Debt-to-Equity Ratio

A tax return is the annual filing that reports your income, deductions and credits to the CRA so the final tax for the year can be settled. Payers withhold tax during the year and the return reconciles that against what you actually owe, producing either a refund or a balance to pay. For 2025 returns filed in 2026, refunds usually arrive in about two weeks for an online return, while a paper return runs on a considerably longer standard because it is handled manually.

The GST rate is 5%, unchanged since 1 January 2008 and current for 2025 and 2026. It reaches every province and territory, but in five provinces it is folded into the HST: you charge 13% in Ontario, 15% in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island, and 14% in Nova Scotia, down from 15% on 1 April 2025. In Alberta, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon, 5% applies alone.

A write-off is simply a deductible expense. You subtract it from the income it helped earn, so the saving equals the expense multiplied by your marginal tax rate, not the full amount spent. To qualify, the cost must be incurred to earn business or employment income, be reasonable in amount, and be backed by a receipt. Purely personal costs never qualify, and mixed-use items such as a vehicle or a home office are split by business-use proportion.

Most retirement income is taxable. CPP, Old Age Security, employer pension payments, RRSP and RRIF withdrawals and payments from registered annuities all go on your return and are taxed at graduated federal and provincial rates. TFSA withdrawals are neither taxable nor reported. On a non-registered annuity only the interest element is taxed. Tax withheld at source is an estimate rather than a settlement, so the return decides whether you owe more or receive a refund.