded proof of my transit passes. It’s beyond ridiculous at this point.
ReplyDeleteAnd to all, I was PRE-assessed this year, meaning CRA wouldn’t process my return until I provided proof of my transit passes. I sent them copies of the paper passes I used from Jan-Sept, and then my Presto usage report for the remainder of the year. No other receipts or documentation whatsoever was given to them. They accepted it without further inquiry.
WOW, 3 years in-a-row Matt??? The transit credit/deduction is offered for all of Canada so the CRA better get their crap together. BTW, I haven't had a problem, guess I'm one of the lucky ones.
ReplyDeleteWow, was I in a hurry when I typed my earlier comment? I do believe I was... *sigh*
ReplyDeleteTransit pass tax credits seem to be so much hassle for so little gravy.
ReplyDeleteSince most transit companies are owned by Municipal/Provincial/Federal governments you would think they would just tag your SIN to every transaction and keep the records internally(and eternally) and give you a credit like any old government handout.
That would save us all a lot of trouble :lightbulb:
I would just send them a copy of the transit use report, and just say you think it's sufficient.
ReplyDeleteI got audited the first time I claimed the transit pass credit (embaressingly, I forgot I hadn't bought a monthly pass one month because I took time off work to get married, so had to pay back part of my return). Haven't been audited since, but we'll see for this year...
What I find a pain is that the Presto usage report just shows everything without any summary totals. This is no big deal for someone who uses only one transit operator, but if one doesn't, one has to go through the report and count to see if 32 trips were taken in the month on one operator.
ReplyDeleteWhat is not clear: if one meets the 32 trip minimum for the month on one operator, can one claim their entire Presto fares for the month, or only the fares for that operator?
Presto should be able to provide a summary report that simply states the number of fares (trips) paid for in the month per operator with the cost of those fares.
@Calvin:
ReplyDeleteI take DRT and GO on a monthly basis. What I am doing is printing out the monthly report (both paper and pdf) for each system I use - you can sort from the transaction report page. GO transit records how many trips you take each month. DRT does not, so there is counting that needs to be done.
I believe that you can only count the trips on 1 system at a time. So if you take GO 33 trips, you can count that. If you take the bus (like the TTC) 16 times, you can't claim that amount.
@Calvin,
ReplyDeleteDo your math with the monthly usage reports. You can sort based on which system you use, as well as the GO transit ones do say how many rides per month you did.
As well, you can only claim the credit if you do 32 or more trips per system. So if you rode the GO train 33 trips one month, you can claim the money spent on that. If you rode the TTC 14 times, you can't.
Technically, I suppose you could, but you open yourself up to auditing.
Wow! $3000+ to claim for public transit does seem to be (in the CRA's books) to be very high. The CRA knows that on average: a monthly pass on any transit system in Canada costs anywhere from $80 to $200 (rarely higher than this) per month depending on the transit provider. The CRA knows that transit tax credits are reasonable if they're within $100-$2000 given the cost of monthly passes over the use of 12 months. But $3000+????? Not surprised that an audit was raised.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't audited, I was assessed.
ReplyDeleteA monthly GO pass from Oshawa to Union before the recent fare hike was $272.00. The amount being claimed is what was totaled on the transit usage report so it's not unreasonable or unusual amount.
On the LSE anyone from Pickering and east will pay more than $200 per month and that's just for GO. When I lived in Pickering I had to take the GO and TTC. My transit claim was over $3800. I don't think that's particularly out of the ordinary for the GTA. But I imagine CRA will focus their assessments on the higher claims.
ReplyDelete