CRA $500 Digital News Tax Credit: Did You Claim it?

The season to file your revenue taxes for fiscal 2020 has come and gone. Did you make the most of all of the tax credit accessible to you? Many taxpayers usually miss out on the Digital News Subscription Tax Credit (DNSTC). The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) launched this non permanent and non-refundable 15% tax credit score to help the digital information business in Canada by incentivizing taxpayers.
Taxpayers with subscriptions to Canadian digital information media since 2019 and earlier than 2025 can save as much as $375 for the 5 revenue years in tax credit by the DNSTC. The most quantity you’ll be able to declare the tax credit score per yr for is $500. It means a meagre $75 tax credit score that quantities to $375 in 5 years.
If you’ve got been a digital information subscriber since 2019, this could possibly be a helpful tax write-off to barely scale back your tax invoice.
How the DNSTC works
The CRA considers the price of subscriptions to certified Canadian journalism organizations (QCJOs) as eligible for the tax credit score. If you subscribe to a QCJO that generates unique written content material and affords information solely by digital avenues, you may also apply for the tax credit score. Subscriptions to any non-digital content material or broadcasting organizations don’t qualify for the tax credit score.
While submitting your declare, it is advisable be sure that the media outfit had an present QCJO standing whenever you made your funds. The official receipt from the outlet incorporates its QCJO designation quantity. The CRA requires all QCJOs to situation receipts that may confirm subscribers once they declare tax credit.
A tax-free technique to spice up your family revenue
The premise behind the DNSTC is to make use of the assistance of taxpayers to offer monetary help to the struggling Canadian digital information media organizations. The tax credit score itself won’t quantity to a lot, however saving each penny helps on this economic system.
Investing in a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) affords you one other option to scale back your tax payments and increase your revenue. Using the contribution room in your TFSA to spend money on income-generating property like Fortis (TSX:FTS)(NYSE:FTS) may enable you to create a tax-free income stream in your TFSA that generates passive revenue.
Fortis is without doubt one of the most steady shares accessible on the TSX. It has returned 13% compounded yearly since 1995, beating the TSX Composite Index. The inventory has raised its dividend payouts to shareholders for nearly 50 years, and its administration plans to proceed growing its dividends at a CAGR of 6% within the subsequent 5 years.
The utility holdings firm generates most of its revenue by rate-regulated and diversified utility property that generate strong money flows for the corporate. The firm can proceed creating dependable and predictable revenue, as a result of its providers are important to all industries.
Adding Fortis to your TFSA portfolio means creating passive revenue that may continue to grow your account steadiness to make you a a lot wealthier investor, in the long term, setting you up for all times.
Foolish takeaway
The Digital News Subscription Tax Credit won’t give you substantial tax financial savings. However, subscribing to QCJOs may enable you to play a job in revitalizing the digital information business in Canada to maintain the move of helpful info going on the web.
Investing in a portfolio of dependable income-generating property in your TFSA may help you add one other revenue stream to complement your family revenue. Fortis could possibly be a superb inventory to start constructing such a portfolio.

This article represents the opinion of the author, who might disagree with the “official” advice place of a Motley Fool premium service or advisor. We’re Motley! Questioning an investing thesis — even one in all our personal — helps us all assume critically about investing and make choices that assist us turn into smarter, happier, and richer, so we generally publish articles that might not be according to suggestions, rankings or different content material.

Fool contributor Adam Othman has no place in any of the shares talked about. The Motley Fool recommends FORTIS INC.

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