T1 Return

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.

Tax exempt describes an amount or a transaction that tax does not apply to at all, which is different from a deduction or credit that merely reduces tax. Common examples are supplies that are exempt or zero-rated for GST/HST, investment income earned inside a TFSA, and specific receipts Parliament has excluded from income. Registered charities and non-profits can be exempt from income tax while still carrying filing duties. Exemption is never automatic; the rule must fit your facts.

The owner. Municipalities bill the registered owner, so the landlord is responsible and any arrears become a charge against the property rather than the tenant. In practice residential rent is set to cover it, so tenants fund it indirectly. Commercial leases work differently: a net lease commonly requires the tenant to reimburse the property tax directly. For a landlord, property tax on a rental property is a deductible expense against the rental income it relates to.

Taxable wages are the part of an employee's pay that income tax is calculated on: salary, hourly wages, overtime, bonuses, commissions, most allowances and the value of taxable benefits such as personal use of a company vehicle. They are not the same as gross pay, and they differ again from pensionable and insurable earnings, which drive CPP and EI. Box 14 of the T4 reports employment income for the calendar year.