SARVAC Board and Provincial and Territorial Associations and Agencies

Transcription

1 Search & Rescue Volunteer Association of Canada Inc. Association Canadienne des Volontaires en Recherche et Sauvetage Inc. 24 McNamara Drive Paradise, NL A1L 0A6 Tel: (709) Fax: (709) January 8, 2015 SARVAC Board and Provincial and Territorial Associations and Agencies Re: Federal Search and Rescue Volunteer Tax Credit Guidelines and supplemental information SARVAC has prepared Guidelines to assist in making claims for the Federal Tax Credit for GSAR Volunteers. We have provided information on how to interpret the SRVTC along with supplementary information produced by Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) on the subject. It is important that the Associations and Agencies, who are members of SARVAC, ensure that proper documentation is available to support the Letters (Sample included in this package) or Certificates that you will be issuing to those Volunteers who meet the minimum 200 hours (Minimum of 101 Primary Hours and 99 Secondary Hours) of volunteer time in the 2014 Tax Year and going forward. Associations and Agencies may decide to issue the letters after receiving the required information from their teams. However, the issuing of these letters to the Volunteers can be delegated to the Teams but we would expect that they would provide a report recapping their totals. Volunteers must be members of GSAR Teams (in good standing) with your Association or Agency. Again, it is important that the teams retain backup documentation for Volunteer hours which may be requested by the CRA. We expect that there will be questions from your teams and volunteers on how to interpret volunteer time at a variety of levels. We will deal with these on a case by case basis (through your P/T board representative) but it is safe to say that not everything a volunteer may do would be covered. Documentation is key (sign in/out sheets, meeting attendance records, attendance at fundraising events, prevention course, training records, etc) and since these documents support a Federal Tax Credit they must be retained accordingly. Sincerely, Harry Blackmore, President Search and Rescue Volunteer Association of Canada

2 . Search and Rescue Volunteer Association of Canada (SARVAC) Guideline - SAR Volunteer Tax Credit (SRVTC) Purpose To provide Volunteer Ground Search and Rescue (GSAR) organizations with guidelines to determine, record and report Eligible Volunteer Hours for the purpose of determining the Search and Rescue Volunteer Tax Credit eligibility for respective members in each Province / Territory. This Federal Tax Credit is a welcomed benefit to the GSAR Volunteers who commit their personal time, effort, and equipment to finding lost persons in their communities. The new Tax Credit (SRVTC) is recognition of the important role played by search and rescue volunteers in contributing to the security and safety of our citizens and visitors to our country. Through the establishment of this Tax Credit, a strong statement is being made that the Government and people of Canada appreciate their volunteer efforts as well. Background Information Facts o Volunteers who perform in excess of 200 Eligible Hours in a calendar year will be able to claim a $3,000 non refundable tax credit on their personal tax return at 15% credit rate such that they would receive $450 in tax savings. o This credit is available for 2014 tax year and beyond o This credit is non refundable and as such, members need to have taxable income and tax payable in the year to benefit from this credit. o Eligible hours for Primary Services: Responding to and being on call (as defined in this document) for search and rescue and related emergency calls as a search and rescue volunteer; Attending meetings held by the team / unit; and Participating in required training related to search and rescue services.

3 o Eligible hours for Secondary (other) Services: Time devoted to assisting the GSAR Unit, Region, Provincial / Territorial Association, or National organization, with general administration including meetings, policy creation and training planning; Participate in a community event with the purpose of promoting the organization and SAR prevention; Participate in maintenance of dedicated GSAR equipment, vehicles or vessels; Participate in fundraising activities at a local level to support the operations of GSAR teams. o For the purpose of counting the number of hours of eligible search and rescue volunteer services, the number of hours devoted to the primary services described above must exceed the number of hours devoted to Secondary services for a particular organization. o The applicable policies and procedures of the Search and Rescue Volunteer Association of Canada (SARVAC) would be applied in determining the number of hours that you were on call (as defined in this document) for search and rescue and related emergency calls. o An eligible organization (Provincial or Territorial GSAR Association or Organization) is a search and rescue organization that is a member of the Search and Rescue Volunteer Association of Canada (SARVAC). o The P/T organization must provide qualifying volunteers with a certificate (letter) supporting the 200 hours attesting to the number of hours of eligible search and rescue services performed by the individual for the particular organization / GSAR team in the tax year. This letter can also be provided (as directed by the organization) by team presidents or other individuals who fills a similar role. (All hours must be supported with proper documentation) Primary / Secondary Hours o As per CRA guidance: For the purpose of counting the number of hours of eligible search and rescue volunteer services, the number of hours devoted to the primary services described above must exceed the number of hours devoted to other services for a particular organization. Example: A volunteer GSAR team member completes 110 hours of primary service and 135 hours of secondary services for a team / unit. Because the number of hours for secondary services must be fewer than the number of hours for primary services, only 109 hours of secondary services can be included (110 1 = 109). As a result, the total number of hours of eligible service is 110 hours of primary services plus 109 hours of secondary hours of secondary services for a total of 219 hours. This GSAR Volunteer meets the 200-hour threshold. o As such, members need a minimum of 101 hours of Primary Service and the balance of 99 hours from Secondary Services.

