TAXX 301: Taxation I is a three-credit, senior-level course at Athabasca University.
The primary emphasis in this course is the determination of net income for tax purposes. The course gives detailed attention to the components that make up this figure, including employment income, business and property income, and capital gains. Detailed attention is given to both the taxable income of individuals and tax payable for individuals.
While limited attention will be given to provincial income tax procedures, this course is largely concerned with federal income tax legislation.
The prerequisite for this course is Accounting 253: Introductory Financial Accounting or an equivalent introductory financial accounting course from another college or university.
Outline
The course consists of the following.
Lesson 1: Basic Income Taxation Concepts
Lesson 2: Procedures and Administration
Lesson 3: Employment Income
Lesson 4: Taxable Income and Tax Payable for Individuals
Lesson 5: Capital Cost Allowances
Lesson 6: Income or Loss from a Business
Lesson 7: Income from Property
Lesson 8: Capital Gains and Capital Losses
Lesson 9: Other Income, Other Deductions, and Other Issues
Lesson 10: Retirement Savings
Lesson 11: Taxable Income and Tax Payable for Individuals Revisited
Evaluation
Your final grade in TAXX 301 will be based on two written assignments, one tax software application assignment (Assignment 5), a midterm examination, and a final examination. Assignment 5 requires you to download tax-return software from the textbook companion website to complete and submit two tax returns. For this assignment, you are also required to download the data-analytics software Power BI. This software will run on a Windows operating system only. See details under the Course Materials section below.
To receive credit for this course, you must achieve an overall course grade of at least D (50 percent). In addition, you must
achieve a grade of at least 50 percent on Assignment 5,
achieve a grade of at least 50 percent on the midterm examination, and
achieve a grade of at least 50 percent on the final examination.
Completion of Assignments 1 and 2 and Practice Assignments 3 and 4 is not required in order to receive credit for the course.
The following table summarizes the weights that will be applied to each assignment and examination in determining your final grade.
Activity
Weight
Assignment 1
5%
Assignment 2
5%
Assignment 5
20%
Midterm Examination
30%
Final Examination
40%
Total
100%
The midterm and final examinations for this course must be requested in advance and written under the supervision of an AU-approved exam invigilator. Invigilators include either ProctorU or an approved in-person invigilation centre that can accommodate online exams. Students are responsible for payment of any invigilation fees. Information on exam request deadlines, invigilators, and other exam-related questions, can be found at the Exams and grades section of the Calendar.
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Note: Students planning to transfer this course to a Chartered Professional Accountant designation are advised that they will be required to achieve a grade higher than the minimum passing grade. See CPA Requirements for details.
Byrd, C., & Chen, I. (2023). Byrd & Chen’s Canadian tax principles: Study guide (2022–2023 ed.). Pearson Education. (Print)
Other Materials
All other materials will be available to students online. Students are required to download ProFile tax-return software from the textbook companion website to complete Assignment 5. Students are also required to download Power BI data-analytics software. ProFile and Power BI are free downloads.
IMPORTANT NOTE: ProFile and Power BI will run on a Windows operating system only. Mac computer users may be able to acquire third-party software that will enable you to run ProFile.
Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized study counterparts.