 Times & Transcript, January 12, 2014 Students need to know how to do their own taxes  DOUG NORTHRUP Business Column Do we teach our kids enough about taxes? I get so many young people come in and have no idea why they have to file taxes. Many of them have not filed for a few years because they either had no income as they were going to school or they did not think they had enough income to have to file. I know my father taught me to do taxes while I was still in my teens. He always felt we should know how to do our own. We can help our young people by encouraging them to file. Those students or young people who do not file a tax return may be missing out on benefits and tax credits. If they are a student you may be able to claim the cost of tuition, books, moving expenses, student loan interest or even bus passes. I have heard many of the students say they do not file tax returns because their parents claim the tuition. Well those tuition credits belong to the students, and they have to agree to transfer them to a parent. Parents do not have any special rights to the tax credits, and many times there are more credits than the maximum $5,000 transfer that they can make to a parent. In order to accumulate or use those credits they must file their tax return. The best part of the student credits is that if they do not use them one year they will accumulate and they will be able to take advantage of them when they start working after school is over. They are worth money back in tax refunds. Another reason we want to encourage young people to file their return is that once they are 19 years old, you are eligible for the GST/HST credit. So if you turn 19 before April 2015, you should file a 2013 return even if they have no income to ensure they start getting that credit on time. That cheque every three months is pretty handy to a student. Now they might have had taxes taken off that job they held while at school, or even CPP or EI that may come back to them as a refund. They will not get that refund if they have not filed a tax return. If they are not a postsecondary student and made more than $3,500 in earned income, they might qualify for the Working Income Tax benefit, which will allow them to get a refund, even if no taxes were deducted from their pay. This benefit is a surprise many times to young people, who are only looking at the income tax deducted to figure out how much they may be getting back. Another benefit, but not one appreciated very much by a young person is that reporting earned income on their tax return will open up registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) contribution room. They might not be looking at using that right now, but it could be a great opportunity to save on their future taxes, when their income is higher, and they start to actually owe taxes. So the myths about saving up their taxes until you finish school, or until they have five years’ worth, is just that a myth. And no, students do not always get all of their taxes back. And no, the tuition credit does not automatically belong to their parents. These are a lot of things we hear from students and young adults. Taxes are not always a topic we discuss with our children and young adults, but it should be as they could be losing out on things they are entitled to. I remember the time my father spent explaining taxes and showing me how to fill them out, as do my brothers and sisters. It was time well spent. Doug Northrup A master tax professional, small business and corporate specialist for H&R Block. His column appears each Monday