Northern Resident Travel Deductions T2222... i need some help...

RWA63 · ‎March 14, 2022

hi,
i'm new to this site and i tried posting this question earlier but i think i lost it somewhere in cyberspace... so i'm trying again...
i live in southern AB and i just got a new client/couple from Northern AB and they qualify for the T2222 and they want me to do an amended 2020 return and their 2021 return...
but since i haven't done a T2222 travel deduction before i'm having a problem...
i can put a number from box 32 of his T4 into column 3, and i can figure out from their receipts and mileage a number for column 4...
but i don't know what to do for column 5... ie. the lowest return airfare from where they live to the closest designated airport ie Edmonton...
they don't have an airport close to them... i checked the closest airports/company that flies the closest to them and they don't keep airfare prices on past dates very long, definitely nothing in 2021 let alone 2020
i've checked with revenue Canada and they were no help what so ever
i've searched on the government website and on numerous youtube video's on northern residency but can't find anything on how to get a number in column 5, if your client didn't get a quote on the day they left for holidays from an airline..
surely there has to be something i can do...
I'm sure others have had to deal with this question...
any suggestions/thoughts/videos/ideas as to what i can do to put a legitimate number in column 5 so if they get audited it will stand up to Revenue Canada
any help would be greatly appreciated...
thank-you
RWA63

janisbossenberry · ‎March 20, 2022

There is not a reference that I am aware of for airfares for past periods. But generally, the cost of airfare increases and does not decrease, so I suspect that the cost last year would be no higher than this year. I found that usually the airfare was the lower of the 3 numbers so would restrict the amount of the travel claim.

View solution in original post

janisbossenberry · ‎March 14, 2022

I haven't done one of those in a while, but we used to just look up a current airfare offered by an airline from their nearest airport to the designated destination. We would look online at fares offered during the current month and picked the lowest one. Since normally the actual cost of travel or the benefit was the lowest of the 3 numbers, the fare cost was not normally relevant in determining the travel benefit. It does not affect the amount of the northern residents deduction itself, only the travel benefit.

RWA63 · ‎March 18, 2022

hi janisbossenberry

i apologize for not responding earlier its been a crazy week...

Thank-you for your response to my question...

what do you do if the airfare for our current date/month in 2022 is lower than the actual vacation or medical expense for 2021 or 2020?

do you or anybody else know of a generally accepted airfare cost table or anything that Revenue Canada has and can be used for past airfare dates...

thanks

RWA63

janisbossenberry · ‎March 20, 2022

There is not a reference that I am aware of for airfares for past periods. But generally, the cost of airfare increases and does not decrease, so I suspect that the cost last year would be no higher than this year. I found that usually the airfare was the lower of the 3 numbers so would restrict the amount of the travel claim.

RWA63 · ‎March 22, 2022

Hi Janisbossenberry;

thank-you for your help

i appreciate it

randy