Expert Tax Accountants in Vernon

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.

Call the individual or business enquiries line published on the CRA contact page at canada.ca. Have your social insurance number or business number, your date of birth and a figure from a recent return ready, because the agent verifies your identity before discussing anything. Lines are busiest just after filing season opens and near deadlines, so early morning usually connects faster. You can also send a secure message from My Account, or authorise a representative to call on your behalf.

On purchases, British Columbia charges 7% provincial sales tax on top of the 5% federal GST, so 12% combined for 2026. On income, the 2026 federal brackets run 14%, 20.5%, 26%, 29% and 33%, and BC's own brackets stack on top, so your marginal rate is the federal rate plus the provincial rate for that band. BC brackets are indexed yearly, so confirm the current provincial table before relying on a combined percentage.

Yes. A prior-year return can be filed at any time, and electronic filing stays open for several past years, so a 2024 return usually still goes through software rather than on paper. If a balance is owing, the late-filing penalty has already run to its twelve-month maximum and interest is still accumulating daily, so there is nothing to gain from waiting. If you cannot pay in full, file anyway and then arrange payment, because the penalty is tied to filing rather than paying.

An online return is normally assessed in about two weeks, and a non-resident return can take up to 16 weeks. Past that, the usual causes are a review asking you for receipts, slips that do not match what the CRA holds, a return filed on paper, direct deposit details that no longer work, or the refund being applied against a balance you owe. CRA My Account shows the assessment date and where the money went.

British Columbia's speculation and vacancy tax works by declaration: every owner of residential property in a designated taxable area must file a declaration each year, even when they owe nothing, because exemptions such as using the home as a principal residence are only granted through that declaration. Each owner on title declares separately, using the letter the province mails with your declaration codes. Miss it and you are billed at the maximum rate. Deadlines and areas are on the BC government's speculation and vacancy tax page.

Line 43700 is total income tax deducted, so you do not calculate it - you copy it. Add up the income tax withheld shown on every slip you received for the year: T4 employment slips, T4A, pension and benefit slips, T5 and other investment slips, and any tax withheld on a lump-sum payment. Enter the total, keep the slips, and check CRA My Account if one is missing.

Zero-rated sales are taxable supplies that carry GST/HST at 0%. Basic groceries, prescription drugs, most medical devices, agricultural products and many exports are the common examples. The difference from exempt sales matters: on zero-rated sales you charge no tax but can still claim input tax credits on the GST/HST you paid on related costs, and those sales count toward the $30,000 small-supplier threshold for 2026. Exempt sales give you no input tax credits.

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.

12% for 2026. Vancouver charges no city sales tax, so a purchase there carries British Columbia's 7% provincial sales tax on top of the 5% federal GST. Provincial sales tax does not reach everything: many basic groceries and some services fall outside it, so a receipt can show only the 5% GST. Certain supplies are zero-rated or exempt from GST as well, which is why a total can sit below the headline 12%.

Richmond has no municipal empty homes tax of its own, that levy is Vancouver's. Richmond property is instead inside British Columbia's provincial speculation and vacancy tax area, so owners there receive an annual declaration and pay if the home sits empty without an exemption. Rates and exemptions change, so confirm the current year on the province's speculation and vacancy tax pages before you rely on a figure.

Filing is required whenever tax is owing for the year, when the CRA asks you to file, or when part of a benefit such as OAS has to be repaid. Even with no tax owing, most retirees should still file. The GST/HST credit, the Guaranteed Income Supplement, provincial credits and age-related amounts are all calculated from the filed return, and a missed year can interrupt those payments until the return goes in.