Budget-Friendly Accounts Payable Services for Canadian Businesses

For the 2025 tax year the filing and payment deadline is 30 April 2026. If you or your spouse were self-employed, the filing deadline moves to 15 June 2026, but any balance owing is still due 30 April 2026. Interest starts the day after the payment deadline, and a late-filing penalty applies on top when a return with a balance owing is filed late. File on time even with nothing owing, because income-tested benefits are recalculated from the filed return.

Canada uses a basic personal amount rather than an exemption. For 2026 it is $16,452, tapering to $14,829 as net income runs from $181,440 to $258,482. It works as a non-refundable credit, so income up to that level attracts no federal tax, and each province sets its own equivalent amount. Separately, CPP contributions for 2026 ignore the first $3,500 of pensionable earnings; that basic exemption belongs to payroll, not to income tax.

The lowest federal rate is 14% for 2026 and later years, down from 15%. The cut took effect 1 July 2025, so the 2025 tax year uses a blended 14.5% on the first $57,375 of taxable income. Because non-refundable credits such as the basic personal amount are claimed at the lowest rate, each credit is worth slightly less per dollar than before, which offsets part of the saving.

HST applies to most goods and services supplied in a participating province: retail goods, restaurant meals, professional and personal services, commercial rent, admissions, telecom and new housing. It does not apply to zero-rated items such as basic groceries, prescription drugs and most exports, or to exempt supplies such as residential rent, most health and dental care, tuition and municipal transit. The rate follows the province of supply, 13% in Ontario and 14% in Nova Scotia from 1 April 2025.

There is no general tax exemption card. A certificate of Indian status held by a person registered under the Indian Act supports GST/HST relief on qualifying purchases and Ontario point-of-sale relief. Foreign diplomats and certain international organisations carry their own federal relief documents. Charities and non-profits register with the CRA rather than hold a card, and businesses buying for resale use registration numbers and exemption certificates. The vendor decides on the document shown, so verify the rules first.

Most are. Physician and dentist services, hospital and nursing home care, and the services of practitioners in professions that meet the regulatory test in the legislation are exempt, so no tax is charged and the provider claims no input tax credits on its costs. Purely cosmetic procedures, and reports or examinations prepared for a third party such as an insurer or employer, are usually taxable. The CRA's health care services guidance runs through each category and its conditions.

If you filed online, the CRA usually issues a refund in about two weeks once the return is assessed. A non-resident return can take up to 16 weeks. Direct deposit lands faster than a cheque. Timing slips if the CRA reviews a claim and asks for receipts, or if you owe other federal or provincial debts, which are offset against the refund first. Track the status in My Account.

Both happen, and the tax result differs. Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security are paid monthly and taxed as received. A defined-benefit pension usually pays monthly, though some plans offer a commuted value instead; a lump sum paid to you is taxable in that year unless part of it transfers directly into a registered plan. Money in an RRSP can be withdrawn as a lump sum or converted to periodic retirement income.

Tax law is the body of statutes, regulations and court decisions that set who pays tax, on what, and when. In Canada the main pieces are the federal Income Tax Act and the Excise Tax Act, which covers GST/HST, plus each province's own tax statutes. The CRA administers these rules and publishes guides, folios and interpretations explaining its view, while the Tax Court and higher courts settle disputes over what the wording means.

Your business number appears on every CRA notice, statement of account and remittance voucher, on GST/HST and payroll correspondence, and in My Business Account once you sign in. It is also on the confirmation issued when the account was opened, and on incorporation paperwork if the number came with registration. If nothing is to hand, the CRA business enquiries line can confirm it once it verifies that you are authorised to ask.

Give your accountant your business number so they can request access through CRA's Represent a Client service, then approve that request in My Business Account, which is the quickest route. A signed AUT-01 sent to the CRA is the route when online approval is not possible, but note what it gives: offline access only, so your accountant can deal with the CRA by phone and mail while online access to the account still has to be granted through Represent a Client and confirmed by you. Repeated failed sign-in attempts can lock the account until CRA verifies your identity by phone. A first-time filer with no assessed return can still register, using CRA's document verification option instead of an amount from a past return.

Bank charges and card processing fees on a business account are deductible in the year incurred, along with merchant discount rates, monthly service charges and interest on business borrowing. Fees on a personal chequing account are not deductible, and neither are the interest and fees on a personal credit card, even where you occasionally put work costs on it. Keep the statements, because the CRA asks for them on review of an expense claim.