Expert Tax Accountants in Mississauga

An Ontario resident pays federal tax of 14% to 33% for 2026 plus a separate Ontario calculation on the same taxable income, so your combined marginal rate is the federal rate for your band added to the Ontario rate for its band. Ontario also layers surtaxes onto the provincial portion at higher incomes and collects the Ontario Health Premium through the return. Take the current Ontario bracket, surtax and premium figures from the CRA's Ontario tax page.

No. Ontario folded its former retail sales tax into the harmonised sales tax, so a single HST replaces the old GST plus PST pair on most sales, and registered businesses charge it, remit it and claim input tax credits on their own purchases. A narrow provincial retail sales tax still applies in a few places, notably certain insurance premiums and benefit plans and private vehicle sales between individuals. Those are administered by Ontario rather than the CRA.

Medical costs give a non-refundable credit rather than a deduction. Eligible items include prescription drugs, dental work, eyeglasses and contact lenses, fees paid to medical practitioners authorised to practise, private health plan premiums, attendant care and travel for treatment unavailable locally. Over-the-counter products and most cosmetic procedures do not qualify. Only the portion above an income-based threshold counts, the claim period may end at any point in the tax year rather than following the calendar year, and pooling the family claim on one spouse usually helps.

Multiply the pre-tax price by the rate that applies where the sale happens. In Ontario that is 13% HST for 2026; in Alberta 5% GST; in British Columbia 5% GST plus 7% PST, each applied to the same base. Quebec is the exception, where 9.975% QST is charged on the pre-GST price, giving 14.975% combined. To back the tax out of a tax-included price, divide by one plus the rate.

The consumer bears it; the business collects it. A registered vendor adds GST/HST to taxable sales, holds it in trust and remits it to the CRA, recovering the tax it paid on its own inputs through input tax credits. So businesses in the chain are generally neutral, while the final buyer pays. Some purchasers, including certain Indigenous purchases on reserve, governments and diplomats, have relief, and low-income households receive the quarterly GST/HST credit.

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.

Yes. Tips and gratuities are taxable income in Ontario, whether they arrive through payroll, a card terminal, a tip pool or straight cash. Where your employer controls and distributes them, they are normally run through payroll with income tax, CPP and EI withheld. Tips paid to you directly are yours to report on your own return. Keep a running daily record, because unreported tips are a common focus of CRA review in hospitality.

GIS is not taxed, but it does have to be reported. The amount appears on the Old Age Security slip Service Canada sends you, is entered on your return as a net federal supplement, then deducted again so it never forms part of taxable income. It still counts in the income test for GIS itself and for other income-tested benefits, so filing every year on time matters: payments can be interrupted when a return is late.

Variable. Municipal property tax is your assessed value multiplied by a rate council sets each year, so the bill moves when either one changes. Your assessment can shift after a province-wide reassessment or a major renovation, and the rate shifts with the municipal budget. Property tax is billed by the municipality, not the CRA, and it is not deductible on a personal return unless the property earns rental or business income.

Basic groceries are zero-rated in Ontario, so staples are sold without HST. Tax applies to items outside that category: carbonated drinks, candy and confectionery, snack foods such as chips, most prepared or heated food, single servings sold ready to eat, and restaurant or takeaway meals. Ontario also gives a point-of-sale rebate on qualifying prepared food and beverages sold under a set price, so only the federal part of the tax is charged at the till.

Yes, if the loan is in default. The federal government can apply an income tax refund against amounts you owe it, including a defaulted Canada Student Loan, through a refund set-off. The CRA carries out the offset, so it happens before the refund reaches your bank account and you receive a notice explaining what was applied. Bringing the loan back into good standing, or agreeing a repayment arrangement with the loan service centre, stops future refunds being taken.

Fix the withholding or reserve the cash. An employee can ask payroll to deduct extra tax each pay, and should refile the personal tax credits form when a second job or a changed credit claim has made the old one wrong. Self-employed people pay quarterly instalments and hold back a set share of every invoice. RRSP contributions made before the deadline reduce taxable income. Reviewing last year's balance early in the new year is what prevents the repeat.