Expert Tax Accountants in Portage la Prairie

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.

Several NETFILE certified programs are free to use for straightforward returns, and the CRA publishes the certified list each filing season. If your income is modest and your return is simple, a free volunteer tax clinic can prepare and file it for you. Some people also receive a CRA invitation to file through a simplified phone or digital service. Free tools cover most employment and pension returns; self-employment, rental or foreign income usually needs more.

Sign in to CRA My Account for personal tax, or My Business Account for a corporation or GST/HST account, and open the statement of account: it shows the balance, interest charged and any instalments credited. The CRA's individual enquiries line gives the same figure once you pass identity verification. A representative you authorise with AUT-01 can also look it up. A notice of assessment only shows the balance as at its own date.

Manitoba residents pay federal income tax plus Manitoba provincial income tax on one T1 return, with the provincial share set by its own brackets and credits. On purchases you pay federal GST plus the Manitoba retail sales tax, charged as a separate provincial tax rather than blended into a single harmonised rate. Property owners also face municipal property tax and education levies. Rates move with each provincial budget, so confirm the current ones before pricing or budgeting.

It costs money if you owe. The late-filing penalty is 5% of the balance owing plus 1% for each full month the return is late, to a maximum of twelve months, with compound interest on top. If you are due a refund there is no penalty, but benefit and credit payments can stop until the return is filed. File even without the money to pay: filing on time stops the penalty and only interest runs.

Yes. The CRA accepts late returns, and filing late is far better than not filing. If you owe money, the late-filing penalty is 5% of the balance plus 1% for each full month the return is late, up to 12 months, and interest runs on the unpaid amount from the day after the payment deadline. If you owe nothing there is no late-filing penalty, but benefit and credit payments that depend on the return can be interrupted until it is assessed.

A zero-rated supply is a sale that is taxable at 0%, so you charge no GST/HST but you can still claim input tax credits on the costs of making it. Common examples include basic groceries, prescription drugs, most medical devices, agricultural and fishing products, and many exports and international freight services. That input tax credit recovery is the practical difference from an exempt supply, where no tax is charged and no credits are available.

HST is not a fee the business keeps. It is the harmonised sales tax, a combined federal and provincial sales tax the supplier collects on your behalf and remits to the CRA. On a bill it appears as a percentage of the pre-tax subtotal at the rate of the province of supply, 13% in Ontario. A registered supplier must show the tax, or state that it is included, and give their GST/HST registration number on request.

There is no single Canadian tax. Individuals pay federal income tax plus a provincial or territorial income tax, both reported on the T1. Sales tax is GST at 5%, replaced by HST in Ontario and most of Atlantic Canada, with separate PST, RST or QST in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec. Employment income also carries CPP and EI. On a form, tax name usually means the legal name the CRA holds for you or your business.

Manitoba's retail sales tax is 7% for 2026, charged with the 5% federal GST for a combined 12% on most goods and certain services. Manitoba Finance states the tax is calculated on the selling price before GST is added, so the two taxes are not compounded. RST is a retail sales tax, not a value-added tax, so a business generally cannot claim it back the way it recovers GST on its purchases.

Because the first slice of income is sheltered. For 2026 the federal basic personal amount is $16,452, tapering to $14,829 as net income runs from $181,440 to $258,482, and other credits sit on top of it. Someone whose income falls under the amount they can claim has no federal tax payable, though CPP and EI are still deducted from wages. Filing is still worth it, since benefits and refundable credits are calculated from the return.

Largely no. PST in British Columbia and Saskatchewan and RST in Manitoba are retail sales taxes, not value-added taxes, so PST paid on business purchases is generally a cost rather than a credit. Relief comes from claiming an exemption at the time of purchase, such as goods bought for resale or certain production equipment, not from a return. Quebec's QST, 9.975% for 2025 and 2026, is different and is recoverable through input tax refunds, Quebec's equivalent of input tax credits.