Latest tax and accounting guides for Canadian businesses
Written against current CRA rules and reviewed before publication.
Non-Resident Tax in Canada: A Toronto Guide
How Canada taxes non-residents: the residency test, 25% Part XIII withholding, the NR6 and section 216 rental route, the certificate of compliance on a property sale, Regulation 102 and 105, section 217, Toronto's speculation and vacancy taxes, and departure tax.
Property Taxes in Toronto's Downtown Core
How Toronto property tax actually works downtown: MPAC assessments, two land transfer taxes, pre-construction catch-up bills, the vacant home declaration and the relief programs owners miss.
Tax on Gift Cards in Canada: When You Pay, When You Don't
Gift cards carry no GST/HST at purchase — the card is money in the system's eyes, and tax lands at redemption on whatever is bought. The two-moment rule, the CRA's $500 employer-gift policy and its three gift-card conditions, the near-cash trap, and the retailer's bookkeeping.
What Legal Fees Are Tax Deductible in Canada? A Clear Map
The fee follows the money: CRA reviews and appeals, unpaid wages, support (recipient side only), retiring allowances and business fees are deductible — divorce, custody and capital purchases are not. Line by line, with the caps.
Small Business Corporate Tax Filing in Canada
What has to be filed, when it is due, and what the CRA looks at on a small corporation's T2.
When Is the Corporate Tax Filing Deadline in Canada?
Every Canadian corporation has its own deadlines, set by its own fiscal year end: the T2 six months after year end, the balance two months after (three for eligible small CCPCs), and instalments in between. Worked examples, the penalty structure, the quirk that can reduce a late-filing penalty to nothing, and what to do if you are already behind.
How Spousal RRSPs Work: Key Rules for Contributions
A spousal RRSP splits retirement income across a household: one spouse contributes and deducts, the other owns the plan and is taxed on withdrawals. The contribution rules, the three-year attribution window, the age-71 advantage, how it compares with pension income splitting and TFSAs, and what happens on separation or death.
Does Sleep Apnea Qualify for the Disability Tax Credit?
Sleep apnea is not judged by diagnosis for the disability tax credit but by effect. CPAP hours fail the 14-hour life-sustaining therapy test — the CRA's criteria exclude device-delivery time during sleep and the Tax Court confirmed it in 2025 — so approval turns on a marked restriction in mental functions or a cumulative effect with other conditions. The T2201 process and certifiers, the 2026 amounts ($10,341 federal, $6,032 child supplement, provincial figures), ten-year retroactive refunds, th
Home Equity Tax in Canada (2026): Real Rules vs the Rumour
No home equity tax exists in Canada in 2026 — the principal residence exemption keeps sale gains tax-free, and the rumour traces to one 2022 research report and recycled election claims. What genuinely taxes home value: the 365-day federal flipping rule, BC's 730-day flipping tax, 3% municipal vacancy taxes, capital gains on second properties at the 50% inclusion rate, change-of-use deemed dispositions, and the deemed disposition at death.
What Happens If You Don't Pay Taxes in Canada? (2026 Guide)
Unpaid tax in Canada is a slope, not an event: the CRA late filing penalty (5% plus 1% a month, doubling on repeat after a demand), 7% daily-compounded interest for Q3–Q4 2026, the 90-day collection restriction, then garnishment, set-off and Federal Court liens. Arbitrary assessments for non-filers, the stacking penalties, the two ten-year clocks, taxpayer relief on RC4288, payment arrangements, and where bankruptcy does and does not help.
Tax Planning with a Toronto Tax Professional Pays Off All Year Long
How working with a Toronto tax professional for year-round tax planning saves Canadian businesses money and keeps them CRA-compliant.
Funeral Expenses and Canadian Tax: What You Can Claim
Funeral costs are personal expenses and are not deductible on any Canadian return — the deceased's, the estate's or yours. What does carry weight: the $2,500 CPP death benefit and the $2,500 top-up for deaths from January 2025, who reports it, the narrow arm's-length exception where funeral invoices are the proof, the final return's 24-month medical expense window, the estate's 36-month graduated rate window, Ontario probate at 1.5% above $50,000, and the deemed disposition that is usually the b
Foreign Buyers Tax in Canada: BC and Ontario Rules
What a non-resident actually pays to buy Canadian residential property: the federal prohibition running to January 2027, BC's 20% Additional Property Transfer Tax in five specified regions, Ontario's 25% plus Toronto's 10%, the 2026 Speculation and Vacancy Tax rates, the Underused Housing Tax tail for 2022-2024, and the withholding rules on rent and on sale.
Corporate Tax Instalments for Toronto Businesses: 2026 Guide
When a Toronto corporation has to pay tax instalments (the $3,000 current-or-previous-year test), who is exempt, the small CCPC conditions for paying quarterly, the three CRA calculation methods with worked figures, due dates and the balance-due day for two year ends, how instalment interest (7% for the second half of 2026) and the $1,000-triggered penalty are computed, the Ontario layer, and nine mistakes that cost corporations money.
Corporate Tax Filing Made Simple for Startups
The startup's first corporate tax year, explained by mechanism: choosing a year-end, the T2 and its two deadlines, banking losses, SR&ED cash, founder pay channels and the GST/HST registration call.
What Is Tax Fraud in Canada? The Line, and the Penalties
Tax fraud is knowing deception, not a big mistake: the four lanes from honest error to evasion, the 50% gross negligence penalty, criminal fines of 50%-200% with jail exposure, and the 2025-updated Voluntary Disclosures Program that can erase penalties entirely.
Tax Filing Deadline in Canada for the 2026 Tax Year
Every 2026 tax year deadline in one place: filing, payment, RRSP, instalments, penalties and what to do if you have already missed one.
