Income Tax Reporting

New 2010: Please note that the 2010 Federal Budget may have an impact on how you can claim your taxes. See Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Scholars' (CAPS) position paper on this matter.

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How to file your taxes as a postdoctoral scholar.

Updated February 21, 2011

The deadline to file tax forms and pay any balance owing for 2010 taxes is April 30, 2011.

PAW has prepared a summary of things you might want to consider as you prepare to file your taxes. 

If you have any questions, please contact PAW, Tax Information Representative: Christa Homenick (chomenic@uwo.ca)

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Opting in to Employment Insurance (EI) Special Benefits for self-employed postdoctoral fellows (PDFs).

Updated June 1, 2011

If you are a postdoctoral fellow (PDF), you are considered self-employed or an independent contractor by the University.  As such, Employment Insurance is not deducted from your pay as is the case for Postdoctoral Associates (PDAs).

At this time, it does NOT seem that PDFs are eligible for the special benefits EI (Employment Insurance Special Benefits for Self-Employed People) due to the type of income they receive. 

Please note that we have recently been advised that some PDFs have been able to opt-in this special EI and receive the benefits but were later told that their income labeled as research grants made them unable to claim EI benefits.  PAW is trying to get more information on this.  Meanwhile, we urge you to research this option carefully so that you are not forced to repay the benefits. 

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Tax Information Update for Postdoctoral Fellows at the University of Western Ontario

NOTE: the following information was given to PAW from the Department of Communications and Public Affairs at UWO.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has released a technical interpretation regarding the income tax status of Postdoctoral Fellows in response to a request from the University of Toronto. The interpretation provides further clarification following the 2010 federal budget in which amendments were proposed that expressly preclude Postdoctoral Fellows from claiming scholarship exemption for the tax years 2009 onward.

In this interpretation, the CRA states that, in their view, a Postdoctoral Fellow is more likely to receive employment income or research grant(s) for income tax purposes than scholarship income.  It is also the view of the CRA that the full scholarship exemption will not apply in most cases even if the income were scholarship income.

Specifically, the CRA states: "We can confirm that where the tax return of a post-doctoral fellow is reviewed by the CRA, a claim for the full scholarship exemption will generally be denied."

Historically, The University of Western Ontario has not issued T2202A tax forms to Postdoctoral Fellows.  The CRA interpretation supports this approach, and as such, Western will continue this practice.

 

For more information, please visit www.sgs.utoronto.ca/informationfor/postdoctoral/taxupdate.htm  

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T4As are tax receipts issued to anyone paid through Payroll who received a Graduate Research Assistantship, scholarship, or other awards from Western in the previous calendar year.

All T4As are first distributed to the department which funded the above payments.  Secondly, the department will distribute the T4As internally in the department or mail to the most recent address on file with Human Resources.

Questions can be directed to: Human Resources, E-mail: hr-communication@uwo.ca, Phone: 519 661-2194

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T4s are tax receipts issued by an employer to employees for income they earned in the calendar year.  

All T4s are first distributed to the department which funded the above payments.  Secondly, the department will distribute the T4s internally in the department or mail to the most recent address on file with Human Resources.

Questions can be directed to: Human Resources, E-mail: hr-communication@uwo.ca, Phone: 519 661-2194

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Further Assistance

Tax information and clinics for international students and postdocs can be found at International Students & Tax Income.

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