Shareholder Loan

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.

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.

CRA telephone lines run on weekday business hours in your local time, with extended and weekend hours on some individual lines during the personal filing season; the current schedule sits on the contact page for the line you need, and the lines close on public holidays. My Account, My Business Account and NETFILE run nearly around the clock, so viewing slips, filing a return or making a payment does not depend on call centre hours.

Payments from a registered source, such as an annuity bought with RRSP or pension money, are fully taxable as income in the year received. A non-registered annuity is taxed only on its interest element, because the rest of each payment returns your own capital: a prescribed annuity spreads that interest evenly across the payments, while a non-prescribed one reports more of it in the early years. Slips report the taxable portion annually.