Expert Tax Accountants in Spruce Grove

Rent on your home is not deductible on a Canadian return. Two situations change that. Self-employed people, and employees who meet the work-space-in-the-home conditions, may claim the share of rent tied to the area used for work. Several provinces also run a property tax or rent based credit, applied for on the provincial schedule filed with your T1, where rent paid affects the amount. Keep receipts and your landlord's details either way.

CRA online filing for 2025 returns opened 23 February 2026 and closes 29 January 2027. Most people file between late February and the 30 April 2026 deadline, and that stretch is what tax season refers to. You can gather documents and prepare a return earlier, but it cannot be sent electronically before the system opens. Employment and investment slips such as T4 and T5 are issued by payers early in the year, and the CRA's Auto-fill service can pull the ones it already holds once you have set up My Account.

Property tax bills come from your municipality, not the CRA, so ask the city or town that issued it. Most municipalities let you view, print and download bills and statements through an online property tax account opened with your roll number and address, and will reissue a copy by mail or email on request. If property tax is collected with your mortgage payment, your lender's annual statement shows the amount paid on your behalf.

If you owe nothing, no penalty applies, but a refund and benefit payments such as the Canada child benefit and the GST/HST credit are held up until the return is processed. If you owe, a late-filing penalty is charged and interest runs on the balance and compounds daily from the day after the due date. For the 2025 tax year the deadline was 30 April 2026. File even if you cannot pay, because the penalty is driven by filing, not payment.

Yes. Canada's value-added tax is GST/HST. GST is 5% federally in 2025 and 2026. In participating provinces it is combined into HST: 13% in Ontario, 15% in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island, and 14% in Nova Scotia since 1 April 2025. Registered businesses charge it on taxable sales and claim input tax credits on what they pay, so the tax lands on the final consumer.

The business number is the single identifier the CRA uses for your business, with a separate programme account opened under it for each obligation: GST/HST, payroll deductions, corporate income tax, import and export. Register through Business Registration Online, by phone or by mail, or receive one automatically when you incorporate federally. You need it before you can remit payroll or file GST/HST. Provincial registration is separate in some provinces, notably Quebec, where Revenu Québec administers its own accounts.

For personal income tax, your account number is your social insurance number. For a business it is the nine-digit business number plus the two-letter program identifier and four-digit reference, so corporation tax, GST/HST and payroll each have their own account. Select the matching payment type and the correct tax year or period as well: a payment posted to the wrong program or year leaves the balance you meant to clear still outstanding and still accruing interest.

Divide the tax-included total by one plus the tax rate. In Ontario, divide by 1.13 to get the pre-tax amount; the difference is the 13% HST. Use 1.05 for GST-only provinces, 1.14 in Nova Scotia since 1 April 2025, and 1.15 in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island. Quebec is different: QST of 9.975% applies to the pre-GST price, so divide by 1.14975 for the combined amount.

Yes. The CRA accepts late returns, and filing late is far better than not filing. If you owe money, the late-filing penalty is 5% of the balance plus 1% for each full month the return is late, up to 12 months, and interest runs on the unpaid amount from the day after the payment deadline. If you owe nothing there is no late-filing penalty, but benefit and credit payments that depend on the return can be interrupted until it is assessed.

No. In Canada severance, pay in lieu of notice and a retiring allowance are fully taxable in the year you receive them. There is no tax-free slice of a redundancy payment the way some other countries allow, and tax is withheld before payment. A direct transfer to an RRSP is available only for older years of service under a narrow rule, so your ordinary RRSP room is usually the only shelter. Have settlement wording reviewed before you sign.

Add up the tax withheld year to date on your pay stub, then compare it with the tax you expect on your full-year income; the CRA's payroll deductions calculator lets you model a pay period. Multiple jobs, bonuses, self-employment or investment income are the usual reasons withholding falls short. If you pay by instalments, My Account shows the amounts and dates the CRA expects. Adjust withholding with your employer or top up by instalment.

An excise stamp is the marker the Canada Revenue Agency issues to manufacturers and importers holding an excise licence, showing that federal excise duty has been accounted for on a tobacco, vaping or cannabis product. Stamps carry province-specific colouring and security features so enforcement can tell where the product was destined. Product without one is unstamped tobacco, which may be held only in narrow circumstances set out in the excise rules and otherwise attracts a special duty and penalties.