Low-Cost Canadian Corporation with a US Subsidiary for Canadian Businesses

Sign in to CRA My Account, or use the CRA's mobile app, where the return shows as received, in process or assessed, and the refund amount and payment date appear once it has been assessed. The CRA also runs an automated telephone service giving the same information. A representative you have authorised through Represent a Client can check it for you. If the status has not moved past the published processing time, the return is probably under review.

A tax deduction is an amount subtracted from your income before tax is worked out, so it reduces the income being taxed rather than the tax bill directly. Its worth depends on your marginal rate: the higher the rate, the more the deduction saves. Common examples are RRSP contributions, child care costs, union dues, moving expenses and business expenses. Credits work the other way, reducing the tax calculated on that income.

Most tax saving comes from a short list of levers: contributing to an RRSP or a spousal RRSP, holding investments inside a TFSA, FHSA or RESP so growth is sheltered, claiming every deduction and credit you actually qualify for, and splitting income where the rules allow, such as pension income splitting. Business owners add expense timing and salary versus dividend planning. Order matters, so decide before year end rather than at filing time.

Commodity tax is the practitioner's term for taxes charged on transactions in goods and services rather than on income. In Canada it covers GST at 5% for 2025 and 2026, the HST in participating provinces, provincial sales taxes, Quebec's QST, and excise and fuel levies. The seller collects the tax and remits it to the government, so the business acts as collector while the buyer ultimately bears the cost.

Yes. Rent from a room in your home is taxable and is reported as rental income on your T1. You may deduct a reasonable share of expenses such as utilities, insurance, mortgage interest, property tax and repairs, prorated by the space rented and the part of the year it was rented. Claiming capital cost allowance on the building can put part of your principal residence exemption at risk, so most homeowners do not. Keep receipts six years.

Call the CRA's individual enquiries line and ask to have the account unlocked; the number is on the Contact the Canada Revenue Agency page. Accounts lock after repeated failed sign-ins, and the CRA also revokes access itself when it suspects credentials were compromised. The agent verifies you with your social insurance number, date of birth, address and a figure from a recently filed return, so have a copy of it in front of you.

Non-taxable means an amount is left out of income, so it does not add to your tax bill and generally does not reduce income-tested benefits. Examples include TFSA withdrawals, gifts and inheritances, lottery winnings and life insurance death benefits. Some amounts are non-taxable yet still have to be reported or tracked, such as a principal residence sale. When you are unsure, treat a receipt as taxable until a specific rule exempts it, and check the CRA's guidance.

No. Public transit fares are exempt from GST and HST, so GO Train and GO Bus tickets, Presto loads, monthly passes and municipal transit fares carry no tax. The exemption covers scheduled local and commuter service, not charter buses, sightseeing tours or intercity coach and rail tickets, which are taxable. Taxi and airport shuttle trips are taxable as well. An employer-paid transit pass has its own treatment as a taxable benefit on a T4.

Cost tracks the entity and the state of the records. A sole proprietor filing a T2125 with a personal return is a smaller job than a corporation needing a T2, financial statements, payroll filings and GST/HST returns. Bookkeeping that has to be rebuilt first is the usual reason a quote rises, so a clean set of books keeps the fee down. Our fees are fixed and agreed before work starts, and you pay after the service.

Spousal support is normally taxable to the recipient and deductible to the payer, provided the payments are periodic and required by a court order or written agreement. Child support under most current orders is neither taxable nor deductible. Lump-sum settlements, and payments made before any order or agreement exists, usually fail the test. Register the order or agreement with the CRA and keep it available, because support claims are frequently reviewed before a refund is released.

No. Only one claim for the amount for an eligible dependant is allowed for each dependant, and only one per household in a year, so separated parents cannot both claim the same child. Where two or more children live with each parent under a shared arrangement, each parent may claim a different child. A parent required to pay child support for that child generally cannot claim the amount. The dependant's net income reduces what you can claim.

None of it, if you are a resident of Canada for tax purposes. Residents report worldwide income in Canadian dollars, whatever tax was already paid abroad. Relief comes from the foreign tax credit and from treaty rules, so double taxation is reduced rather than the income being ignored. Non-residents are taxed only on Canadian-source income. Holding foreign property above a reporting threshold also triggers a separate annual information return, which is a disclosure obligation rather than a tax.