What’s new for Canadian taxes in April 2021.
May 8, 2021|Updated: October 17, 2024
Here’s what’s new from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and Revenu Québec this month:
- Revenu Québec extended the deadline to pay taxes owing
- Revenu Québec will accept electronic signatures on these tax forms from now on
- New subscriptions that qualify for the digital news subscription tax credit
- 2021 federal budget: more benefits, new taxes, and more
- 2021 British Columbia budget: delayed credits, extended credits, and repaying COVID-19 emergency benefits
- 2021 Manitoba budget: lower education property taxes and more credits
- 2021 Québec budget: support for seniors and corporate tax changes
- 2021 Saskatchewan budget: more credits for families, lower taxes for small businesses
Revenu Québec extended the deadline to pay taxes owing.
If you’re a Québec resident who owes the provincial government money this year, the deadline to pay your balance is now May 31, 2021. This means Revenu Québec won’t charge late-filing penalties or add interest to the amount you owe until June 1, 2021.
Keep in mind, if you received Employment Insurance (EI) benefits or COVID-19 emergency benefits in 2020 and your taxable income was less than $75,000, you won’t have to pay the taxes you owe until April 30, 2022. You still need to file your return by your filing deadline to avoid late-filing penalties.
Revenu Québec will accept electronic signatures on these tax forms from now on.
To make filing your Québec return more convenient, from now on, Revenu Québec will accept electronic signatures for the following forms (no more paper copies needed):
- Online filing of the personal income tax return by an accredited person (TP-1000.TE-V);
- Transmission par Internet de la déclaration de revenus d'une société (CO-1000.TE);
- General employment conditions (TP-64.3-V);
- Authorization to communicate information or power of attorney (MR-69-V or MRW-69.RP);
- Power of attorney or authorization to communicate information to a person registered for My Account for Businesses (MRW-69.E-V);
- Power of attorney for advance payments: Tax credit for home-support services for seniors (MR-69.MD-V).
New subscriptions that qualify for the digital news subscription tax credit.
The CRA added over 100 news subscriptions you can claim for the digital news subscription tax credit. To read the full list of eligible subscriptions, visit the CRA website.
2021 federal budget: more benefits, new taxes, and more.
The 2021 federal budget was announced on April 19, 2021. It includes extended COVID-19 emergency benefits, new tax credits, and new taxes. To learn more about the proposed changes, check out this blog.
2021 British Columbia budget: delayed credits, extended credits, and repaying COVID-19 emergency benefits.
The 2021 provincial budget for British Columbia was announced this month. The following changes might impact your tax situation.
Raising the climate action tax credit has been postponed.
The climate action tax credit increase that was scheduled for July 2021 to June 2022 has been delayed until July 2022 to June 2023, because the increase of the carbon tax has also been delayed.
This means for now, you’ll still receive $174 for you and your spouse, and $54 for each of your children (as applicable). Between July 2022 and July 2023, this will be raised to $193.50 for each adult and $56.50 for each child in your household.
Some tax credits have been extended.
The following tax credits have been extended:
- The book publishing tax credit has been extended until March 31, 2026; and
- The mining flow-through share tax credit, for flow-through share agreements entered into on or after March 1, 2018 and before 2021, has been extended by 12 months.
You might not have to repay your B.C. emergency benefit for workers.
If you earned at least $5,000 in gross self-employment income (the amount you made before deducting your work-related expenses), you might not have to repay the B.C. emergency benefit for workers anymore.
2021 Manitoba budget: lower education property taxes and more credits.
Here are some changes from the 2021 provincial budget for Manitoba announced this month.
New property tax rebates.
Starting June 2021, you’ll receive the new education property tax rebate before your property tax bill is due every month, to lower the amount you need to pay out of your own pocket. You’ll receive this rebate automatically if you own a home in Manitoba.
This new rebate means the amount you can claim for some of the provincial property tax credits will be lower when it’s time to file your 2021 return:
| Tax credit and rebate reductions | 2020 | 2021 |
| Manitoba education property tax credit (EPTC) and advance | Up to $700 | Up to $545 |
| Seniors education property tax credit | Up to $400, minus 1% of your family’s net income | Up to $300, minus 0.75% of your family’s net income |
| Seniors school tax rebate (based on the total you receive for the basic and seniors school tax credit) | Up to $470, minus 2% on your family’s net income over $40,000 | Up to $353, minus 1.5% on your family’s net income over $40,000 |
The farmland school tax rebate will also be lowered from 80% to 60%, meaning you’ll now receive up to $3,750 for this rebate.
If you own commercial property, you’ll receive a 10% rebate of the total school division levy and education support levy.
The new teaching expense tax credit.
