Low-Cost Wave Accounting Support for Canadian Businesses

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.

No. The GST, HST, PST or QST you charge is not your revenue. You collect it as an agent and remit it, so it belongs in a liability account and revenue is recorded net of tax. Including it overstates sales and distorts every margin you calculate. Input tax credits work the same way in reverse, against that liability rather than as an expense. Payment processors deposit tax-included amounts, which is why bank totals never equal revenue.

Tax legislation is the written law that imposes and administers tax: federally the Income Tax Act and the Excise Tax Act, plus each province's own statutes and the municipal bylaws behind property tax. A change usually begins as a budget announcement, is drafted into a bill, passes Parliament and takes effect on royal assent. Regulations and CRA guidance sit beneath the statutes and explain administration without replacing them. Some proposals are administered before they pass, and a few never do.

The CRA publishes its numbers on the Contact the Canada Revenue Agency page, with separate lines for individual enquiries, business enquiries and benefits. We do not quote them here because they change and vary by service. Have your social insurance number or business number, a recent return and your postal code ready, since the agent will verify your identity before discussing your account. Automated self-service handles balances, and My Account answers many questions without a call.

Federally, no. Employer contributions to a private health services plan covering medical, dental and hospital care are not a taxable benefit, so they do not show up in your income. Quebec taxes them provincially, which is why a Quebec slip can show an amount the federal one does not. Premiums you pay yourself, including the employee share deducted from pay, can count as medical expenses on your T1. Group life and some wage-loss plans are treated differently.

Yes. GST and HST are one federal tax, so a registrant claims tax paid anywhere in Canada on the same return, at whatever rate applied where the supply was made. An Alberta business billed 13% HST on an Ontario hotel stay recovers the full 13%, as long as the expense relates to commercial activity and the invoice shows the tax. Provincial retail taxes are different: British Columbia PST, Saskatchewan PST and Manitoba RST are costs, not credits.

A write-off is an expense deducted from income so that tax applies to a smaller amount. It is not a refund of what you spent: the saving equals the expense multiplied by your marginal rate. Employees may deduct very little, while a business or self-employed person can deduct reasonable costs incurred to earn income, though categories such as meals and entertainment, vehicles and home office are restricted. Keep receipts, because the CRA can ask for them years later.

No. Interest and late-payment charges on an overdue account are not payment for a separate supply, so no GST/HST is added, even though the original invoice carried tax. A charge that is really payment for something you actually supply, such as a re-delivery, a restocking service or an administrative service, is taxable on its own terms. Where the amount is purely a penalty for paying late, bill it without tax.

The Guaranteed Income Supplement is tested on the income you reported for the previous calendar year, plus your spouse income if you have one. Old Age Security pension itself does not count. Employment and self-employment earnings get a partial exemption, while most other taxable income counts in full, including RRSP and RRIF withdrawals, workplace pensions, CPP, and investment income. If your income drops because you retired, ask Service Canada to use an estimate for the current year.

There is no single national start date. Each participating province harmonised its own sales tax with the GST at a different time, and some later changed course, one province reversing harmonisation entirely and returning to a separate provincial sales tax. The Atlantic provinces harmonised first and Ontario followed years afterwards. Because the answer depends on the province, check the CRA page on GST/HST rates and participating provinces, which sets out the rate history for each.

It depends on the province, and for 2026 the rates are: Alberta and the territories 5% GST only; Ontario 13% HST; New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island 15%; Nova Scotia 14% since 1 April 2025. British Columbia adds 7% PST and Saskatchewan 6% PST on top of the 5% GST, Manitoba adds 7% RST, and Quebec charges 9.975% QST on the pre-GST price, 14.975% combined. Basic groceries are untaxed.

No. Public transit fares are exempt from GST and HST, so GO Train and GO Bus tickets, Presto loads, monthly passes and municipal transit fares carry no tax. The exemption covers scheduled local and commuter service, not charter buses, sightseeing tours or intercity coach and rail tickets, which are taxable. Taxi and airport shuttle trips are taxable as well. An employer-paid transit pass has its own treatment as a taxable benefit on a T4.