If your income increased in 2017, you may be eligible for the tax shield tax credit. Newly created in 2016, this credit helps offset an increase in employment income, which can cause a reduction in tax credits related to the work premium (including the adapted work premium) an/or childcare expenses.
To be eligible, you must meet the following conditions:
- If you were single on December 31, 2017:
- The net income you’re reporting in 2017 is higher than the amount reported on your 2016 Québec return (refer to line 275* of last year’s Québec return) and
- The eligible work income you’re reporting in 2017 is higher than the amount reported on your 2016 Québec return
- If you were married or in a common-law relationship on December 31, 2017:
- The net family income you and your spouse are reporting in 2017 is higher than the amount reported in 2016 (refer to lines 275 of your and your spouse’s 2016 Québec returns) and
- The eligible work income that you and your spouse are reporting in 2017 is higher than the amount reported on your 2016 Québec returns
*You can find line 275 of your Québec return at the bottom of page 2 of your TP-1 form.
Note: When claiming this credit using H&R Block’s tax software, you’ll be given the option to let Revenu Québec claim this credit for you. If you select Yes, you won’t need to enter amounts from your 2016 Québec return; Revenu Québec already has this information on file. If you select No, you’ll need to enter the amount reported on line 275 of your 2016 return. It’s important to remember that whatever option you choose, the credit amount you receive will be the same.
What’s eligible work income?
Eligible work income can be any of the following:
- Employment income
- Net income earned from a business you carried on alone or as a partner actively engaged in a business
- The net amounts of research grants (you can calculate this amount by subtracting the following expenses (up to the total amount of your grants), from the amount found in box O of your RL-1 slip:
- expenses incurred in 2016 after you received confirmation you’d receive the grant and
- expenses incurred in 2017 and 2018
- Wage Earner Protection Plan (WEPP) payments (this amount can be found in box O of your RL-1 slip if you received payments under the Wage Earner Protection Plan in 2017)
- Amounts received under a work-incentive project (this amount can be found in box O of your RL-1 slip if you received financial assistance in 2017 for the payment of tuition fees that don’t otherwise entitle you to receive the tax credit for tuition or examination fees)
When calculating your eligible work income, make sure you don’t include the following amounts:
- Employment income that consists solely of the taxable benefits you received from a previous employer (you’ll find this amount in box 211 of your RL-1 slip. This amount is equal to the total of the amounts found in the following boxes of your RL-1 slip: J, K, L, P, V, and W) or
- Employment income you received as:
- An elected member of a municipal council
- A member of the council or executive committee of metropolitan community or a regional county municipality
- A member of a municipal utilities commission or corporation
- A member of a school board or
- A member of the National Assembly, the House of Commons or the Senate of Canada, or a legislative assembly of another province
Where can I claim this?
Follow these steps in H&R Block’s 2017 tax software:
Before you begin, make sure that you told us you lived in Québec on December 31, 2017.
- On the PREPARE tab, click the OTHER icon. You will find yourself here:
- Under the Specific credits for your province heading, select the checkbox labelled Tax shield credit (TP-1029.BF-V) then click Continue.
- When you arrive at the page for the Tax shield credit, enter your information into the tax software.
