Economical Management Reporting Services for Canadian Businesses

For the 2025 tax year the filing and payment deadline is 30 April 2026. If you or your spouse were self-employed, the filing deadline moves to 15 June 2026, but any balance owing is still due 30 April 2026. Interest starts the day after the payment deadline, and a late-filing penalty applies on top when a return with a balance owing is filed late. File on time even with nothing owing, because income-tested benefits are recalculated from the filed return.

Online banking is the simplest route: add the CRA as a payee, select the account and tax year precisely, and pay from your chequing account. CRA My Payment takes debit card payments, and pre-authorised debit can be scheduled in My Account or My Business Account for a single amount or a run of instalments. Corporations and GST/HST registrants use the same channels under their business number. Keep the confirmation number and allow several days for the payment to post.

The refund is normally released with the assessment itself, so a direct deposit follows soon after the notice appears in My Account, and a cheque takes longer because it travels by post. If nothing arrives, read the notice: the CRA may have applied the refund against an outstanding balance, family support arrears or another government debt, or held it while the return is reviewed or an earlier year remains unfiled. My Account shows the payment date once it is issued.

Child support under current rules is neither deductible for the payer nor taxable for the recipient. Spousal support is treated differently: where it is paid as a periodic allowance under a court order or written agreement, the payer deducts it and the recipient reports it as income. Lump sums and property transfers usually do not qualify. Register the order or agreement with the CRA and keep proof of every payment, because the deduction is often reviewed.

Not everyone owes income tax, though almost everyone touches the system. Income tax starts once taxable income passes your personal credits; the federal basic personal amount for 2026 is $16,452, tapering to $14,829 at higher net income. Filing still matters with nothing owing, because benefits and credits are calculated from the return. Sales tax, payroll contributions and fuel or tobacco taxes reach people who pay no income tax at all.

No. Filing is triggered by circumstances, not by an income floor. You must file if you owe tax, if the CRA asks you to, if you had self-employment income, if you disposed of property, or if benefits have to be repaid. Even with no income at all, filing is usually worth it: the GST/HST credit, Canada child benefit, provincial benefits and your RRSP room all depend on an assessed return for that year.

From 1 October 2026, British Columbia applies 7% PST to several services that were previously untaxed: accounting and bookkeeping, architectural, engineering and geoscience, security and private investigation, and non-residential real estate services. Architectural, engineering and geoscience fees are taxed on 30% of the purchase price rather than the full amount. Providers not already collecting PST must register online, and can do so up to six months before their first taxable sale.

Returning residents get a limited tobacco allowance free of duty once they have been outside Canada long enough to qualify, and anything above that allowance is charged duty, GST or HST and provincial tax at the border. Tobacco that is not stamped for the Canadian market attracts a special duty even within the allowance, which is why duty free cigarettes still cost something on re-entry. The Canada Border Services Agency publishes the current allowances and rates.

Child care is a federal deduction, not a credit. Eligible fees paid so you can work, run a business, or study are deducted from income, normally by the spouse with the lower net income, subject to an annual limit per child that depends on the child age and disability status. Keep receipts showing the provider name and social insurance number or business number. Quebec adds a refundable provincial credit for child care, and several provinces subsidise fees directly.

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.

Receiving repayment of money you lent is not income, because the principal was never deducted and getting it back creates no gain. Only the interest portion is taxable to the lender, reported as investment income. Borrowing is not income either, and repaying principal is not deductible, although interest can be when the borrowed money earns business or investment income. Debt that is forgiven rather than repaid follows separate rules and can create an income inclusion.

Yes. Legal fees, land transfer tax, title searches and survey costs incurred to acquire a property form part of the cost of that property rather than a current expense. They are added to the adjusted cost base of a capital property, or to the capital cost of a depreciable building for capital cost allowance, and so reduce the gain on a later sale. Legal fees to arrange financing are treated differently and are usually deducted over several years.