Pay: Statements, Backpay, Benefits, Deductions (Taxes, T4), Deployed ect... [MERGED]

[SupersonicMax]

I had it on my T4 a couple of years ago (TD money).  It was shown as non-taxable benefits.

 

[Pusser]

I had it on my T4 a couple of years ago (TD money).  It was shown as non-taxable benefits.

Something definitely wrong there.  There is no way any TD allowances should be on your T4.  They are not income. 

 

[Messerschmitt]

Not fully correct.  You can submit a request to CRA to have your taxes paid directly to them by you.  If they approve they will send you the details and the authority for us to stop deducting the taxes at source.  Only seen it twice though so I imagine there are some strict hoops to jump through.

Correct, if you have tax credits, you can submit a tax reduction at source form. Not sure if you are able to reduce tax at source without any credits tho.

I've read the older posts here and saw some trying to get "more" tax deducted so that they have a positive tax refund (rather than owing). Why? You are basically lending the government money tax free until tax time arrives. Why would you not withhold as much tax as you can get away with, invest it (put it in a HISA at least, lots of 2.5% promos), and pay the balance due at tax time. Weird.

Regarding claiming expenses, what about the mess kit? I understood that it's mandatory yet you have to pay with your own money (and it's retarded expensive too, 1-2 grand)

 

[geo]

,TD is the reimbursement of expenses, not taxable. Someone puts thru a claim for you and it's paid separately from your pay.

FOA, sea, para & specialty pay is a taxable item.... Are treated like your regular pay.

If you TD is included on your pay and recorded as taxable, that's as wrong as you can get.

 

[Pusser]

Correct, if you have tax credits, you can submit a tax reduction at source form. Not sure if you are able to reduce tax at source without any credits tho.

I've read the older posts here and saw some trying to get "more" tax deducted so that they have a positive tax refund (rather than owing). Why? You are basically lending the government money tax free until tax time arrives. Why would you not withhold as much tax as you can get away with, invest it (put it in a HISA at least, lots of 2.5% promos), and pay the balance due at tax time. Weird.

Regarding claiming expenses, what about the mess kit? I understood that it's mandatory yet you have to pay with your own money (and it's retarded expensive too, 1-2 grand)

Of course you are absolutely right that it would be better to owe taxes at the end of the year than to get a refund.  If you're smart, you could actually stand to make a fair profit (which of course would be taxable) if you invested the money normally witheld in taxes and then paid your tax bill in April with the balance.  Unfortunately, very few people have the discipline required to actually do this.  The Income Tax Act requires employers to withhold taxes at source precisely for this reason.  Doing so guarantees that the government collects tax revenue in a timely manner and with minimal hassle (chasing people for their taxes wastes tax dollars).  It also helps out taxpayers by reducing the risk of having a huge tax bill they can't pay.

Having said all that, the self-employed obviously cannot "deduct at source" in the same way an employer can.  They have to pay quarterly during the year and then wrap it all up in their return at the end of the year.  Once you start doing this, CRA will send you an estimated bill based on the previous year.  This can be problematic if you have a windfall one year and they expect you to make your next year's payments based on that.  What happens if you don't have the income coming in this year to pay a tax bill based on last year's return? 

As for mess dress, this has been discussed before.  No, you can't claim it because notwithstanding the CAF regulatory requirement to have it, CRA does not consider it to be a tax deductible expense.  It seems the only clothing that does qualify is legally required safety equipment.

 

[cdnjarhead]

http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/caf-community-pay/reg-force-class-c-officer-rates.page

After finishing training successfully for commissioned officer, you go from officer cadet to a second lieutenant.
What determines whether you are on pay rate A - E as second lieutenant? Are these differences in trades? Number of overseas assignments under your belt?

Also for example hypothetically on scale E, what has an officer done to make it to 10 pay increments?

I am not under the impression I will become a rich man nor am I interested in just the money, but I am just trying to understand what kind of raises and increases in salary a typical officer experiences during their time.

Thanks very much

 

[Nfld Sapper]

http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/caf-community-pay/reg-force-class-c-officer-rates.page

After finishing training successfully for commissioned officer, you go from officer cadet to a second lieutenant.
What determines whether you are on pay rate A - E as second lieutenant? Are these differences in trades? Number of overseas assignments under your belt?

Also for example hypothetically on scale E, what has an officer done to make it to 10 pay increments?

I am not under the impression I will become a rich man nor am I interested in just the money, but I am just trying to understand what kind of raises and increases in salary a typical officer experiences during their time.

Thanks very much

If you looked at the bottom of the page you linked the indicates what A-E mean. Items in yellow are mine.


Pay Level
A - ROTP (Regular Officer Training Plan) (former CBI 204.2111 & 204.2151)
B - OCTP-NFS (Officer Candidate Training Plan - No former service).) (former CBI 204.2113 & 204.2153)
C - DEO (Direct Entry Officer)(former CBI 204.2114 & 204.2154)
D - UTP-NCM / OCTP-FS (University Training Plan Non Commissioned Members/ Officer Candidate Training Plan - Former service) (former CBI 204.2112, 204.21135, 204.2152 & 204.21535)
E - CFR (Commissioned from the Ranks) (former CBI 204.212)

With these new terms you should be able to google them and see what each entails and if not I am sure one of the resident Recruiters here can fill you in them.

MILNET.CA MENTOR

 

[dapaterson]

Per http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/caf-community-pay/reg-force-class-c-officer-rates.page, pay scales for OCdt, 2Lt and Lt are determined by entry plan:

Pay Level
A - ROTP (former CBI 204.2111 & 204.2151)
B - OCTP-NFS (former CBI 204.2113 & 204.2153)
C - DEO (former CBI 204.2114 & 204.2154)
D - UTP-NCM / OCTP-FS (former CBI 204.2112, 204.21135, 204.2152 & 204.21535)
E - CFR (former CBI 204.212)

There are restrictions on the number of pay increments available at those ranks; a review of the Compensation and Benefits instructions at http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/about-policies-standards-benefits/ch-204-pay-policy-officers-ncms.page will provide further information.

