Important changes you need to know before doing 2014 Income tax returns

Canadian $2 coin, nicknamed "toonie" (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Here is the list few changes that may affect your 2014 income tax returns:

• GST\HST credit- Going forward from 2014, you don’t have to indicate whether you want to apply for HST Credit. CRA will determine based on your income tax return. If you have a spouse or common law partner then only one of you will receive the credit, but not both of you. The credit will be paid to the spouse or common-law partner whose return is assessed first.
• Family Tax Credit- Family Tax Cut is a new non-refundable tax credit of up to $2,000 for eligible couples with minor children based on the net reduction of federal tax that would be realized if up to $50,000 of an individual's taxable income was transferred to the individual's eligible spouse or common-law partner. The credit can be claimed in Schedule 1 line 423.
• Lifetime capital gains exemption- For dispositions after 2013 of qualified small business corporation shares and qualified farm and fishing property, the lifetime capital gains exemption limit has increased to $800,000 (line 254). The new limit is indexed to inflation, and the first indexation adjustment will occur for the 2015 tax year
•   Adoption expenses– The maximum  refundable tax credit amount of eligible expenses for each child has increased to $15,000 (line 313)
• Children’s fitness amount – The maximum amount of eligible fees for each child has increased to $1,000 (line 365).The increase is only for federal amount