Pocket-Friendly Business Number Registration for Canadian Businesses

Paper returns go to the CRA tax centre that serves your province or territory of residence, not to one national address. The correct address is printed in the paper return package and listed on canada.ca under mailing addresses for individual returns, and it differs for non-residents and for business returns. Filing electronically is much faster: for the 2025 tax year the CRA aims to issue a refund on an online return in about two weeks, against a considerably longer standard on paper.

A TD1 Personal Tax Credits Return tells your employer which personal credits to build into your income tax withholding, so the right amount comes off each pay. You normally complete a federal TD1 and a provincial or territorial TD1 when you start a job. File a fresh pair whenever your situation changes, for instance a new dependant, tuition, or a second employer, where you should not claim the basic personal amount twice.

About two weeks for a return filed online with direct deposit in place. A non-resident return can take up to sixteen weeks. Those are service targets rather than guarantees: a return selected for review, a missing slip, or a mismatch with what a payer reported will add time. You can follow the status in CRA My Account, and amounts you owe elsewhere may be taken off the refund first.

Payroll deductions are calculated as if your current pay rate continued all year, using the credits you claimed on the personal tax credits form you gave your employer. Deductions look low if you started mid-year, work part-time or irregular hours, over-claimed credits, or hold two jobs where each employer applies the basic personal amount and neither sees the other's pay. Income without withholding, such as self-employment or investments, adds to what you owe at filing.

Rent you receive is taxable. A landlord reports gross rents, deducts expenses such as mortgage interest, property tax, insurance, repairs and a share of utilities, and adds the net figure to income. Rent you pay as a tenant is not deductible federally, although Ontario and some other provinces give a rent-related benefit through the return. Long-term residential rent is exempt from GST/HST, while short-term accommodation generally is not.

Not quite. The business number is the root identifier for your business, and every account you register sits on it with a two-letter program identifier and a reference for that account, so GST/HST, payroll and corporate income tax all share one root. Your GST/HST number is that root plus the GST/HST program identifier. Quote the full account number on returns, remittances and invoices, not just the root, or payments can land in the wrong account.

No. TFSA withdrawals are not taxable and are not reported as income, however much the account has earned, and that is still true for 2026. The amount you take out is added back to your contribution room, but only on 1 January of the following year. Putting it back in the same calendar year without room to cover it creates an excess taxed at 1% per month. Withdrawals do not affect income-tested benefits.

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.

Yes, but through your municipality rather than the CRA. Cities and towns run their own property tax portals where you can see the account balance, instalment dates and past bills using the roll or account number from your tax bill, and many also show the assessed value from the provincial assessment body. Property tax is not reported on a T1, though it can matter for a home-office claim or a provincial property-tax credit.

Rent paid on your own home is not deductible on the federal return, so most tenants report nothing. Rent does belong on the return in three cases: you are claiming a provincial benefit that is based on rent, such as the Ontario energy and property tax credit or the Manitoba renters tax credit; you are deducting a work-space-in-the-home share as an employee or a self-employed person; or you received rent as a landlord, which is taxable income.

Start with complete expense claims: the business share of vehicle costs backed by a mileage log, home office space, supplies, subcontractors, insurance and professional fees. Business meals and entertainment are only partly deductible, and the restriction applies to the whole bill including tax and tip — record the full amount and apply the limit on the return. Register for GST/HST when the rules require it so input tax credits can be recovered on purchases. Then use RRSP room to level out a strong year, and look at incorporating once profits sit well above what you draw for living costs.

No. CPP retirement, disability and survivor benefits are pension income, not employment income. They are fully taxable and reported from the annual CPP benefit slip, but they build no RRSP contribution room and attract no further CPP contributions. The distinction matters because several amounts, including RRSP room, the Canada employment amount and childcare-related deductions, are tied to employment or earned income rather than pension income.