Arguably the most important change for the upcoming tax season is the introduction of the Family Tax Cut Credit. This non-refundable tax credit of up to $2,000 is now available to eligible couples with children under the age of 18. The detailed information about this credit can be found in our article “New 2014 Family Tax Cut Credit“.

Below is the list of some other tax relief measures and online services that will be available for Canadian taxpayers in 2015:

Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) – Effective January 1, 2015 Canadian parents will be eligible for a benefit of $160 per month for each eligible child under the age of six (it was $100 per month in 2014). Additionally, parents may also receive a benefit of $60 per month for eligible children ages between 6 and 18 (this is so-called expanded amount). Both payments will start in July of 2015.

Children’s fitness amount – the maximum amount of eligible fees for each child has increased to $1,000 from $500. Your child must have been under 16 years of age (or under 18 years of age if eligible for the disability amount) at the beginning of the year in which the eligible fitness expenses were paid.

 Adoption expenses – The maximum amount of eligible expenses for each child has been increased to $15,000 (from $11,669 in 2013).

Medical expenses – Salary paid for designing of personalized therapy plans for persons eligible to claim the disability tax credit, and costs for service animals used to help manage severe diabetes, are now eligible as medical expenses.

Search and rescue volunteer amount – These volunteers may be able to claim an amount of $3,000.

GST/HST credit – You do not have to apply for the GST/HST credit. After you file your return, the CRA will determine your eligibility and will advise those who are eligible to receive the credit. If you have a spouse or common-law partner, only one of you can receive the credit. The credit will be paid to the person whose return is assessed first.

Mobile application – In February 2015, the CRA will be launching a mobile application for individual taxpayers. Details could be found on the CRA’s website.

Online mail – In case you register for online mail, you would have instant access to your tax records. You can choose to receive an email notification that your notice of assessment is available online. Details could also be found on the CRA’s website.