Taxable benefits to consider at T4 season

Group term life policies - employer paid premiums
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/bsnss/tpcs/pyrll/bnfts/hlth/grp-eng.html

NEW!!
Group sickness or accident insurance - employer paid premiums - change in 2012 budget
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/gncy/bdgt/2012/qa06-eng.html

Extended health and dental premiums are reported on Box 85 (not mandatory reporting)
Those premiums you pay yourself, for example, travel medical and those premiums deducted from your paycheque, are a claim on your medical expenses on the T1. Keep in mind that the part of the expenses that aren't reimbursed is also claimable. So if the plan pays 80% of drugs and 50% of dental, the other portion you paid is also a claim on top of the premiums. That often is a surprise to taxpayers, and they haven't been claiming those premiums or the part of the cost they paid themselves. You can go back 10 years under the taxpayer fairness provisions to claim for missed credits. Just be careful about opening those years to audit again, so as not to expose yourself to audit for a further three years if you haven't been reporting all of your income either.

See other posts on this blog for Box 85 on the T4. (type Box 85 in the Search box)

And T4130 Employer's guide - Taxable Benefits and Allowances has an excellent Appendix with a chart about which benefits are CPP/EI'able and which require GST/HST to be remitted.

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/t4130/