Articles of Incorporation

EI benefits are taxable income. Service Canada withholds income tax before each payment reaches you, and the total benefits plus the tax withheld appear on your T4E for the year. That withholding follows a basic calculation rather than your full marginal rate, so people who also worked during the year often end up with a balance owing at filing. Asking Service Canada to withhold more, or setting money aside yourself, avoids a surprise. Higher-income claimants can also have to repay part of their regular benefits through the return.

The HST is a single sales tax blending the federal 5% GST with a participating province's own sales tax, collected and administered by the CRA. For 2026 it is 13% in Ontario, 14% in Nova Scotia since 1 April 2025, and 15% in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island. A registrant charges HST on taxable supplies, claims input tax credits on its purchases, and remits the difference on one return. Elsewhere you charge the 5% GST plus any separate provincial tax.

Federal taxation is the part of the system Parliament sets and the CRA administers: personal and corporate income tax, GST, excise duty and customs. Each province levies its own income tax as well, and the CRA collects provincial personal tax alongside the federal amount on one return everywhere except Quebec, which administers a separate provincial return. That is why your total rate has two components even though most people file only once.

There is no federal renters credit. Several provinces give rent-based relief through the provincial credits filed with your T1, including Ontario's energy and property tax credit, Manitoba's renters tax credit and Quebec's solidarity tax credit. Eligibility generally turns on residing in that province at the end of the year, having paid rent on a principal residence, and income below a phase-out level. Keep receipts and your landlord's details, and claim it each year you qualify.