The Clergy Residence Deduction and Getting Taxes Reduced at Source – An Update

The Clergy Residence Deduction (CRD) is very important for eligible religious workers and the ministries they work for, since it provides a financial support to allow these workers and ministries to serve the public.

The CRD also has stringent eligibility requirements. The terms used in the Income Tax Act regarding the CRD have been defined and clarified by the courts. Therefore, it is important for eligible taxpayers to be familiar with this language and the requirements when making their CRD claims in their income tax returns.

Eligible individuals also have the option of seeking tax relief in advance (i.e., a portion each pay) for the CRD by filing form T1213 – Request to Reduce Tax Deductions at Source with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). If submitted, care is needed to provide sufficient information to allow for proper evaluation of the request.

Recently, CCCC has become aware of several cases where CRA has sent a detailed request for more information to employees who made T1213 submissions for the upcoming 2014 tax year. To assist those making CRD T1213 filings, CCCC strongly recommends a review of this updated Bulletin article on getting taxes reduced at source: https://www.cccc.org/bulletin_article/296. This article will help employees become aware of CRA’s expectations of what needs to be included in the filing.