Economical T5013 Partnership Information Return for Canadian Partnerships

Report it for the year you earned it, on the return covering that year; there is no minimum below which business income can be left off. A sole proprietor reports on a T2125 filed with the T1: for the 2025 tax year the self-employed filing deadline was 15 June 2026, but any balance owing was still due 30 April 2026. A corporation files a T2 within six months of its fiscal year end.

Most residential rentals produce property income, not business income: you collect rent, pay the bills and report the net amount. The rental becomes a business when you provide services well beyond heat, light, parking and laundry, such as meals, cleaning, security or daily turnover, or run enough units with enough activity that it looks like a trade. The distinction matters for capital cost allowance, CPP on the earnings, and how losses are treated.

Start with the structure. An unincorporated business reports on form T2125 inside your personal T1, due 15 June 2026 for the 2025 year, with any balance still payable by 30 April 2026. A corporation files a T2, due six months after its fiscal year end. Either way, reconcile your bookkeeping first, separate business from personal spending, keep records for six years, and claim capital purchases through depreciation rather than as an outright expense.

Your obligations are to report all income, file on time, pay what you owe, and keep records that support both. For an individual that means a T1 each year, due 30 April 2026 for the 2025 tax year. Business owners add GST/HST returns once registered, payroll remittances if they have staff, a T2 for a corporation, and instalments where required. Keep records six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to.

Income tax, consumption tax and property tax. Income tax applies to what individuals, corporations and trusts earn and is the largest source of federal and provincial revenue. Consumption tax is charged on what you buy: GST at 5%, HST in five provinces, and PST, RST or QST in others. Property tax is charged by municipalities on assessed real estate value. Payroll contributions to CPP and EI sit alongside these and work much like a tax on earnings.

A transmitter number identifies whoever sends information returns, such as T4 or T5 slips, to the CRA electronically. Many filers never need one, because internet file transfer accepts a web access code tied to the business number on the return. If you transmit for several businesses or use software that demands the identifier, request it through the CRA's electronic services helpdesk. Start from the CRA's pages on filing information returns electronically, which set out what each return type requires.

Set aside enough to cover income tax at your combined federal and provincial marginal rate on net business income, plus CPP: for 2026 you pay both halves yourself, 5.95% each on earnings between the $3,500 basic exemption and the maximum pensionable earnings of $74,600, and a further 4% each on earnings in the second band from $74,600 to $85,000. Keep any GST/HST you collect in a separate account, because it was never your money. Moving a fixed percentage of every deposit aside, then truing it up each quarter, works well.

Yes. Cash from odd jobs, side gigs, handyman work, tutoring or online platforms is self-employment income and is reported on a T2125 with the personal return, even with no slip and no business name. You deduct the related costs, so tax applies to the profit. Watch two thresholds that follow: GST/HST registration once taxable revenue passes $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters, and CPP contributions on net self-employment earnings.

Your refund is the tax already withheld or paid by instalments minus the tax you actually owe once deductions and credits are applied, so it follows your slips rather than a target figure. Larger refunds usually come from over-withholding at source, RRSP contributions, tuition, medical expenses, or credits transferred from a spouse. Run the numbers in NETFILE software before you file, then check the notice of assessment against your own calculation.

The rate is the same. The payment is added to your income for the year and taxed at your marginal rates like any other pay. What differs is the withholding. Pay in lieu of notice runs through normal payroll deductions, while a retiring allowance has tax withheld at flat lump-sum rates that can be higher or lower than what you ultimately owe. The difference is settled when you file your T1, so a large payout often produces a refund or a balance.

You collect it as an agent, so it never belongs to your business. You remit it to the CRA with your GST/HST return, after subtracting input tax credits for tax you paid on business purchases. The CRA keeps the federal part, the 5% GST, and transfers the provincial part to the harmonised province. Quebec is different: Revenu Quebec administers GST and QST there. Because it is money held for someone else, keep it out of operating cash.

A balance in the thousands almost always means a whole slice of income had little or no tax taken off it. Self-employment is the usual reason, since nobody withholds for you and CPP contributions on that income are yours to pay as both employee and employer. Large RRSP withdrawals, severance, stock benefits, capital gains and rental profit do the same. Check each slip against the assessed return, then start instalments or set money aside so next year is not a repeat.