4 Guideline - Eligible Volunteer Hours o Time spent in the following list of activities will be considered Eligible Volunteer Hours for the purpose of this reporting: Type of Activity Primary Hours GSAR Search Calls On Call or Standby Description Responding to search and rescue and related emergency calls as a search and rescue volunteer. This occurs only when a search team is activated by the Authority Having Jurisdiction. On Call or Standby hours are any hours spent at a specific location, exclusively waiting to respond to a request from a tasking agency. The individual is not necessarily doing SAR-related activities, but is unable to freely pursue personal interests. On Call or being on standby hours do not apply for the simple fact that a volunteer is carrying a pager or cell phone or is notified of a pending activation To qualify for On Call hours the volunteer must assemble when directed by his/her team and be ready to search should the team be activated. In some cases the missing person may be located, the parameters of situation may have changed, and therefore the team is not activated. On Call or Standby hours would apply. Documented hours may be assigned in a situations whereby a team / unit manager has assigned a volunteer team member or a specialty teams for a specified period of time and these volunteers are expected to respond during that time. It requires a physical response to an anticipated search activity. Assembled for the purpose of preparing (prepanning, equipment readiness) for a possible activation. Field Training Classroom Training SAR Meetings Participating in required hands-on training related to ground search and rescue services. Participating in required classroom training related to search and rescue services. Examples include GSAR Standards, classroom lessons for protocols and procedures, first aid courses, certification courses, etc. Attending to GSAR Team / Unit meetings. These should be meetings directed towards the administration of a specific GSAR team / unit, and not confused with attending Regional, Provincial, Territorial or National administration meetings considered in Secondary Hours below.

5 Type of Activity Secondary Hours Administration Community Event Maintenance SAR Prevention programs Fundraising Description Time devoted to assisting the GSAR Regional, Provincial, Territorial, or National organizations with general administration including meetings, policy creation, training planning. Participating in a community event with the purpose of promoting the organization Participating in maintenance of dedicated GSAR equipment, vehicles or vessels Participating in SAR Prevention activity including public educational seminars, course presentations, display booths at public events or trade shows. These involve local community based prevention programs (survival training, outdoor skills training, safety programs) supported by SARVAC and P/T Associations, including the national AdventureSmart suite of programs. Participating in fundraising activities at the local community level to support the operation of GSAR team / unit Supporting Volunteer Hours A. Support by proper record keeping and documentation - It is of critical importance that in every instance, the collecting and reporting of volunteer hours is controlled such that the person certifying the hours has the ability to support the hours reported to the Canada Revenue Agency should they enquire or audit. B. Certification Each Association or Provincial/Territorial (P/T) organization should ensure that their member teams follow the CRA rules for the Tax Credit being claimed. They should identify the appropriate persons or authority that is able to certify and issue letters of support for hours incurred as defined above. For whatever method of recording hours that is utilized, it is necessary for the person certifying at year-end to be able to support the hours with evidence. These people need to be aware that they are providing evidence to support a tax credit and as such it needs to be treated with the utmost diligence. Any reporting of illegitimate hours in particular could be considered noncompliance with the law. The P/T Associations or organizations can determine the most appropriate person in each circumstance such as the Regional Directors, volunteer supervisors / managers, GSAR Team executives, or others designated. C. Notification to Volunteer As per above, all volunteers need to be informed that these hours, that are being reported, are also their (the volunteer) responsibility to ensure that it is true reflection of the volunteer hours given in the year. It is the Volunteer s personal tax return that this credit will be applied to and knowingly providing false information could lead to audit, re-assessment, or legal proceedings against them.

6 D. Tracking It is anticipated that for P/T Associations or GSAR organizations who are responsible for volunteer GSAR teams, and are already using a type of SAR Management System (SMS), that this system will be able to be used to record and support the hours noted above. In cases where this system is not available or appropriate, it is required that another system is utilized to accumulate and support the hours such as spreadsheets, databases, web programs, other software or a paper based method. E. Timely Reporting The person(s) responsible for providing the necessary supporting document should do so no later than the end of February each year. This is consistent with other tax document reporting deadlines (i.e. T4, RRSP, etc.). This will allow the eligible member ample opportunity to complete their tax return in a timely manner. Other issues o Volunteer perception It is clear that a portion of the membership will not be able to achieve 200 hours a year which may have the unintended consequence of members who are upset or discontent. It needs to be made clear to these members that their organization significantly appreciates all the volunteer efforts we receive, big or small, and that the tax credit is simply an additional form of recognition and support for the most significantly active members. This threshold has been set by government. This additional recognition of certain members is an added and unexpected benefit for those who all volunteer without expectation of any return. o Inappropriate volunteering It has been raised that certain members of the public might use our organizations as a method to gain a tax credit and save them money. We see this as a remote likelihood especially if all policies herein are followed as the 200 hour requirement is significant and a very low return on investment for anyone. However, it is worth noting to the regions that it will be up to them to continue with appropriate recruiting, screening, and management of applicants to ensure that members are not joining for the wrong reason. o Line 395 Schedule 1 Federal Tax Search and Rescue volunteer Tax Credit (SRVTC). Please refer to the 2014 CRA General Income Tax and Benefit Guide for important filing information for this tax credit and related issues. In addition, go to and search for SRVTC for more information.

7 Search & Rescue Volunteer Association of Canada Inc. Association Canadienne des Volontaires en Recherche et Sauvetage Inc. 24 McNamara Drive Paradise, NL A1L 0A6 Tel: (709) Fax: (709) SAMPLE LETTER TO VOLUNTEERS (basic) USE ASSOCIATION OR TEAM LETTERHEAD - AS APPLICABLE We hereby certify that the following Ground Search and Rescue (GSAR) volunteer has met the criteria and qualifies for the Search and Rescue Volunteer Tax Credit (SRVTC). Name of Volunteer: Address: Postal Code: The above individual was a member of the Team/Organization Name during the 2014 tax year. This member has contributed in excess of 200 hours of volunteer time in the service of Ground Search and Rescue. Certified this day of, 2015 Certified by: (signature) Name of certifying person Name of Team/Organization Address Contact Information (phone number, )