Low-Cost Corporate Tax Return Amendment for Canadian Businesses

Ontario charges its own graduated personal rates, plus a surtax and the Ontario Health Premium, on top of federal tax, so the combined marginal rate climbs with income. For corporations in 2026 the Ontario small business rate is 3.2%, falling to 2.2% effective 1 July 2026, which gives a combined federal and provincial small business rate of 12.2% falling to 11.2%; a 31 December 2026 year end blends to roughly 11.7%. The Ontario combined general rate for 2026 is 26.5%.

For 2026 the CPP contribution rate is 5.95% for the employee and 5.95% for the employer, charged on pensionable earnings between the $3,500 basic exemption and the year's maximum pensionable earnings of $74,600. That caps each side at $4,230.45. Self-employed people pay both halves, up to $8,460.90 for 2026. Earnings above $74,600 attract a separate second contribution instead. The CRA resets these amounts every January, so always check the current year.

Yes. A personal T1 can be prepared and filed by the taxpayer through CRA-certified software, and a straightforward year of employment slips and a few credits is manageable. Corporate filing is harder: a T2 has to reconcile to financial statements, and for tax years beginning after 2023 electronic filing is mandatory for essentially every corporation regardless of gross revenue. Self-employment, rental property, investments sold during the year, a move between provinces and foreign income are where self-filed returns most often go wrong.

Start with the basic personal amount, which is already printed on the form, then add only the credits you genuinely expect to claim, such as tuition you will pay this year, an eligible dependant, the age amount or an amount transferred from a spouse. Total them, sign and date, and give the form to your employer rather than the CRA. With two jobs, claim the amounts at one only. You can also ask for extra tax to be withheld.

File T5 slips and the related summary electronically through the CRA's internet file transfer or web forms service, reached from My Business Account, and give each recipient a copy of their own slip. The filing is due by the end of February for the previous calendar year. Web forms suits a handful of slips; internet file transfer suits an XML file exported from accounting software. Late slips draw a penalty that scales with slip count and lateness.

An incorporated small business generally pays the federal small business rate of 9% on its first $500,000 of active business income for 2026 instead of the 15% general rate, plus a reduced provincial rate, in Ontario 3.2% and falling to 2.2% from 1 July 2026. Unincorporated businesses deduct reasonable expenses on a T2125 instead. Both can claim capital cost allowance, home-office and vehicle costs, and targeted incentives exist for research and hiring.

For 2026 the federal basic personal amount is $16,452, falling to $14,829 for high earners as net income runs from $181,440 to $258,482, so income below the full amount attracts no federal tax. Each province sets its own amount, so your provincial threshold differs. CPP and EI are still withheld, and filing is usually still worth it to claim refunds and benefits.

Close the books for the fiscal year, prepare financial statements, then file a T2 return with the CRA for that year end within six months of it. For tax years beginning after 2023 — which covers every 2025 and 2026 year end — electronic filing is mandatory for essentially all corporations, with no gross-revenue threshold, and paper-filing a return that had to go in electronically draws a $1,000 penalty. Alberta and Quebec require their own provincial corporate return as well. A corporation with no activity still has to file. Keep the supporting records six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to.

There is no flat amount. The GST/HST credit is paid quarterly, normally in July, October, January and April, and each payment is worked out from your prior-year T1: adjusted family net income, marital status and the number of children. It shrinks as income rises and stops above a phase-out point. File a return every year to keep it, then check your amount and payment date in CRA My Account or the CRA's benefits calculator.

Property tax is a municipal charge covering the calendar year, billed in instalments, often an interim bill early in the year and a final bill once council sets the rate. At closing, the statement of adjustments divides the year between seller and buyer, so you reimburse whatever the seller prepaid beyond your closing date. Buying does not itself reset your assessment, since assessed values come from the provincial assessment authority on its own cycle. Arrange your own bill or a lender-paid account right after closing.

Canada has no single dependant credit. Depending on your situation you may claim the amount for an eligible dependant, available to a supporting person without a spouse for one dependent relative, or the Canada caregiver amount where the dependant has a physical or mental impairment. Each is non-refundable, each is reduced by the dependant income, and only one person may claim a given dependant. Take the current amounts from the federal schedule for the year you are filing.

Claim the Canada caregiver amount among the federal non-refundable credits on your return when your spouse or common-law partner depends on you because of a physical or mental impairment. You need a signed statement from a medical practitioner describing the impairment and how long it is expected to last, held on file rather than mailed in. The amount is reduced by your partner's net income and interacts with the spouse or common-law partner amount, so work out both together.