Expert Tax Accountants in Hamilton

A refund is the tax already paid minus the tax actually owed. Add the income tax withheld on your slips to any instalments you paid, work out tax payable on your total income after deductions and credits, and the difference comes back if the first figure is larger. Large refunds usually trace to over-withholding on employment income, RRSP contributions, or credits transferred to you. Run the numbers through the CRA's or a commercial estimator before you file.

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.

13%. Toronto levies no sales tax of its own, so a purchase in the city carries Ontario's 13% HST for 2026, made up of the 5% federal GST and 8% provincial share, with no municipal add-on. The city does charge a municipal land transfer tax on real estate, on top of the provincial one, and an accommodation levy on hotel and short-term stays, but neither touches everyday shopping. Zero-rated and exempt supplies can leave a receipt showing less.

Most refunds on returns filed online arrive in about two weeks; a non-resident return can take up to sixteen weeks. A longer wait usually means the CRA is reviewing a claim, is waiting on a slip or receipt, holds stale direct deposit details, or has applied the refund against another balance such as tax owing, family support or a student loan. Check My Account for the notice of assessment and for any letter asking you for documents.

A flat monthly car allowance is generally taxable, added to employment income on the T4 with source deductions taken. A per-kilometre reimbursement is different: if it is based on business kilometres actually driven at a reasonable rate, it is not taxable. For 2026 the CRA treats 73 cents per kilometre for the first 5,000 kilometres and 67 cents after as reasonable, with 4 cents more in the territories; the 2025 rates were 72 and 66 cents.

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.

Both federal and provincial tax apply, and the rates are graduated rather than flat. For 2026 the lowest federal bracket is taxed at 14%, and the federal basic personal amount of $16,452 shelters the first slice of income, so tax on $49,000 works out well below 14% of the whole amount. Your province adds its own bracket and credits, and CPP and EI also come off employment pay. Use the CRA's payroll deductions calculator.

Yes. Taxi and limousine fares are taxable services, so HST at 13% applies in Ontario and appears on the meter total or receipt. Ride-share trips are treated the same way, and the driver or platform is responsible for collecting and remitting the tax. Drivers who operate a taxi or limousine business must register for GST/HST regardless of revenue: the $30,000 small-supplier threshold does not shelter them. See the CRA's guidance for taxi and ride-sharing drivers.

13%. Ontario is harmonized, so there is no separate GST line on a Toronto receipt: the single HST rate of 13% carries the 5% federal part and an 8% provincial part, and the CRA collects the whole thing. Toronto levies no sales tax of its own, though it does charge a municipal accommodation tax on hotel and short-term rental stays, and a land transfer tax on purchases. Basic groceries and prescription drugs stay untaxed.

No. A private appraisal for a mortgage, refinancing or an estate is a report to you and your lender, and it does not feed the municipal assessment roll. Property tax uses the value set by the provincial assessment authority on its own cycle, from sales of comparable homes. A high appraisal does not raise that value and a low one does not lower your bill. Changing the assessment means asking the assessor to review it.

Not long before it costs you. Municipalities charge interest or a penalty on arrears from the due date, usually every month. Once arrears have run for the period set in the province's municipal legislation, the municipality can register the property for tax sale and eventually sell it to recover what is owed. Contact the tax office early, because most will agree a payment arrangement rather than proceed to sale. Check your municipality's tax collection page.

Automobile insurance premiums in Ontario carry no HST, because insurance is treated as an exempt financial service for GST/HST purposes. Ontario also applies a provincial retail sales tax to certain insurance premiums, but automobile insurance is not one of them, so the premium the insurer quotes is the amount you pay. Group life and health benefit premiums are treated differently, so read the invoice wording carefully on those.