Expert Tax Accountants in Brantford

Sales tax in Ontario is 13% HST for 2026, made up of the 5% federal GST and an 8% provincial share, and it has applied at that rate since 1 July 2010. There is no separate Ontario retail sales tax on top, and the CRA administers the whole 13%. Basic groceries and prescription drugs are zero-rated, so they carry nothing. Income tax is a separate calculation with its own federal and Ontario brackets.

Ontario charges its own graduated personal rates, plus a surtax and the Ontario Health Premium, on top of federal tax, so the combined marginal rate climbs with income. For corporations in 2026 the Ontario small business rate is 3.2%, falling to 2.2% effective 1 July 2026, which gives a combined federal and provincial small business rate of 12.2% falling to 11.2%; a 31 December 2026 year end blends to roughly 11.7%. The Ontario combined general rate for 2026 is 26.5%.

The CRA no longer runs walk-in counters for general tax help, so there is no office you can visit to file or ask questions. Contact is by phone, by mail, or through My Account and My Business Account; in-person help is limited to arranged appointments in specific programs. Mailing addresses differ by centre and by what you are sending, so use the address printed on your CRA letter or on the CRA's website.

Ontario families receive the federal Canada Child Benefit plus the Ontario Child Benefit, and the CRA pays both together in one monthly deposit. Both are income tested, so entitlement falls as family adjusted net income rises, and both are recalculated every July from the prior year return. The provincial portion is set by Ontario and the federal portion by Ottawa, so your deposit changes when either programme is adjusted. Both spouses must file returns to keep payments running.

An exemption trust is an American estate planning structure that preserves a deceased spouse's federal estate tax exemption, so there is no direct Canadian equivalent. Canada levies no estate or inheritance tax. Instead, capital property is treated as sold at fair market value on death and the resulting gains are reported on the final return, while a qualifying transfer or spousal trust can defer that tax until the surviving spouse dies. Families with United States ties need advice on both systems.

The CRA does call, usually about an unfiled return, a balance owing, a payment arrangement, a benefit review or an audit. A real agent gives a name and office and can point to correspondence already in My Account, and will never demand payment by e-transfer, gift card or cryptocurrency, threaten arrest, or ask for a password. If a call feels wrong, hang up, check My Account, then call the CRA back on a number from its own website.

A voluntary tip you choose to leave is not subject to HST, because it is not part of the price of the meal. A mandatory service charge the restaurant adds to the bill, such as the automatic gratuity on a large table, forms part of what you pay for the meal, so Ontario's 13% HST applies to it. Check the bill: tax belongs on the food and any compulsory charge, not on a tip you decided yourself.

No. In Canada severance, pay in lieu of notice and a retiring allowance are fully taxable in the year you receive them. There is no tax-free slice of a redundancy payment the way some other countries allow, and tax is withheld before payment. A direct transfer to an RRSP is available only for older years of service under a narrow rule, so your ordinary RRSP room is usually the only shelter. Have settlement wording reviewed before you sign.

The tax-free savings account began in the 2009 calendar year, so an adult resident of Canada has been accumulating room every year since then, and unused room carries forward indefinitely. Cumulative room reached $102,000 at 1 January 2025 and $109,000 at 1 January 2026, with the annual limit $7,000 for both 2025 and 2026. Check My Account for your own number, since it also reflects past contributions and withdrawals.

Request it from Ontario's Ministry of Finance through their online tax compliance verification service. You sign in, identify the business, and the system checks your provincial tax accounts; if everything is filed and paid, the number is issued immediately. If an account is in arrears or a return is outstanding, the request is refused until you fix it, so file and pay first. Sole proprietors and corporations both use the same service.

Treatment follows what the money is for. A stipend paid as a scholarship, fellowship or bursary for a graduate program is reported on a T4A and may qualify for the scholarship exemption where you are enrolled full-time in a qualifying program. A stipend paid for work you do as an employee, such as teaching or marking, is employment income on a T4 and fully taxable. Research grants are taxable net of eligible expenses. Check which slip you received.

Day camps and day sports schools qualify as child care when you paid them so you could work, run a business or study, and the child meets the age and residency conditions. Overnight camps and boarding schools also qualify, but only up to a weekly limit per child rather than the whole fee. A program that is mainly instruction, such as music lessons or skills coaching, may not count. Keep the receipt showing the child's name and the care amount.