Tax & Accounting for Last-Mile Delivery Businesses

EI benefits are taxable income. Service Canada withholds income tax before each payment reaches you, and the total benefits plus the tax withheld appear on your T4E for the year. That withholding follows a basic calculation rather than your full marginal rate, so people who also worked during the year often end up with a balance owing at filing. Asking Service Canada to withhold more, or setting money aside yourself, avoids a surprise. Higher-income claimants can also have to repay part of their regular benefits through the return.

Rent paid is not deductible on the federal return. Relief comes instead through provincial credits claimed on the provincial form filed with your T1, such as Ontario's energy and property tax credit, Manitoba's renters credit and Quebec's solidarity tax credit, each with its own residency and income tests. Rent is deductible only as a business or employment cost: the work-space-in-the-home share on a T2125, or with an employer-signed form where an employee is required to work from home.

Land transfer tax is provincial and is charged on the purchase price, usually on a graduated scale, so the cost depends on the province and the price. Buyers in Toronto pay a municipal land transfer tax on top of Ontario's. Alberta, Saskatchewan and the territories charge registration or transfer fees instead of a full tax. Several provinces offer first-time buyer rebates, and non-resident buyers can face extra tax. Use your province's own calculator before closing.

A ratepayer is someone who pays municipal rates, meaning property taxes and local utility charges, on property they own or occupy. The municipality sets a rate against assessed value, bills the ratepayer, and funds local services from what it collects; ratepayer associations speak for owners in an area. Property tax is municipal and quite separate from income tax, though on a rental or business property it is generally deductible against that income.

It stays out of taxable income but often counts elsewhere. Amounts such as most lottery winnings and income earned inside a TFSA are not taxed at all. Some other receipts are exempt from tax yet still have to be reported, because the CRA uses net income and family net income to test benefits and credits. So an amount that costs you no tax can still reduce a benefit. Lenders and landlords apply their own definitions again.

There is no federal renters credit. Several provinces give rent-based relief through the provincial credits filed with your T1, including Ontario's energy and property tax credit, Manitoba's renters tax credit and Quebec's solidarity tax credit. Eligibility generally turns on residing in that province at the end of the year, having paid rent on a principal residence, and income below a phase-out level. Keep receipts and your landlord's details, and claim it each year you qualify.