Affordable Accounting Services for Medium-Sized Businesses

HST stands for harmonized sales tax: the federal 5% GST blended with a participating province's sales tax into one rate the CRA administers. For 2026 that is 13% in Ontario, 14% in Nova Scotia since 1 April 2025, and 15% in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island. Provinces that did not harmonise keep a separate provincial tax on top of the 5% GST, and Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut charge 5% only.

Not on a Canadian personal return. Net income there is total income minus deductions such as RRSP contributions and union dues, worked out before any tax is applied, and it is the figure used to test income-tested benefits and credits. In everyday payroll language, net pay does mean what reaches your account after tax and other withholdings. For a corporation it depends on the statement: accounting net income is normally after tax, while the return starts from income before tax.

No. Revenue is income you have earned and belongs on the income statement, not among liabilities. Money taken before you deliver the goods or service is different: unearned or deferred revenue is a liability until you perform the work. Sales tax you collect is also a liability rather than revenue. Booking customer deposits straight to sales is a common error that overstates profit and distorts the figures on your GST/HST return.

A return filed online is usually assessed within about two weeks, and the notice of assessment appears in My Account as soon as that happens. Some returns are held for a review of slips, receipts or credits, which adds time without meaning anything is wrong. A non-resident return can take up to sixteen weeks. Register for My Account and email notifications so you see the notice the day it issues.

T1 is the personal income tax and benefit return, so the T1 program is the CRA's handling of individual returns: intake, assessment, the notice of assessment, refunds or balances owing, reviews and later adjustments. Corporations sit in the T2 program and trusts in the T3 program instead. When T1 appears on a CRA letter or in My Account, it points at your personal return for the tax year named on that notice.

Yes. If the property is rented out to earn income, a net rental loss reduces your other income for the year, employment income included, and anything left over becomes a non-capital loss you can carry back or forward. Unpaid rent is different: rent is reported when received, so you cannot deduct rent you never collected unless you had already included it in income. A loss on a property rented to family below cost is normally denied as a personal expense.

Reportable income is every amount you have to show on your return, which is wider than the amount you finally pay tax on. It takes in employment income, self-employment and side income, tips, interest, dividends, capital gains, rent, pensions and most benefits, slip or no slip. Foreign income is reportable too, even where tax was already paid abroad. Report everything first, then claim the deductions and credits that reduce what is taxable and what you owe.

The main ones are income tax on individuals, corporations and trusts; sales tax charged as GST, HST, PST or QST depending on the province of supply; payroll contributions for CPP or QPP and employment insurance; property tax and land transfer tax charged municipally or provincially; excise duty and customs on goods such as fuel, alcohol and tobacco; and provincial payroll or health levies in some provinces. Capital gains and dividends are taxed inside income tax, not separately.

Tax liability is the total tax you owe for a period, worked out before any payments are credited against it. Subtract tax withheld at source and any instalments paid and you are left with the balance owing or the refund. In accounting terms it is a liability on the balance sheet until it is paid, which is why a corporation carries income tax payable, GST/HST collected and payroll source deductions as amounts held for the government.

No. Care for your own children is a personal cost, so it cannot be deducted on a business statement or through a corporation, even if you work from home or the care is what lets you take on more work. Claim it instead as a child care expense deduction on the personal return of the lower-income spouse. If a corporation pays the bill, the amount is normally treated as a taxable benefit to the employee or shareholder.

You can file your own return without waiting for your spouse to file theirs, but you must still report their name, social insurance number and net income for the year, because income-tested credits and benefits are worked out on combined income. You may also prepare and send your spouse's return for them, provided they authorise it and review it first. Where their income is not final, use a careful estimate and correct it afterwards with a T1-ADJ.

Generally no for a salaried employee, because preparing a straightforward personal return is a personal expense. Accounting and bookkeeping fees are deductible when they are incurred to earn income, so fees tied to self-employment, a rental property or professional income go against that income. Fees paid to object to or appeal an assessment are also deductible. Split invoices between personal and income-earning work, and check the CRA guidance on carrying charges and interest expenses.