Expert Tax Accountants in Chilliwack

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.

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.

Payroll deductions are calculated as if your current pay rate continued all year, using the credits you claimed on the personal tax credits form you gave your employer. Deductions look low if you started mid-year, work part-time or irregular hours, over-claimed credits, or hold two jobs where each employer applies the basic personal amount and neither sees the other's pay. Income without withholding, such as self-employment or investments, adds to what you owe at filing.

British Columbia charges property transfer tax when a transfer is registered at the Land Title Office, calculated on the fair market value of the property using graduated rates that rise with value, plus a further charge on the residential value above a high-value threshold. Foreign buyers in designated areas pay an additional amount. Exemptions exist for first-time buyers and certain newly built homes, subject to price limits. Run your own numbers through the province's calculator.

Basic groceries are zero-rated, so no GST is charged on staples such as bread, milk, vegetables and meat, and British Columbia's provincial sales tax does not apply to food for human consumption. Prepared food is treated differently: a restaurant meal carries GST at the federal rate. Sweetened carbonated drinks attract provincial sales tax in British Columbia, and liquor is taxed under its own rules. Snack foods sold in single servings can also fall outside the grocery treatment.

Basic groceries are zero-rated across Canada, so no GST is charged on them. Restaurant meals and other prepared food are taxable and carry GST. British Columbia does not apply its provincial sales tax to food for human consumption, so a restaurant bill normally shows GST only, while alcohol and sweetened carbonated drinks are taxed under separate provincial rules. Snack foods, candy, catering and heated takeaway follow the taxable side of the grocery rules.

Pension income splitting is the largest lever for most couples: up to 50% of eligible pension income can be reported by a lower-income spouse, and RRIF income qualifies from age 65. Beyond that, sequence withdrawals from registered and non-registered accounts to keep net income under the Old Age Security recovery threshold, use TFSA withdrawals that count as no income at all, claim the pension and age credits, and consider drawing down RRSPs before the plan must be wound up, which is by the end of the calendar year in which you turn 71 and not on your 71st birthday.

Yes. On top of the general 1%, 2% and 3% bands, British Columbia charges a further 2% on the portion of a residential property's fair market value above $3,000,000, so that top slice is taxed at 5% in total for 2026. On a mixed-use property the extra 2% applies only to the residential part. It is separate from the additional tax on foreign buyers, which can apply as well.

Usually not. Unbottled water supplied by a municipality or water utility is exempt, and basic unbottled water sold other than as a single serving is zero-rated, so no GST or HST is charged. Bottled water and single servings are taxable at the rate where it is delivered, meaning 5% GST or 13% HST in Ontario for 2026. Carbonated and flavoured water is taxable. The CRA's basic groceries memorandum sets out the line.

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.

Because two different governments administer the two taxes. In British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba the CRA collects the 5% federal GST (the rate since 1 January 2008 and unchanged for both the 2025 and 2026 years) while the province collects its own PST or RST, each with a separate registration, filing frequency and deadline. Quebec is the exception: Revenu Quebec administers the 9.975% QST (the rate since 1 January 2013, current for 2025 and 2026) and also the GST for most Quebec-resident registrants, so they file one combined return.

British Columbia calls it property transfer tax, and it is charged on the fair market value of the property at the time of registration, in graduated bands, so a higher price is taxed at higher marginal rates on the upper portion. Additional tax applies to foreign buyers in certain regions, and exemptions exist for qualifying first-time buyers and newly built homes under set price limits. Your lawyer or notary calculates and remits it on closing.