Expert Tax Accountants in Surrey

Sign in to CRA My Account, go to the tax returns area and open the assessed return for the year you need. The T1 General is the return itself, so the copy you download there is what lenders, landlords and immigration officers usually ask for, normally alongside the notice of assessment. If the year is too old to appear online, request a copy by phone or in writing and expect it by mail.

Yes. Tips and gratuities are income and must be reported, whether they reach you through your employer or straight from the customer. Controlled tips your employer distributes appear on your T4 with payroll deductions already taken. Direct and cash tips usually appear on no slip at all, so you report them yourself on your T1 from your own records. Keep a daily log, because the CRA can estimate unreported tip income.

Two different categories carry no tax. Zero-rated supplies are taxed at nil, including basic groceries, prescription drugs, medical devices and most agricultural products, and the seller can still claim input tax credits. Exempt supplies, such as most residential rent, health and dental care and financial services, carry no tax and no input tax credits. Small suppliers below the $30,000 threshold, unchanged for 2025 and 2026, also charge nothing until they register. The CRA lists both categories.

Yes, tax is withheld from Employment Insurance benefits before the money reaches you, but the amount held back is often less than you end up owing. It is worked out on the benefit alone and ignores the employment or self-employment income you earned in the rest of the year, so a balance is common at filing. You can ask Service Canada to withhold more. Report the full benefit on your T1.

Your refund is the tax already withheld or paid by instalments minus the tax you actually owe after credits and deductions, so the amount depends entirely on your own numbers - there is no standard figure. Timing is more predictable: the CRA aims to process an online return in about two weeks, and up to 16 weeks for a non-resident return. Direct deposit is faster than a cheque, and amounts owing to government can be offset.

Income tax on a business is charged on net profit, meaning revenue less reasonable business expenses, not on gross sales. A sole proprietor reports that on the T2125 and a corporation on its T2. Other taxes do not work that way: GST/HST applies to your taxable sales whatever the profit, and payroll remittances follow wages paid. A business loss can usually be applied against other income or carried forward to a later year.

Sometimes. When a BC seller ships taxable goods to a buyer in the province, PST at 7% applies to the delivery or freight charge as part of the price of those goods. If the goods themselves are exempt, the related delivery charge is exempt too. Freight billed separately by an arm's-length carrier for a transportation service is not subject to PST. GST applies to the freight either way. Check the province's PST bulletin on delivery charges.

There is no Canadian tax called FHST. On a bill it is almost always GST, HST or a provincial sales tax, and some billing systems print a combined label for the federal and harmonised parts. Check the rate to identify it: 5% is GST, 13% is Ontario HST, 15% covers New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island, and 14% is Nova Scotia from 1 April 2025. Ask the supplier for their registration number if unsure.

Start with gross pay, then subtract income tax withheld, CPP and EI, along with any pension, union or benefit deductions; what is left is net pay. Because income tax depends on your province and on the credits you claimed, the same gross pay leaves different amounts in different provinces. The CRA's payroll deductions online calculator produces exact figures for a pay period, and your T4 confirms the totals for the year.

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.

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.

Yes. Income tax on tips works the same across Canada: gratuities are income and go on your T1, with federal tax plus British Columbia's provincial rates applied to your total. There is no separate BC tip tax and no exemption for cash. Controlled tips your employer distributes appear on your T4; direct tips do not, so log them daily and report the total. GST is not charged on a voluntary tip.