Expert Tax Accountants in Armstrong

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.

Two different things are often called an exemption. Exempt supplies - most health care, education, child care, financial services and long-term residential rent - carry no GST/HST, and the supplier cannot claim input tax credits on related costs. Zero-rated supplies such as basic groceries, prescription drugs and exports are taxed at 0% but input tax credits are still available. Separately, a small supplier under $30,000 of taxable revenue need not register or charge tax.

Some services only. BC's 7% PST reaches legal services, telecommunication services, accommodation, and work performed on goods such as repair, maintenance and installation. Many other services, including most professional and consulting fees, fall outside PST, though the 5% GST still applies to them. Because the list is specific rather than general, check the province's PST bulletin for your line of work before you register, charge tax or price a quote.

Non-taxable means an amount is left out of income, so it does not add to your tax bill and generally does not reduce income-tested benefits. Examples include TFSA withdrawals, gifts and inheritances, lottery winnings and life insurance death benefits. Some amounts are non-taxable yet still have to be reported or tracked, such as a principal residence sale. When you are unsure, treat a receipt as taxable until a specific rule exempts it, and check the CRA's guidance.

The CRA can demand your records, and a court can order production. Anyone else, such as a landlord, lender, ex-spouse's lawyer or prospective employer, can ask, but only as a condition of dealing with you; you may refuse and accept that consequence. The CRA will not release your information to them without your authorisation. Where you need to prove income, a proof of income statement or notice of assessment from My Account usually satisfies them.

It is an annual British Columbia tax on residential property in designated urban areas that sits empty. Every owner of residential property in those areas has to file a declaration each year, even when fully exempt, or be billed by default. The usual exemptions are using the home as your principal residence or renting it to a tenant for at least the minimum period the rules require. The rate differs for Canadian residents and foreign owners.

Taxi fares in British Columbia carry the 5% GST but no PST. PST applies to goods and a listed set of services, and passenger transportation is not one of them. Ride-hailing trips are treated the same way. Drivers running a taxi, limousine or ride-share business must register for GST regardless of revenue, so the $30,000 small-supplier threshold does not apply to them. The fare receipt should show the GST separately.

British Columbia's property tax deferment programme is a low-interest loan from the province that pays the annual property tax on your principal residence. Eligibility is limited, broadly to older homeowners, surviving spouses, people with disabilities, and families supporting a child, and there are minimum equity and fire insurance requirements. The province registers a lien on the title and charges simple interest, and the balance falls due when the property is sold or transferred. You renew each year.

Gross pay first absorbs the required deductions: CPP or QPP contributions, Employment Insurance premiums, Quebec parental insurance where it applies, then income tax, which is calculated after registered pension contributions and union dues reduce taxable pay. Court-ordered garnishments and voluntary items such as group benefits or savings plans follow. For 2026 the employee CPP rate is 5.95% and the employee EI rate is 1.63% outside Quebec; a Quebec employee instead contributes to the Quebec Pension Plan at 6.3% and pays EI at the reduced Quebec rate of 1.30%. Your pay statement should list each amount separately.

From 1 October 2026, British Columbia applies 7% PST to several services that were previously untaxed: accounting and bookkeeping, architectural, engineering and geoscience, security and private investigation, and non-residential real estate services. Architectural, engineering and geoscience fees are taxed on 30% of the purchase price rather than the full amount. Providers not already collecting PST must register online, and can do so up to six months before their first taxable sale.

A T4E is the slip Service Canada issues for Employment Insurance and certain related benefits. It shows the total benefits paid, income tax already withheld, any benefits you had to repay and any benefit repayment required because of your income level. Report the amounts on your personal return on the line for Employment Insurance and other benefits, not on the employment income line — EI benefits are taxable but they are not employment income. Keep the slip even where no tax was withheld, because the benefits remain taxable and the CRA already holds a copy.

Two different taxes are in play. GST/HST is not charged on long-term residential rent, which is an exempt supply, so the landlord adds no tax and cannot claim input tax credits on those costs. Commercial rent and most short-term accommodation are taxable once the landlord is registered, at 13% HST in Ontario or 5% GST in Alberta. Separately, the rent received is income to the landlord, reported on the T1 or T2 after deductible expenses.