Carrie ([info]imagejunkie) wrote in [info]toronto,
@ 2008-03-07 12:59:00
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Entry tags:government, housing

Rent Receipts for Subletters
Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone has had experience with gathering rent receipts in a subletting/tenancy transfer situation here in Toronto.

My roommate moved out in August and my boyfriend moved in. We had the approval of our landlord. The problem is that our landlord says that he can only give us a receipt for my former roommate and myself because we are the lease holders (understandable since no paperwork was signed when my roommate moved out and my boy moved in).

So what should my boy do about a rent receipt for his taxes? Does my old roommate or myself write one for him?

I tried to look through the Canadian Revenue Agency website but couldn't find the info. Any help would be really appreciated :)

TIA


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[info]elnerdoricardo
2008-03-07 06:23 pm UTC (link)
Deducting rent is done on your Ontario return, not your Federal return, so that's likely why you didn't see anything on the government site.

Also, you don't need to provide receipts with your return. You can claim your rent without them. You only need to provide receipts if you are audited.

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[info]lanewaychatter
2008-03-07 07:30 pm UTC (link)
The Ontario and federal tax systems are completely integrated. You can find all Ontario tax information on the CRA site - there is no separate "Ontario tax system." This is true for all provinces except Quebec.

Rent is not a deduction, it is a credit.

You do not need to provide receipts with your return, but you may be asked for receipts without being subjected to an audit.

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[info]karys
2008-03-07 06:37 pm UTC (link)
I believe your ex-roommate can write rent receipts for your boyfriend, since he is subletting from her. The above poster is right in that you don't need rent receipts unless you're audited, but i've been audited before and had to supply receipts to them so it's a good idea to know you can get them if/when you need them.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]lanewaychatter
2008-03-07 08:10 pm UTC (link)
The ex-roommate should not write rent receipts out unless she wants to add that rent to her taxable income.

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[info]thebabynancy
2008-03-07 06:52 pm UTC (link)
This is a provincial tax thing... In a situation like this - where your boyfriend's (or roommate's) name is not on the lease, you should be able to write him a receipt for his portion of the time spent there. After all, he likely gave you the money for the rent and then you passed it onto the landlord... or something similar.

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[info]lanewaychatter
2008-03-07 07:33 pm UTC (link)
Hello: I used to co-own a tax preparation service.

The issue is not whose name is on the lease. The issue, from a tax POV, is being able to connect the person paying the rent to the person receiving the rent. CRA doesn't care whose name is on the lease or whether there is a lease at all - they care that the landlord is reporting the taxable income from rent he or she receives.

If he paid rent to Mr. Landlord, he should put Mr. Landlord's name and address in the relevant box on the Ontario tax form. All this lease stuff is beside the point. If he is subjected to an information review (this is when CRA requests receipts; people often confuse this with an "audit" which it is not), he should write a letter outlining the situation.

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[info]imagejunkie
2008-03-07 08:03 pm UTC (link)
thank you so much for the info. for clarification, i give the landlord a cheque from me for the full amount every month and my boyfriend pays me half.

so from what i gather, he puts the landlords name on his tax forms and if they ask for a receipt he submits the one the landlord gave to me and my old roommate and include a letter from me stating that he was paying me rent?

just wanted to make sure i'm clear. want to be prepared in the event that they ask for receipts.

thanks again. and thanks to everyone who has responded.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]lanewaychatter
2008-03-07 08:09 pm UTC (link)
Yes, exactly. He should NOT put your name down as the person who is his "landlord" or the person to whom he paid rent - otherwise CRA will add the amount of rent he paid to your income and you will pay tax on it.

If he is subject to an inforation review (they request his receipts), he should write a note clarifying exactly what you have noted in your comment. I swear this is the valid and appropriate answer. Your landlord is misinformed, at least in respect of the tax implications of his actions.

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[info]imagejunkie
2008-03-07 08:11 pm UTC (link)
sweet. thanx again. very much appreciated :)

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[info]andrasta
2008-03-07 09:30 pm UTC (link)
The above poster is correct. My boyfriend got a request for rent receipts for 2006 because he paid both half of the rent, and half of our property taxes (we bought our own place halfway through the year). Since he was giving me the rent money and I was paying the landlady, we just got a letter from the landlady saying that he paid half of what she received. Certainly it was a pain-in-the-ass situation due to the lovely organizational skills of the CRA (how can it take them two weeks to verify that they received a fax??), but it got cleared up in the end.

I would suggest getting the appropriate documentation now, as they can request receipts up to 6 years from now and you might not be able to get the documentation as easily at that point.

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[info]katinthahat
2008-03-09 12:27 am UTC (link)
Ok I'm just trying to clarify here for my own purposes;
We do NOT need to provide rental receipts for our rent?
How then, do we claim how mmuch we paid in rent for the year?

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]lanewaychatter
2008-03-10 09:51 am UTC (link)
When you complete your tax return there is a schedule of Ontario tax credits where you include the total amount of rent paid, the number of months you rented in any one location, the address of the rental unit, and the name of the person to whom you paid rent. You don't need to include receipts but you must be able to verify (ideally through receipts) that you paid that rent upon request from CRA.

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