24
lacible | Mai 2019
FEATURE ARTICLE
Josée Jeffrey
M.Fisc., F.Pl.
Tax Advisor and Financial Planner
Focus Retraite & Fiscalité Inc.
SENIOR ASSISTANCE
In the last election campaign, the current Québec
government promised to announce tax assistance
measures for families and seniors. None too soon,
as the situation for people 70 and over just keeps
deteriorating: their debt levels increase alarmingly
every year, more and more of them are living under
the poverty threshold and the group pension plan
benefits of many of them are suffering under the
vagaries of the financial markets.
Thanks to a new tax credit announced in the
economic update on December 3, 2018
1
, people
70 and older (before the end of 2018) and declared
to be residents of Québec on December 31 will
now receive an amount based on their income tax
return: up to $200 for a single senior and $400 for
a couple. The tax assistance is immediate: people
can receive it when they file their 2018 tax return.
Financed from the projected 2018-2019 budget
surplus, this refundable tax credit will be paid to
the beneficiaries in full if their income does not
exceed $22,500 for a single person and $36,600
for a couple. Above those amounts, the credit
will be reduced by 5% of the surplus, shrinking
1 Source : Update on Québec's Economic and Financial Situation, presented
December 3, 2018: .
Couple with two
seniors 70 or
over
Couple with
one senior 70
or over
Single senior 70
or over
Refundable tax
credit
$400 $200 $200
Net family
income threshold
$36,600 $36,600 $22,500
Reduction rate
on surplus
5% 5% 5%
Income threshold
at which credit is
extinguished
$40,600 $40,600 $26,500
to nothing when family income (line 275) reaches
$26,500 for a single person and $44,600 for a
couple with two eligible members. If only one of
the spouses is eligible, the income threshold to
completely extinguish the credit will be $40,600.
To be eligible for this refundable tax credit as the
tax spouse of an individual, the taxpayer must be
recognized as such at the end of the year and not
live separately, at that time, due to the breakdown
of the relationship. The couple's separation will
not be recognized on December 31 if it lasted less
than 90 consecutive days. De facto spouses are no
longer recognized after this period. The application
of the related measures will be retroactive to the
date of the beginning of the separation.
The credit can be shared by spouses eligible for
senior assistance, in the proportion they agree to
in form TP-1029.SA (Senior Assistance Tax Credit).
In a bankruptcy situation, the family income
considered for the calculation of the tax credit will
be the income for the entire tax year.
The same consideration will apply for someone
who did not reside in Québec all year long. Their
income and the income of their spouse, if any, will
be deemed to be equal to the income determined
for them as if they had lived in Québec and Canada
all year long.
In the year of death, the taxpayer's income for the
entire part of the year preceding their death will be
considered for the determination of the refundable
senior assistance tax credit.
Anyone who was confined to a prison or similar
institution for one or more periods totalling over
six months during the tax year in question will not
be eligible for this tax assistance.
The tax credit may be paid automatically, even if the
taxpayer does not claim it in their tax return, but
for this to occur, both spouses must file their taxes.
Beginning in 2019, the conditions for the credit will
be indexed automatically each year.
