Individual Income Tax Preparation Course (Starter)

Individual Income Tax Return Preparation (Starter) courses give you an introductory overview and practical exposure to the process of individual income tax return preparation in Canada.

Starting with an introduction and overview of the Canadian income tax system, this fast paced and one-to-one income tax training course takes through the whole process of personal tax return preparation. 

There will be plenty of real-life and practical examples that attendees can use to practice their tax return preparation. 

Who Should Attend?

• Individual income tax return preparation, starter course is suitable for those who plan to start their tax preparation course. 
• You are a fresh graduate out of school with an accounting major and want to start a career in the tax preparation business.
• You are a newcomer to Canada and want to continue working in the tax profession.
• Those who are business graduates and want to switch to the Tax preparation business.
• This is not a vocational training course. Besides the tax return preparation course, there might be other knowledge areas one needs to know. Therefore this course is not a vocational training course. 
• Those who are already practicing as tax preparers can explore our featured courses in the ‘Select Advance’ category or mix and match other short courses. 

Key Topics:

• Understanding the Canadian Income Tax System
• Income tax returns, forms, and information slips
• Income tax deductions and credits 
• Individual income tax return (T1), Line by line overview 
• Determining total income, net income and taxable income 
• Special focus on deductions and credits related to employment income, investment income, and rental income amongst others
• Business income or professional income – Self-employed tax returns 
• Worldwide taxation of Canadian tax residents 
• Tax optimizations techniques to generate max refunds based on individual client needs 
• Common mistakes to avoid 

Key to success for a tax preparation business

Learning Outcome Statements:

• The individual income tax return preparation starter course adopts a wholesome approach and walks you through the complete tax return preparation. After completing the training course, the participants should be able to:
• Understand how the tax system works in Canada. When and how does Canada tax different taxpayers on their income. An overview of the income tax return forms and information slips. How various parties report income or other tax information on slips and how these slips are used to complete tax returns and forms. 
• Understand Individual income tax return (T1) line by line. Starting with the first line on the tax return, all the way to the balance owing or refund position, participants should be able to get an overview of various tax deductions and credits. Some of these tax deductions and credits will be discussed in more detail than others.
• Optimize the income tax returns with employment income, rental income and investment income as applicable to most common situations in Canada. 
• Prepare the tax returns for self-employed individuals with unincorporated business structures. The correct way to report business or professional income. Participants will be able to use the allowable deductions best to the advantage of taxpayers. 
• Understand how capital gains are reported. An overview of situations when capital gains can not be claimed or classified as business income. An overview of principal residence exemption. 
• Apply tax optimization techniques as applicable to specific taxpayers. Participants should be able to optimize the tax returns to work best in favour of taxpayers not only in the current period but in future periods too. 
• Understand the key differences between different tax residency statuses and how they might affect their whole tax return preparation process. (Tax residency is covered at a high level in the starter course). 
• Finally, avoid some of the common mistakes that can result in adverse tax consequences for taxpayers. Best practices and ethical approach to maximize the value for the client and being able to properly price the services.