Empowering Arts, Entertainment, Sports & Recreation Businesses in Canada With Affordable Tax Filing

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.

Yes. Rent you receive is taxable income. You report the gross rents, subtract deductible expenses such as mortgage interest, property tax, insurance, utilities you pay, repairs, condominium fees and advertising, and the net rental profit is added to your other income and taxed at your marginal rate. There is no separate rental tax rate. A rental loss can generally offset other income where the property is genuinely rented at fair market value.

Usually because the pay for that period is low enough that the basic personal amount covers it. Payroll annualises each cheque, so part-time or irregular hours can produce zero income tax while CPP and EI still come off. Other causes are a TD1 claiming large credits, a claim of exemption from withholding, or being paid as a contractor rather than an employee, in which case nothing is withheld and the tax is yours to set aside and remit.

Several taxes stack on a litre: a federal excise tax on gasoline, a provincial fuel tax that varies by province, a local transit levy in some regions, any carbon levy that applies there, and GST or HST charged on the total, so sales tax is calculated on the other taxes as well. The share of the pump price that is tax therefore depends on your province and on the day's crude and refining costs. Each province publishes its own fuel tax rate.

Total income is measured before tax. On a T1 it is the sum of your income sources for the year, such as employment income from your T4, self-employment, investment, and pension amounts, added up before deductions and before any tax withheld. Tax withheld at source is a payment toward your final bill, not a reduction in income. Deductions take total income down to net income, and further deductions give taxable income, which the rates apply to.

Yes. Property tax is a municipal charge on the property rather than an income tax, and it does not stop at any age. Relief does exist in places: several provinces and municipalities run deferral programs that let older or lower-income owners postpone payment until the property is sold, usually with interest, and some offer a grant or rebate. These are applied for each year through the province or municipality, not on your T1. Check your municipality's tax page for what is offered.

There is no set number of months. Property tax is handled as a closing adjustment: your lawyer prorates the year's tax to the closing date, so you reimburse the seller for any paid period falling after closing, or take a credit for tax the seller has left unpaid. Where the lender collects tax with the mortgage payment, it may also want an opening cushion. The statement of adjustments shows the exact amount for your deal.

A new assessed value or municipal rate applies for the tax year the municipality sets it for, not from the day you receive the notice. Provincial assessment bodies value properties as at a fixed valuation date and phase increases in over a cycle, then councils set the annual rates, which appear on the final bill rather than the interim one. A reassessment after a renovation or a change in use can be billed back to its effective date.

Land transfer tax is not a deductible expense. On a home you live in it simply adds to what the property cost you. On a rental or business property it is a capital outlay added to the adjusted cost base, so it reduces the capital gain when you sell rather than being claimed against rent in the year of purchase. Legal fees on the purchase are treated the same way.

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.

Yes, in three separate layers. Federal excise duty is built into the price before the product reaches the shelf, each province or territory adds its own tobacco tax, and GST/HST then applies to the selling price including those taxes. The duty and the provincial tax are charged by quantity of product rather than as a percentage of price, which is why the shelf price differs so much between provinces.

No. Rent is property income and is reported every year on your return, net of the expenses allowed against it such as mortgage interest, property tax, insurance and repairs. A capital gain arises only when you dispose of the property, measured against its adjusted cost base. The two are calculated and taxed separately, so a profitable year of rent has no bearing on the gain or loss you eventually report on the sale.