regarding write offs?

[courageheartx]

Are pre-hospital courses and classes considered write off on taxes?What about ACP exams and all costs that go with it? Just curious. Thanks.

[Mastabattas]

You should get a T2202A (tax receipt) for the year you attended any post secondary institution regardless of the program of study. That receipt will give you the numbers you need to input on your tax return if applicable. They are calculated in advance by the institute based on your program costs/hours etc and are meant to include any appropriate costs for books. Any additional costs incurred for your course (i.e. equipment/uniform/supplies/the actual cost of books) cannot be used as deductions. The idea is that the tax receipt issued encompasses those types of items.

[Mastabattas]

To answer further your question about tax deductions and the costs associated with ACoP testing... to the best of my knowledge (and unless I've missed a new rule / loophole) the cost of our exams are not deductible.

Our registration fees of course are either reimbursed by the service we are employed with at the time (which would actually be a taxable benefit) or they are deductible on our tax forms.

When you are working for a service you may get a boot allowance or other such allowance which is also a taxable benefit. If you do not have allowances provided, you can inquire about getting a form completed (the number escapes me at the moment) by your company to indicate that certain equipment is required as part of employment. This can be challenging from some companies.

As far as taxable benefits go... they are still nice. Basically anything your employer is willing to pay for on your behalf out of their pocket is a taxable benefit. However if you think about it... you only end up paying x% for the total amount as compared to paying 100% so don't be worried about it.

This message has been provided courtesy of an ex-bean counter and her currently employed auditing mother.

[Richard B the EMT]

I would suggest talking with a professional Tax Preparer, to determine what can be "written off", either in part or in full, as a "cost of doing business" expense, as we in the "lower 48" would call it.

[Mastabattas]

Richard, right you are... go to a pro for the official word. However rest assured I am still active in my previous career as well as a few others on here who can direct on the topic.

And Canadian taxes for the average individual are actually VERY simple and when there are questions CCRA is a surprisingly helpful source of information. There is little reason to seek a paid professional merely for the purpose of tax preparation in this country. That's one area about our taxes we can proudly boast about LOL.