Survey of Popular Tax Credits Finds fit Kids out West; Brainiacs in Toronto

MISSISSAUGA, ON, April 19 /CNW/ - Edmonton residents are building better homes. They're helping their kids build better bodies, too. Meanwhile, scholarly folks in Toronto lead the nation in building stronger brains.

Those are just a few of the findings of a new, multi-city study for Intuit, maker of QuickTax, the nation's best-selling tax preparation software. The study, by Ipsos Reid, gauged Canadians' intentions to claim various tax credits in their 2009 tax filing. Among other things, it found that more residents in Alberta's capital have or plan to take advantage of the Home Renovation Tax Credit than any other Canadian city.

While many urban Canadians have improved their homes and used the renovation credit to reduce their taxes, Edmonton residents are at the top of the handyman heap. According to the study, almost one in three (32 per cent) Edmontonians say they have or will claim the Home Renovation Tax Credit for the 2009 tax year. With the highest rate the country, Edmontonians may be the owners of Canada's hottest properties.

"Canadians are getting some tax payback for investing in their homes over the last year," said Rick Jensen, general manager of tax products at Intuit Canada. "And people who do their own taxes with QuickTax don't get penalized for claiming what belongs to them. Unlike at some tax preparation stores, there are no additional fees for qualified taxpayers to claim a Home Renovation Tax Credit when filing online with QuickTax." The Home Renovation Tax Credit can be claimed with any paid version of QuickTax.

Other top fixer-uppers live in Ottawa, where 30 per cent plan to claim the credit, Halifax (30 per cent), Winnipeg (29 per cent) and Saskatoon (29 per cent). Less likely to doll up their dwellings are those in the Greater Toronto area (27 per cent), Calgary (24 per cent), Vancouver (21 per cent), Quebec City (16 per cent) and Montreal (14 per cent).

Fit Kids in Alberta; Brainiacs in the GTA

The survey revealed that Edmontonians also invest in physical fitness, while those in the GTA favour brainpower.

-   Children's Fitness Tax Credit: If Edmontonians are busy with the
        hammer and paint brush, their kids are equally active on the rink and
        field. The study indicates that the city may be home to some of the
        most active kids in the country, with 12 per cent intending to claim
        tax credits available for children's physical fitness, the highest
        percentage in the country, according to this study. Their Alberta
        neighbours in Calgary weren't far behind at 10 per cent. Fewer kids
        in other Canadian cities are as active with their fitness tax
        credits: Saskatoon (7 per cent), Vancouver (6 per cent), Ottawa
        (6 per cent), Halifax (6 per cent), Quebec City (5 per cent), GTA
        (5 per cent), Winnipeg (5 per cent) and Montreal (3 per cent).

    -   Tuition Credit: From active bodies to active minds, students and
        parents across the country are using the tuition tax credit for post-
        secondary education. The most scholarly cities, based on the number
        of respondents intending to file the tax credit, are: Greater Toronto
        Area (16 per cent), Saskatoon (15 per cent), Calgary (13 per cent),
        Quebec City (13 per cent), Vancouver (12 per cent), Edmonton (12 per
        cent), Montreal (12 per cent), Halifax (11 per cent), Ottawa (11 per
        cent), and Winnipeg (9 per cent).

"Finding tax credits you deserve is easy," said Jensen. The EasyStep interview in QuickTax provides built-in guidance to help people find every deduction relevant to them, even if they've had life changes. QuickTax also includes an A-Z list of more than 400 federal and provincial deductions.

Residents can get more information about tax credits on Twitter at @QuickTaxCanada and Facebook at www.facebook.com/QuickTaxCanada.

About Intuit Canada

Intuit Canada ULC is a leading provider of business, financial and tax management solutions for small- and mid-sized businesses, consumers and accounting professionals. Its flagship products and services, including Quicken(R), QuickBooks(R), QuickBooks(R) Enterprise Solutions, SuccèsPME, QuickTax, and ImpôtRapide(MC), simplify personal finance, business accounting, and tax preparation and filing.

Additional offerings include ProFile(R), a professional tax preparation software suite, the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program and the Intuit Developer Network for professional users and developers. All are provided by Intuit Canada or through its partners.

Intuit Canada has employees located in Edmonton, Calgary, Mississauga, Montreal and Ottawa. Intuit Canada is an affiliate of Intuit Inc., which is listed on the Nasdaq stock market under the symbol INTU. More information can be found at www.intuit.ca.

QuickTax is the registered mark of LexisNexis Canada Inc., used by Intuit Canada under license.

About the Survey

Ipsos Reid conducted the survey for Intuit between March 12 -17, 2010. The online survey sample included 3,423 adults in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, GTA, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City and Halifax. The weighted survey results have an estimated margin of error of between +/- 4.6 percentage points to +/- 5.9 percentage points.