Low-Cost Desktop-to-Cloud Accounting Migration for Canadian Businesses

There are three routes: file online yourself through NETFILE certified software, have a preparer transmit it by EFILE, or mail a paper return to your CRA tax centre. Online filing returns a confirmation number straight away, and that number is your proof of filing. For 2025 returns the CRA opened online filing on 23 February 2026 and closes it on 29 January 2027 for its annual changeover; when the system reopens in February 2027 a 2025 return can still be transmitted electronically, because NETFILE and EFILE accept the current tax year plus the three preceding years.

Divide the total by one plus the tax rate expressed as a decimal. That gives the amount before tax, and subtracting it from the total leaves the tax portion. Going the other direction, multiply the pre-tax amount by the rate to get the tax and add the two together. Use the combined rate for the province of supply, and avoid rounding at each step so the tax you report matches the figures on your invoices.

Yes. Canada Post charges GST/HST on domestic postage, including stamps, at the rate of the province where you buy them: 13% in Ontario, 5% GST where there is no HST. Postage for mail addressed outside Canada is generally zero-rated, so no GST/HST is charged on it. The tax shows on your receipt rather than in the stamp's face value. Check the CRA's GST/HST rates page for the rate in your province.

No. Capital is the owner's stake in the business, so it sits in equity, not liabilities. On a balance sheet, assets equal liabilities plus equity, and the capital account belongs on the equity side alongside retained earnings. Money the owner lends the business is different, because the business owes it back, and that is a liability. Keeping owner capital, owner loans and drawings in separate accounts prevents a messy reconciliation at year end.

Yes. A mortgage is a liability on the balance sheet, carried at the outstanding principal and normally split between the portion due within twelve months and the long-term remainder. The property sits on the other side as an asset. Only interest is an expense; principal repayments reduce the liability and never reach the income statement. For a rental or business property, that same interest-versus-principal split is what determines the deductible amount on the tax return.

Gross pay is before deductions. It is the full amount you earned for the period, ahead of income tax, CPP and EI. Net pay, or take-home pay, is what reaches your bank account after those amounts come off. Your T4 reports gross employment income in one box and each deduction in its own box, so the figure you carry to your return is the gross amount, not what you actually received.

Yes, where the underlying expense is deductible for the business. A tip on a client meal follows the meals and entertainment rule, so only a portion of the total, tip included, is deductible. A tip on a deductible taxi, delivery or hotel charge is deductible in full as part of that cost. Keep the receipt showing the amount and note the business purpose, since cash tips with no record are the first thing a reviewer removes.

A write-off is an expense deducted from income so that tax applies to a smaller amount. It is not a refund of what you spent: the saving equals the expense multiplied by your marginal rate. Employees may deduct very little, while a business or self-employed person can deduct reasonable costs incurred to earn income, though categories such as meals and entertainment, vehicles and home office are restricted. Keep receipts, because the CRA can ask for them years later.

Yes. Tattooing is a taxable service, so GST/HST applies at the rate where the studio operates: 5% GST alone in Alberta, 13% HST in Ontario, and 14.975% combined in Quebec, where QST applies to services broadly. The provinces with a separate PST tax only listed services, so check the provincial bulletin. An artist under the $30,000 small-supplier threshold need not register or charge tax at all.

Yes. Tips are income whether they come as cash, on a card, or out of a pooling arrangement, and they are reportable even when no slip shows them. Controlled tips that run through the employer appear on your T4 with tax, CPP and EI already withheld. Direct and pooled cash tips are not withheld on, so you add them to your return yourself and may owe a balance. Keep a daily log and set money aside.

For a 2025 personal return filed online the CRA targets about two weeks, and a non-resident return up to sixteen weeks. A paper return runs on a considerably longer standard because it is handled manually. Anything selected for review, filed with missing slips or sent with an out-of-date address takes longer. Online filing for 2025 returns opened 23 February 2026 and closes 29 January 2027.

A bursary is treated the same way as a scholarship. The payer reports it on a T4A, and the scholarship exemption then removes the amount from income for a student enrolled full time in a qualifying educational program. Part-time students can exempt an amount tied to tuition and program costs. Money that is really compensation for work is taxable and belongs in income, and support for training outside a qualifying program is taxable only beyond the small basic exemption that applies to awards which do not qualify.