Philippine Showbiz Today Vol 13 No 7 | Page 24

24 Philippine Showbiz Today Deadline: April 30, 2018 Remember to file your income tax return VANCOUVER, B.C.-- With just over a month left to com plete and file your 2017 income tax return, don’t forget, the deadline for personal tax re- turns and payments of any taxes owing for the 2017 tax year is Monday, April 30, 2018. Still trying to make sense of the changes for the 2017 tax year? Consult a chartered professional accountant to- day if you are unsure how these changes affect you. To get you started with your 2017 tax return, the Chartered Profes- sional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) have answered commonly asked tax-related questions: 1. How much tax do I have to pay?  The amount of tax you have to pay is based on your annual income. Be sure to check out both the federal and provincial tax brackets before filing your income tax return. To reduce your taxes, check to see if you are eligible for any tax credits or tax deduction mea- sures. 2. I’m self-employed, is my deadline for filing my income tax return different?  If you are self-employed, the filing deadline for your personal tax re- turn is extended to June 15, 2018, for you and your spouse or common-law partner. For corporations, your corpora- tion income tax return must be filed no later than six months after the end of each tax year (or end of your corpora- tion’s fiscal year). 3. I was unable to use all of my tax credits last year. Can I ap- ply them in my tax return this year?  If you were unable to use cer- tain deductions or tax credits from a pre- vious tax year, you may be able to use them for the 2017 tax year. Some com- mon “carry-forward” items include: Charitable donations: unused char- itable donations may be carried forward five years;  Interest on student loans: unused student loan interest expenses may be carried forward five years; and  Home office expenses: excess unde- ducted home office expenses of an em- ployee or a self-employed individual may be carried forward indefinitely and applied against income from the same office or employment or from the same business.   4. Can I transfer income tax credits to my spouse?  You can transfer some income tax credits to your spouse or common- law partner. Transferable credits include the age credit, disability credit, pension income credit, and your o