The teaching expense tax credit is a new refundable credit for teachers in Manitoba. Like the federal eligible educator school supply tax credit, you can claim 15% of your eligible supplies worth up to $1,000, for a refund of up to $150.
The same supplies that are eligible for the federal educator school supply tax credit are eligible for the Manitoba teaching expense tax credit. This means you can claim what you paid for items like construction paper, flashcards, and art supplies.
Changes to provincial tax credits.
The following credits are now permanent:
The following credits have been extended until December 31, 2022:
- The cultural industries printing tax credit; and
- The community enterprise development tax credit.
The highest eligible investment for the small business venture capital tax credit has been raised from $400,000 to $500,000, increasing the highest credit you can receive from $67,500 to $120,000.
Retail sales tax added to more services.
As of December 1, 2021, the retail sales tax will be paid on:
- Booking fees charged by online accommodation platforms like Airbnb; and
- Personal services such as hair services, non-medical skin care and aesthetician services, body modifications, and spas.
2021 Québec budget: support for seniors and corporate tax changes.
The 2021 Québec budget included the following changes which might impact your tax situation.
Changes to the tax credit for home support services for seniors.
Beginning in 2022, the Québec tax credit for home support services will gradually increase, while the highest amount of income you can earn to be eligible for this credit will gradually decrease.
Here’s how these changes will be made:
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
| Non-dependent Seniors | ||||||
| Tax credit rate | 35% | 36% | 37% | 38% | 39% | 40% |
| 1st income reduction threshold* | $60,135 | $61,155 | $62,195 | $63,250 | $64,325 | $65,420 |
| 1st reduction rate | 3% | 3% | 3% | 3% | 3% | 3% |
| 2nd income reduction threshold | N/A | $100,000 | $101,700 | $103,430 | $105,190 | $106,980 |
| 2nd reduction rate | N/A | 7% | 7% | 7% | 7% | 7% |
| Dependent Seniors | ||||||
| Tax credit rate | 35% | 36% | 37% | 38% | 39% | 40% |
| Income reduction threshold* | $60,135 | $61,155 | $62,195 | $63,250 | $64,325 | $65,420 |
| Reduction rate | 3% | 3% | 3% | 3% | 3% | 3% |
* The highest income you can earn while being eligible for this credit.
Starting immediately, seniors living in an apartment can now claim up to $1,200 for their monthly rent (the previous limit was $600). If they’re 70 or older, the lowest monthly rent they can claim for this credit is now $600. This means that even if their actual rent is lower than $600 per month, they’ll be able to claim $600 on your return.
Also beginning in 2022, seniors living in an apartment who don’t apply for this credit on their return will automatically receive it! The amount they receive will be based on the minimum eligibility requirements, not their actual tax situation.
Lower small business tax rate.
As of March 21, 2021, the small business tax rate will be lowered from 4% to 3.2% on the first $500,000 of business income. The dividend tax credit for non-eligible dividends has also changed, with the gross-up rate lowered from 4.01% to 3.42% for non-eligible dividends received after 2021.
Other corporate tax measures.
Other corporate tax measures were also announced, including:
- Temporarily increasing the tax credit for investment and innovation;
- Changes to the tax holiday for large investment projects;
- Temporarily increasing the tax credit for on-the-job training periods;
- No longer needing to get an advance ruling for research and development tax credits; and
- Adding restrictions to certain tax incentives.
If you’re interested in learning more about these changes, visit the provincial government website or call H&R Block for live support to speak to a corporate tax specialist.
2021 Saskatchewan budget: more credits for families, lower taxes for small businesses.
The 2021 provincial budget for Saskatchewan was announced this month, including the following changes.
The active families benefit is back.
The active families benefit is back. This is a refundable tax credit meant to help families pay for their children’s activities, beginning in January 2021.
Like before, families whose yearly household income is less than $60,000 can claim up to $150 (or $200 for children with disabilities) for fees to register in cultural activities, recreational activities, or sports. Be sure to keep your receipts!
New Saskatchewan home renovation tax credit.
The Saskatchewan home renovation tax credit is designed to make the improvements you need for your home more affordable. You can claim expenses for home renovations that began in October 2020 on your 2021 tax return.
Saskatchewan technology start-up incentive extended.
The Saskatchewan technology start-up incentive has been extended until 2026. This is a non-refundable tax credit for Saskatchewan-based individuals or businesses who invest in early-stage technology start-ups, worth up to 45% of the amount they invested.
Raising the small business tax rate.
The small business tax rate was lowered to zero in October 2020. It will be raised to 1% on July 1, 2022, and raised again to 2% on July 1, 2023.
Questions about how these changes might impact you? Find an H&R Block office near you and talk to one of our reliable Tax Experts about your tax situation.