Goodwill

Income tax is tax charged on the income you earn in a year, levied by both the federal government and your province or territory. Rates are graduated, so successive slices of taxable income are taxed at higher rates, and credits such as the basic personal amount reduce the tax calculated. Employment income is taxed through payroll withholding and settled on your T1 return. Quebec residents also file a separate provincial return with Revenu Quebec.

Income tax starts once taxable income passes the basic personal amount, and a separate provincial or territorial amount applies on top, so the break-even point shifts every year with indexation and differs by where you live. Look up the current amounts on the CRA site or in the year's return package. Credits for tuition, disability, pension income or dependants push the point higher. Filing can still be worthwhile or required with no tax owing, for benefits and credits.

Federal tax is the share of income tax that goes to the federal government, charged on taxable income in graduated brackets that are the same everywhere in Canada. Your total bill is that federal amount plus your province or territory's own tax, less the credits you claim. Payroll deductions shown on a T4 cover both layers. Quebec residents receive a refundable abatement of their federal tax because Quebec opted out of certain federal-provincial programs and funds them itself; separately, Quebec also collects its provincial tax through its own return.

The business number is the single identifier the CRA uses for your business, with a separate programme account opened under it for each obligation: GST/HST, payroll deductions, corporate income tax, import and export. Register through Business Registration Online, by phone or by mail, or receive one automatically when you incorporate federally. You need it before you can remit payroll or file GST/HST. Provincial registration is separate in some provinces, notably Quebec, where Revenu Québec administers its own accounts.