Freelance Taxes in Canada: A Toronto Guide
What a Canadian freelancer owes and when: the T2125 and accrual reporting, the June 15 filing deadline against the April 30 payment date, the $30,000 GST/HST threshold, place-of-supply rates, home office and vehicle limits, CPP at the full self-employed rate, instalments, foreign clients, and when incorporating pays.
ADHD and the Disability Tax Credit: Who Qualifies in Canada
ADHD and the DTC, honestly explained: the marked-restriction test, the medication question, T2201 mechanics, child vs adult applications, denials, and the ten-year retroactive lookback.
Small Business Tax Write-Offs in Canada: What Counts
A working guide to small business tax write-offs in Canada: the two tests every expense must pass, current versus capital costs, vehicle and home office claims, the 50% meal rule, 2026 small business rates, the passive income grind, and the records that make a claim stick.
Organizing Tax Records for a Smooth Filing
The complete record-keeping system for Canadian personal taxes: slips vs receipts, CRA My Account, the six-year rule, a four-compartment folder habit, and when to hand it all to a professional.
How to Fill Out the TD1 Personal Tax Credits Return (2026)
The TD1 Personal Tax Credits Return sets your paycheque withholding, and it never reaches the CRA. Every line of the 2026 federal form with its figures ($16,452 basic personal amount, $9,208 age amount, $2,000 pension, $10,341 disability, $8,773 caregiver), the page-2 boxes that override them, the Ontario, BC and Alberta forms side by side, the seven-day rule and $25-a-day penalty, T1213 reductions, the additional-tax line, and employer obligations.
Foreign Income in Canada: What Is Actually Tax-Free
Canada taxes residents on worldwide income from the first dollar, so no amount of foreign income is exempt for being foreign. What actually reduces the bill: the 2025 basic personal amount, the foreign tax credit computed country by country, treaty relief such as the 15% deduction on US Social Security, the date residency begins in an arrival year, the $200 currency rule — and why the $100,000 T1135 threshold is a reporting line, not a tax-free one.
Ontario Property Tax Credit: 2026 Income Limits Explained
No hard cut-off exists: the 2026 OEPTC shrinks by 2% of 2025 family income above $29,047–$43,571 depending on household. Full thresholds, the zero points, occupancy cost rules, ON-BEN and Trillium payment dates.
Top Tax Planning Tips for Growing Corporations in Toronto
The growth-stage corporate tax playbook: protecting the small business deduction, compensation mix, TOSI-safe splitting, holding companies, timing levers, SR&ED, and LCGE exit readiness.
How to Master Real Estate Bookkeeping for Better Cash Flow
The landlord and realtor bookkeeping playbook: property-level charts of accounts, repairs versus capital, GST/HST allocation, mortgage interest splits, the CCA decision, short-term rental rules and the monthly close that keeps cash flow honest.
Tax on Restaurant Food in BC: What You Actually Pay
BC charges no PST on restaurant meals, so the food line carries only the 5% GST — dine-in, takeout or delivered. The bill climbs from the drinks: 10% PST on liquor and 7% on soda, stacked on the GST. What tips and mandatory service charges do, how Ontario's 13% and its $4-or-less rebate compare, the GST holiday that ended February 15, 2025, Manitoba's July 2026 grocery change, and the registration, till-mapping and remittance work a restaurant owner has to get right.
Is Claiming Medical Expenses on Taxes Worth It in Canada?
The 2025 medical expense credit worked end to end: the lesser-of threshold, the 12-month window you get to choose, the lower-income spouse rule, dependant claims, and worked examples of what actually comes back.
Must-Know Tax-Saving Tips for Canadian Retirees
Five levers that cut a retiree's tax bill: TFSA-first income, RRSP drawdown timing, pension splitting, OAS clawback management and benefit deferral.
Small Business Loans in Canada and Their Tax Impact
What a business loan does to your corporate return: principal versus interest, the four conditions for deducting interest, financing fees over five years, forgivable government loans, debt settlement under section 80, and the lender package that has to tie to the return.
Bookkeeping Tips from an Accountant
The bookkeeping habits accountants wish every owner had: account separation, accrual done simply, a 30-minute weekly rhythm, monthly reconciliation, and a year-end handoff that costs nothing.
Tax Refund Canada: How Much You Get and When
How Canadian tax refunds actually work: why you get one, what drives the amount, CRA processing times by filing method, the 2026 dates for a 2025 return, when the CRA keeps a refund, and how to reduce tax at source instead of waiting for a lump sum.
RC59: How to Authorize Your Tax Accountant with the CRA
RC59 was retired in February 2020 and replaced by Form AUT-01 and an online request-and-confirm process. How to authorize your accountant with the CRA today: Represent a Client, portal confirmation, access levels 1-3, cancelling, and the setup mistakes that cost weeks.
Do Churches Pay Taxes in Canada? Tax, GST/HST and Payroll
Registered churches pay no income tax, but they file a T3010 every year, run payroll like any employer and sit inside the GST/HST system. What is exempt (donations, most memberships, fundraising), when a church must register ($250,000 gross revenue and $50,000 taxable-supplies tests for 2026), how the 60% net tax method works, the 50% public service bodies' rebate almost every church can claim, the T1044 for unregistered congregations, the clergy residence deduction, property tax, and the seven
How to Pay Your Taxes in Payments: CRA Arrangements (2026)
The CRA lets you spread a tax balance over time, but on its terms: a payment arrangement stops enforcement, not the 7% daily-compounded interest (2026). How to set one up — pre-authorized debits in My Account, the Manage balance service launched in October 2025, the TeleArrangement line, or an officer — what the CRA expects first, every payment method with fees and timing, the 2026 instalment rules for individuals ($3,000 / $1,800 Quebec) and businesses, the payroll trust-fund line, hardship rel
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