Low-Cost T5 Dividend Slip Preparation for Canadian Businesses

Most tax saving comes from a short list of levers: contributing to an RRSP or a spousal RRSP, holding investments inside a TFSA, FHSA or RESP so growth is sheltered, claiming every deduction and credit you actually qualify for, and splitting income where the rules allow, such as pension income splitting. Business owners add expense timing and salary versus dividend planning. Order matters, so decide before year end rather than at filing time.

Some are. Legal fees are deductible when they relate to earning income or defending a tax position, such as collecting salary or wages owed to you, objecting to or appealing an assessment, or running a business. Fees paid to obtain or enforce support are generally deductible for the recipient. Fees for the divorce itself, for custody, or for personal disputes are not, and fees to acquire property are usually added to that property's cost instead.

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.

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.

About two weeks for a return filed online with direct deposit in place. A non-resident return can take up to sixteen weeks. Those are service targets rather than guarantees: a return selected for review, a missing slip, or a mismatch with what a payer reported will add time. You can follow the status in CRA My Account, and amounts you owe elsewhere may be taken off the refund first.

Income tax on individuals, corporations and trusts; consumption taxes, where GST is 5% and provinces add HST, PST, QST or RST; payroll levies such as CPP and EI; property tax charged by municipalities; and targeted charges including excise duties and land transfer tax. Capital gains sit inside income tax, with one-half of the gain included for 2025 and 2026. Federal, provincial and municipal governments each levy their own, which is why rates differ by province.

Add up income from every source first: employment, self-employment, pensions, investment income and the taxable one-half of capital gains for 2025 and 2026. Subtract deductions such as RRSP contributions, union dues, child care and eligible moving costs to reach net income, then subtract the remaining allowable deductions to arrive at taxable income. Tax is calculated on that figure, and non-refundable credits, including the 2026 federal basic personal amount of $16,452, then reduce the tax itself rather than the income.

There is no single Canadian tax. Individuals pay federal income tax plus a provincial or territorial income tax, both reported on the T1. Sales tax is GST at 5%, replaced by HST in Ontario and most of Atlantic Canada, with separate PST, RST or QST in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec. Employment income also carries CPP and EI. On a form, tax name usually means the legal name the CRA holds for you or your business.

Your municipality sets that, not the CRA. Most Canadian municipalities issue an interim bill and a final bill each year, each payable in one or more instalments, and many also offer a monthly pre-authorised plan spread across the year. If your mortgage lender pays the tax on your behalf, you contribute a portion with each mortgage payment instead. Your tax bill or your municipality's website lists the exact instalment dates for your property.

Federal income tax, GST/HST and excise duties flow into general revenue, which funds transfers to the provinces for health care and social programmes, benefits such as the Canada child benefit and old age security, defence, federal departments and interest on the public debt. Provincial income and sales taxes fund schools, hospitals and municipal transfers. Canada Pension Plan and Employment Insurance premiums sit in separate accounts and are not part of general revenue. The federal budget publishes the yearly split.

Ornamental plants are taxable. Cut flowers, houseplants, shrubs, trees and potted arrangements all carry GST or HST at your province's rate. Plants and seeds that produce food for people are treated as basic groceries and are zero-rated, which covers vegetable seedlings and garden seed for edible crops, and some bulk agricultural seed and nursery stock sold to farmers is zero-rated as well. A garden centre applies both rules, so one bill can be part taxed.

Yes. Canada uses a social insurance number rather than a social security number, and if you are not eligible for a SIN you can apply to the CRA for an individual tax number and file with that. Apply before or together with your first return, and allow processing time. Without one of those identifiers the CRA cannot match the return to you. Non-residents with Canadian income most often file using an individual tax number.