Expert Tax Accountants in Wetaskiwin

Property tax is billed by your municipality, not the CRA, so payment goes to the city or town that issued the bill. Most municipalities accept online or telephone banking once you add the property tax roll number as a payee, pre-authorised instalment plans, cheque, or payment at your bank. If your mortgage lender collects tax with your mortgage payment, the lender remits it for you. Condominium owners get their own bill, separate from monthly condo fees.

Property tax is an annual municipal levy on real estate, charged by the city or town where the property sits rather than by the CRA. The bill is the assessed value of the property multiplied by the tax rate the municipality sets each year, and it funds local services such as roads, waste collection, policing and the education portion the province adds. Assessed value is set by a provincial assessment authority, so it is not the price you paid.

There is no single rate. Federal personal income tax for 2026 runs through five brackets: 14%, then 20.5%, 26%, 29% and 33% on the highest band, and your province's brackets stack on top, so your combined marginal rate is the federal rate plus the provincial one. The 2026 federal basic personal amount is $16,452, tapering to $14,829 as net income rises from $181,440 to $258,482. Capital gains and Canadian dividends are taxed on a different basis.

For 2025 returns filed in 2026, most online returns are processed in about two weeks, and a non-resident return can take up to sixteen weeks. A paper return runs on a considerably longer standard because it is handled manually. Those timeframes assume a complete return that is not pulled for review. Register direct deposit and track progress in CRA My Account rather than waiting on a posted cheque.

A balance owing means the tax withheld or paid by instalments during the year came to less than the tax your return calculates. Common causes are two employers each withholding as though theirs was your only job, self-employment or gig income with nothing withheld, investment or rental income, an RRSP or RRIF withdrawal where only the base amount was held back, pension and OAS payments taken without deductions, or a benefit you have to repay.

The route depends on the structure. A sole proprietor or partner reports business income on Form T2125 and files it with the personal T1 return; for the 2025 year the self-employed filing deadline was 15 June 2026, while any balance owing was due 30 April 2026. An incorporated business files a separate T2 corporate return for each fiscal year, due six months after that year end, on top of whatever the owner reports personally.

Yes, in substance. The GST is a value-added tax: registrants charge 5% on taxable sales and recover the GST/HST paid on business inputs, so tax lands only on the value added at each stage. In participating provinces it is blended into the HST, at 13% in Ontario, 14% in Nova Scotia since 1 April 2025, and 15% in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island. Quebec runs its own QST of 9.975% alongside the 5% GST.

From the federal and provincial personal tax credits return you fill in when you start a job, which tells payroll which credits you claim, combined with the CRA's withholding tables for your pay frequency and your province of employment. Hand in an updated form when your situation changes, and ask for extra tax to be withheld if you have other income that is not taxed at source. Your T4 reports the year's totals.

The Canada Revenue Agency is the federal body that administers income tax, GST/HST, payroll deductions and most benefit programs for the federal government and most provinces. It processes T1 and T2 returns, issues assessments and refunds, collects amounts owing, runs reviews and audits, and pays benefits such as the Canada child benefit. Your CRA My Account is the online portal showing your slips, notices of assessment, balance and payment history.

There is a level below which no federal tax is payable, but it comes from credits rather than an exemption. The federal basic personal amount for 2026 is $16,452, tapering to $14,829 on net income between $181,440 and $258,482, and each province sets its own amount. Below roughly that level federal tax works out to nil, though CPP contributions and EI premiums can still apply, and you should file to claim credits and benefits.

Not long before it costs you. Municipalities charge interest or a penalty on arrears from the due date, usually every month. Once arrears have run for the period set in the province's municipal legislation, the municipality can register the property for tax sale and eventually sell it to recover what is owed. Contact the tax office early, because most will agree a payment arrangement rather than proceed to sale. Check your municipality's tax collection page.

AISH benefits are not taxed. Alberta reports the assistance you received on a statement of benefits slip, and the amount is entered on your return and then deducted, so it does not increase the tax you owe. It still counts when the CRA works out income-tested amounts such as the GST/HST credit or the Canada Child Benefit, which is why the slip must be reported even though no tax results.