Economical Extra-Provincial Registration for Canadian Businesses

HST combines the 5% federal GST with a provincial component in five participating provinces. For 2026 the combined rates are 13% in Ontario, 15% in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island, and 14% in Nova Scotia since 1 April 2025. Elsewhere you charge the 5% GST alone, or GST plus a separate provincial tax. The rate follows the province of supply, not where your business sits.

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.

CRA online filing for 2025 returns opened on 23 February 2026 and stays open until 29 January 2027. You can prepare a return before the service opens, but it cannot be transmitted, and slips such as T4s and T5s often arrive only in late February. Filing early makes sense if you expect a refund. If you expect a balance owing, you can still file early and pay by 30 April 2026.

A T2 corporate return is due six months after the fiscal year end, whichever month that falls in. The balance owing comes earlier: two months after year end, or three months for an eligible Canadian-controlled private corporation claiming the small business deduction. Filing late costs 5% of the unpaid balance plus 1% per month for up to 12 months. For tax years beginning after 2023, electronic filing is mandatory for essentially all corporations whatever their gross revenue — the old $1 million threshold no longer applies — and paper-filing a return that had to be filed electronically carries a $1,000 penalty.

Not exactly. A statement of account shows the balance as at the date it was produced, and interest compounds daily on anything still unpaid after that, while payments or reassessments since then are not reflected. Check the current balance in CRA My Account or My Business Account before paying, and pay the figure shown there. If part of the balance is disputed, pay the rest to stop interest running and raise the disputed portion separately.

It is the rule that makes an online platform, rather than the small seller using it, collect and remit sales tax on a sale. Canada's version sits in the GST/HST rules for digital platforms and short-term accommodation: the platform registers and charges GST at 5%, or the applicable HST or QST, and the seller may not charge it again on those sales. Whether it applies turns on your own registration status, so check the CRA's digital economy guidance.

Once the notice of assessment shows a refund, direct deposit normally follows shortly after; a cheque takes longer because it travels by mail. Most of the wait is the assessment itself, not the payment, which is why the guideline for an online return is about two weeks from filing to money in the account. If nothing arrives, confirm your banking details in CRA My Account and check whether the refund was applied to an outstanding balance.

Not indefinitely. Tax follows profit, so the only sound levers are legitimate ones: deducting every real business expense, timing purchases, choosing a sensible mix of salary and dividends, contributing to an RRSP, and using the federal small business rate of 9% on the first $500,000 of active business income for 2026. A loss year, unused credits or heavy reinvestment can bring a bill to nil, but hiding income invites reassessment, penalties and interest.

The CRA issues a notice of assessment once it finishes processing your return, so there is no fixed mailing date. An online return is usually processed in about two weeks (2025 tax year), and the notice appears in My Account first if you are registered, with a paper copy following unless you chose online mail only. A non-resident return can take up to 16 weeks. Reassessments arrive whenever a later review changes something.

No. Drugs dispensed on a prescription are zero-rated, so no HST applies to the medication or to the dispensing fee in Ontario. Products bought without a prescription are usually taxable, even those kept behind the pharmacy counter, though a short list of non-prescription drugs is zero-rated. Many medical devices and mobility aids are zero-rated as well, while vitamins and supplements are taxable. Your pharmacy receipt separates the taxable items from the untaxed ones.

The refund or balance owing sits in the summary section at the end of the T1, after total credits are set against total tax payable. That is your own calculation, though, not the final word. The amount the CRA actually pays appears on your notice of assessment and in CRA My Account, and it can differ if slips, credits or an older balance changed the result. The notice sets out any change it made.

You can file your own return without waiting for your spouse to file theirs, but you must still report their name, social insurance number and net income for the year, because income-tested credits and benefits are worked out on combined income. You may also prepare and send your spouse's return for them, provided they authorise it and review it first. Where their income is not final, use a careful estimate and correct it afterwards with a T1-ADJ.