 

[cdnjarhead]

Apologies, I should have gone to the bottom of the page.
Got to "Medical Officers" and  "Legal Officers" and was like yup that's not me.

Thanks for pointing out the information.

But actually the entries in yellow helped a lot I might not have understood what the acronyms meant.

Once you are in a pay rate, say C for Direct Entry Officer, you stay in that rate, correct?

It seems like starting non-commissioned and making officer from the ranks and getting scale E is a better gig, both pay-wise and career path-wise, considering openings for civilian hire into DEO are slim and C is the lowest rate.

 

[MJP]

Apologies, I should have gone to the bottom of the page.
Got to "Medical Officers" and  "Legal Officers" and was like yup that's not me.

Thanks for pointing out the information.

But actually the entries in yellow helped a lot I might not have understood what the acronyms meant.

Once you are in a pay rate, say C for Direct Entry Officer, you stay in that rate, correct?

It seems like starting non-commissioned and making officer from the ranks and getting scale E is a better gig, both pay-wise and career path-wise, considering openings for civilian hire into DEO are slim and C is the lowest rate.

For General Service Officers (ie most of them) the payscale becomes the same at the Capt level.  Only OCdt/2Lt/Lt have different payscales to account for the variety of paths people take to become officers.

 

[cdnjarhead]

For General Service Officers (ie most of them) the payscale becomes the same at the Capt level.  Only OCdt/2Lt/Lt have different payscales to account for the variety of paths people take to become officers.

How many overseas assignments and years of good service are usually required for the promotion to the rank of Captain?

Thanks

 

[MJP]

How many overseas assignments and years of good service are usually required for the promotion to the rank of Captain?

Thanks

It all depends on your entry plan but once you reach 2Lt it is 3 years assuming you finish your training and c reach career status.

There are more nuances than that but essentially getting promoted to Capt is a function of time served more than anything else.

 

[Pusser]

Promotion to captain is automatic, based on time and qualification.  In other words, as long as you pass all your courses, you should be a captain within four years of enrolment.  If your courses are delayed for reasons beyond your control, your promotion to captain can be backdated.  No overseas tours are required.

Going the CFR route may look more lucrative, but not really.  In order to CFR one must first be a sergeant and that can take years (promotion to sgt is not automatic).  The most lucrative officer entry program is actually ROTP.  You get paid crap as an OCdt, but your pay climbs rapidly after that.

Incentive increases are at one year intervals (i.e. you get "basic" when promoted and then move up one level on the anniversary of your promotion date).  Once you reach the top incentive level, there are no more increases, except when the government increases pay rates overall, or if you get promoted.  It is theoretically possible to have an incentive increase delayed for poor performance, but I've never actually seen it happen in over 30 years.

 

[dapaterson]

Promotion to captain is automatic, based on time and qualification.  In other words, as long as you pass all your courses, you should be a captain within four years of enrolment.  If your courses are delayed for reasons beyond your control, your promotion to captain can be backdated.  No overseas tours are required.

And that is a fundamental problem.  Capt should be competitive (perhaps less specialists such as doctors, dentists, lawyers and chaplains).  The pay scales for Lt are more than adequate for junior personnel; there is no valid reason for officers to get $75K+ per year with only four years of experience.

 

[Lumber]

And that is a fundamental problem.  Capt should be competitive (perhaps less specialists such as doctors, dentists, lawyers and chaplains).  The pay scales for Lt are more than adequate for junior personnel; there is no valid reason for officers to get $75K+ per year with only four years of experience.

Thems fightin' words.  :threat:

 

[cdnjarhead]

Thanks very much for the replies and to the mods for merging the thread.

I would agree performance based incentives are a good way to ensure the best people get the best remuneration. On the other hand steady pay raises are a good safety net when you're trying to raise a family and inflation keeps going up. Double edged sword!

So upon entry, a commissioned officer can expect to make the rank of Captain within 4-5 years let's say, based on time and not being a complete brick. Is it safe to assume there will be chances for deployment there? Also, do assignments to places like NORAD or something count as deployments or does that just fall into the category of training?

If making Captain is just a function of time, what kind of accomplishments take an officer to the rank of Major?

Thanks for the info.

 

[mariomike]

If making Captain is just a function of time, what kind of accomplishments take an officer to the rank of Major?

This may help,

Captain to Major 
http://army.ca/forums/threads/59212.0

Officer Promotion Time 
http://army.ca/forums/threads/87678.0

Canadian Forces Rank Progression?
https://army.ca/forums/threads/109015.0

Promotions
http://army.ca/forums/threads/102250.0/nowap.html

 

[cdnjarhead]

mariomike thanks for that, that answers all my questions.
So basically as Captain you're eligible for Major after 4 years but whether you make Major at all is up to the vacancies and of course your performance.
Sounds like a DEO who sticks around for the long haul will probably see the rank of Major within 10-12 years as long as they work really hard.
That's good to know upfront. So many jobs out there with zero upward mobility these days.

 

[mariomike]

mariomike thanks for that, that answers all my questions.

You are welcome. Good luck! 

 

[Pusser]

And that is a fundamental problem.  Capt should be competitive (perhaps less specialists such as doctors, dentists, lawyers and chaplains).  The pay scales for Lt are more than adequate for junior personnel; there is no valid reason for officers to get $75K+ per year with only four years of experience.

I tend to agree with you.