Quote:
Originally Posted by freek4iphone
Can you please tell me what kind of income tax credits (benefits) can I get in Quebec, with a baby and a wife who doesn't work. In States I pay less tax because I have a baby and my wife doesn't work (so i file jointly and get good tax rebate). Are there such tax rebates in Quebec? I heard the taxes are mostly flat, which means no rebates.
I used Canadian tax calculation sites, based on their estimate my salary will be around $2600 less per month if i were to get the same salary in Canada ($110k). Is that true?
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'Tis tax season here in Canada, so I can definitely answer that
There are plenty of differences between federal US taxes and Canadian taxes (both federal and provincial, and especially Quebec which is "more different" from federal taxes than the other provinces are), but I'd say the 2 main differences are
a) a rather different (but equally long) laundry list of itemized deductions, some of which we call deductions, some we call personal credits, and
b) there's no such thing as "married filing jointly" in Canada. everybody files separately.
In the end though, having dependents (kids, spouse who doesn't work) is treated similarly to the federal US return. You get a personal credit of roughly $3,500 (1500 federal + 2000 Quebec) for yourself, and the same amount for your wife if she has no income at all. Those are credits so that's $7,000 directly off your taxes, as opposed to deductions off taxable income like the $3,700 personal exemptions in the US. The federal tax credit is roughly $300 for each child. The old Quebec tax credit for children was replaced about 10 years ago by a monthly check that depends on family income; in your case I would expect the minimum ($635/year), and I believe you need to have been a Quebec resident for 18 months (or be a permanent resident or Canadian citizen) to qualify.
Overall, here are ballpark figures based on a 110k income. You may qualify for additional deductions but this is a rough guide.
Gross income = $110,000
Social security-type taxes (employment insurance, Quebec pension plan, Quebec parental insurance plan) = ~$3,250
Group health insurance plan premium (hospitals are free, but prescription drugs, dental, glasses, etc are not; employer typically pays half) = ~$1,500
Federal taxes (net of credits discussed above i.e. spouse etc) = ~$15,250
Quebec taxes (net of credits) = ~$17,700
Net income = $110,000 - $37,700 = $72,300
You can compare that to what you paid this year. Other differences between Montreal and NJ/NYC:
- Quebec combined (fed+prov) sales tax of around 15% applies on almost everything (groceries is only significant exception), many consumer goods are also more expensive in Canada than the US
- For homeowners, property tax rates are much lower in Quebec than almost everywhere in the US, the main reason being that schools are mostly funded through income taxes instead of through school (local) taxes. As a renter it'd be one (of many) reason(s) why rent would be lower in Montreal.
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