Economical Ontario Employer Health Tax Filing for Canadian Businesses

Yes, in the year it is received, but the form matters. Salary continuance is ordinary employment income in box 14 of your T4, with regular payroll withholding plus CPP and EI. A lump-sum retiring allowance is reported in box 66 or 67, is not employment income, creates no RRSP room and carries no CPP or EI; tax on it is withheld at the flat lump-sum rates, which rarely match the tax finally owed, so a refund or balance shows up at filing.

The CRA no longer runs public counters for tax returns, so there is nowhere to hand a return to an agent. Mail the paper return to the tax centre named in your income tax package, or use a CRA drop box at a designated location where one is still available; check the CRA website for the current list and the correct mailing address for your province. Filing online is faster, with a refund in about two weeks.

Sign in to CRA My Account for personal tax, or My Business Account for a corporation or GST/HST account, and open the statement of account: it shows the balance, interest charged and any instalments credited. The CRA's individual enquiries line gives the same figure once you pass identity verification. A representative you authorise with AUT-01 can also look it up. A notice of assessment only shows the balance as at its own date.

They tell an employer or pension payer how much tax to hold back from each payment. You list the credits you expect to claim for the year on one federal return and one for your province, payroll converts that total into a claim code, and the deduction follows. The federal amount everyone starts from is the basic personal amount, $16,452 for 2026, tapering once net income is high. Claim with one employer only if you have several jobs.

If you are incorporated, you can take salary, dividends, or a mix of both. Salary is deductible to the corporation, builds RRSP room and CPP entitlement, and requires payroll registration and regular remittances. Dividends need no payroll but come out of after-tax corporate income and create no RRSP room. Sole proprietors and partners simply draw money and pay tax on the business profit. The right mix depends on your cash needs and the corporation's tax position, so model both.

Yes. Tips and gratuities are taxable income in Canada, whether paid in cash, added to a card payment or shared through a tip pool. Amounts your employer controls and distributes usually run through payroll and appear on your T4 with CPP and EI withheld. Tips you receive directly are still reportable even though nobody reports them for you, so keep a daily record. Leaving them out is a common reason a server's return is reassessed.

Your refund or balance is on the notice of assessment for the year, and in CRA My Account under that year's return. Both show the exact figure the CRA used. If you are calling and cannot verify your identity, the agent may ask for an amount from a line of a recent return instead, which you can read off the assessed copy in My Account. A refund can also differ from what your software predicted, because the CRA adjusts claims it disallows.

Most of what you pay is settled before you ever file. Knowing how brackets, credits, payroll deductions and instalments work lets you set aside the right amount, claim what you are entitled to, and avoid interest on a balance you did not see coming. Owners need it to price work, register for GST/HST at the right time, and keep records for six years. You need the deadlines and claims that apply to you, not expertise.

Caller ID proves nothing either way. Genuine CRA calls can show a blocked or unfamiliar number, and scammers routinely spoof real CRA lines, toll-free prefixes and even local mobile numbers, so treat the display as no evidence at all. Verify instead: ask for the agent's name and office, hang up, and call back on a number published on canada.ca. Genuine files also show in My Account, and a real agent never demands immediate payment.

Sometimes. GST or HST applies when land is sold in the course of a business or by a builder, such as a commercial lot or subdivided development land, at 5% GST or the provincial HST rate, which is 13% in Ontario for 2026. A sale of personal-use vacant land by an individual is often exempt. Separately, most provinces and some cities charge land transfer tax on the buyer. Settle the GST/HST treatment in the agreement before closing.

The parent receiving support may deduct legal fees paid to establish, increase, collect or enforce child or spousal support, including fees to defend against a reduction. The paying parent cannot deduct legal fees for support, custody or access, and neither parent can deduct the cost of obtaining the divorce or separation itself. Claim the deductible portion on your return and keep the lawyer's account showing how time was allocated between the issues.

Keep anything that supports a figure on your return: slips, deduction and credit receipts, and for a business every purchase invoice, sales record, bank and credit card statement and mileage log. Records must be kept six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to, so the records behind a 2025 return are kept until the end of 2031. Digital copies are acceptable provided they are legible and complete. Destroying records earlier needs written permission from the CRA.