Expert Tax Accountants in Brockville

Current and prior-year forms and publications are free to download from canada.ca, and tax software builds most of them for you as you enter your information. You can also order a paper package by phone or pick one up at participating postal and service outlets during filing season. Which forms apply depends on your situation: a T1 with your slips for employment income, T2125 for self-employment, a T2 for a corporation, T1-ADJ to change a return already filed.

Non-taxable income is money you receive that never enters taxable income. Common examples are lottery and most gambling winnings, gifts and inheritances, growth and withdrawals inside a TFSA, the GST/HST credit and Canada child benefit, most life insurance death benefits, and child support under current-rule agreements. A few amounts are reported and then deducted, such as workers' compensation and social assistance, because they still affect benefit calculations, so report anything that arrives on a slip even when no tax results.

Up to $4,000 of provincial land transfer tax, the maximum since 1 January 2017. That cancels the tax completely on a home of roughly $368,000 and reduces it on anything dearer. You must be at least 18, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and have never owned a home anywhere in the world; your spouse or common-law partner must not have owned a home anywhere in the world at any time while you were spouses; and you must occupy the home within nine months.

The business number is the single identifier the CRA uses for your business, with a separate programme account opened under it for each obligation: GST/HST, payroll deductions, corporate income tax, import and export. Register through Business Registration Online, by phone or by mail, or receive one automatically when you incorporate federally. You need it before you can remit payroll or file GST/HST. Provincial registration is separate in some provinces, notably Quebec, where Revenu Québec administers its own accounts.

If you are incorporated, you can take salary, dividends, or a mix of both. Salary is deductible to the corporation, builds RRSP room and CPP entitlement, and requires payroll registration and regular remittances. Dividends need no payroll but come out of after-tax corporate income and create no RRSP room. Sole proprietors and partners simply draw money and pay tax on the business profit. The right mix depends on your cash needs and the corporation's tax position, so model both.

Ontario does not issue its own refund; the Canada Revenue Agency assesses your T1 and pays the combined federal and Ontario amount. A return filed online is usually processed in about two weeks, and a non-resident return can take up to 16 weeks. Filing for the 2025 tax year opened 23 February 2026. Register for direct deposit and watch My Account for the assessment, and note that amounts you owe the CRA or certain other agencies can be applied against a refund.

Income tax on individuals, corporations and trusts; consumption taxes, where GST is 5% and provinces add HST, PST, QST or RST; payroll levies such as CPP and EI; property tax charged by municipalities; and targeted charges including excise duties and land transfer tax. Capital gains sit inside income tax, with one-half of the gain included for 2025 and 2026. Federal, provincial and municipal governments each levy their own, which is why rates differ by province.

Where a municipality has passed a by-law imposing it, yes. The accommodation provider must charge it on short-term stays and remit it to the city or its collecting agent, and platforms often collect on a host's behalf. It is a municipal tax rather than a CRA one, so the rate, exemptions and the stays covered vary from city to city. HST applies as well, and generally applies to the accommodation tax amount too.

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.

Tolls for the use of a road or bridge are not charged GST/HST, so the toll portion of a 407 statement carries no tax. Other charges on the same statement can be taxable, including transponder rental, account and administration fees, and the statement itemises any tax that was applied. A business claiming an input tax credit can only claim tax actually shown on the invoice, so read the statement rather than estimating.

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.

Child care costs are a deduction, not a credit, so there is no fixed percentage refunded. The eligible amount comes off your income, and the saving equals your marginal tax rate on what you deduct, which is why it is worth more to a higher earner. Annual limits apply per child and are smaller for older children, and the claim generally has to go on the lower-income spouse's return. Keep receipts showing the provider's name and number.