# 16 month internship student w/ two jobs



## mgr1397 (Feb 21, 2012)

Hi All:


I'm currently on a 16 month internship with an annual salary of $47000 and I have a second part time job with an annual salary of $15000. For my taxes this year is it normal that because my income is fairly high that I will not get a refund and have to pay the government $1800?


I found it weird that only because I have a second job that this is the reason, all my other friends are getting a refund of 2-3k. 

I have claimed tuition (even some carried over from previous years), my public transportation, and tuition. Is there anything I can do, or is this normal?


Also, I will be returning back to school to complete my final year.


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

A refund means that when all the income, credits and deductions are taken into account, more tax was paid than was owed.
There are a lot of variables that will affect this where there isn't enough information to be sure.

Examples include but are not limited to:

1) did both jobs withhold taxes? If one or more didn't or if the amounts withheld were too small ... you will owe money.

2) did your friends who are getting refunds do something you didn't? An RRSP contribution that is deducted will reduce income ... if their jobs withheld the proper or more tax than was owed - the RRSP deduction will mean a refund. Charitable donations could also affect this.


It is more important IMO to figure out that your tax return is right. Comparing with others may provide ideas on things that can be done next year but may have no bearing on what your situation is.


Cheers


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## 0xCC (Jan 5, 2012)

The issue is probably that your second job withheld taxes as if it was your only job so the rate on the taxes withheld was probably under 20%. In reality the tax rate should have been around 31% for the entire amount you earned at that second job since you are in Ontario.

See Ontario tax rates here: http://www.taxtips.ca/taxrates/on.htm.

On the positive side, you didn't give the government an interest free loan. If you don't want this to happen again in 2015 there is a form you can fill out so that there will be more taxes withheld from your second job. Of course that will reduce your take home pay from that job but it will also increase the likelihood you will get a refund for the 2015 tax year. Would you rather have the extra money on each paycheque from the second job or would you rather get a refund in April 2016? The amount of tax you will owe based on your 2015 income isn't going to change, the only thing that can change is when you pay that tax.

Edit: I should add that as a student it is probably pretty tough to suddenly have an extra $1800 bill added to your expenses. I remember when I was a student one year I ended up having to pay around $600 in taxes one year and that freaked me out. If coming up with the extra cash is a problem you might be able to call the CRA to find out if you could come up with a payment plan to make things easier for you.


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## lb71 (Apr 3, 2009)

0xCC said:


> The issue is probably that your second job withheld taxes as if it was your only job so the rate on the taxes withheld was probably under 20%. In reality the tax rate should have been around 31% for the entire amount you earned at that second job since you are in Ontario.


Bingo. When you start a job, you are supposed to fill out a TD1 form, so that taxes are deducted appropriately. You can also ask your employer to have the TD1 resubmitted if circumstances change. There is a box on the TD1 saying if you have more than one employer, you cannot claim deductions from both. If you didn't check the box, your part time employer deducted taxes assuming that was your only job. At $15k, there would have been little to deduct (perhaps none if you claimed your education credits on the TD4). Have a look at your T4 slips. Did your part time job have any tax deducted (box 22)?

Don't look at this like you were being punished for having a second job. Eclectic12 is correct, don't compare your refund/amount owing to your friends, because the situations are not the same. Your friends got refunds because they overpaid taxes during the year. You owe because you underpaid.


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

Yeap. Common problem you have to be prepared for. Each company taxes you at the rate assuming that's your only job. When your total income is much higher than any company you work for is expecting then you will be under taxed. This happened to my sister this year as she had 7 different T4s. Most of the part time jobs just making a couple thousand bucks taxed her minimally.


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## mgr1397 (Feb 21, 2012)

lb71 said:


> Bingo. When you start a job, you are supposed to fill out a TD1 form, so that taxes are deducted appropriately. You can also ask your employer to have the TD1 resubmitted if circumstances change. There is a box on the TD1 saying if you have more than one employer, you cannot claim deductions from both. If you didn't check the box, your part time employer deducted taxes assuming that was your only job. At $15k, there would have been little to deduct (perhaps none if you claimed your education credits on the TD4). Have a look at your T4 slips. Did your part time job have any tax deducted (box 22)?
> 
> Don't look at this like you were being punished for having a second job. Eclectic12 is correct, don't compare your refund/amount owing to your friends, because the situations are not the same. Your friends got refunds because they overpaid taxes during the year. You owe because you underpaid.


Makes sense. Thanks. Line 22 for my part time job is only $26.42 lol. I do remember that I claimed tuition expense on that TD1 form. 

Thanks all, guess I'm paying out this year


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