Expert Tax Accountants in Oshawa

Your employer withholds federal and Ontario income tax using the pay period, your annual rate of pay and the claim codes from the TD1 forms you signed, then adds CPP contributions and EI premiums until the yearly maximums are reached. Because the tax portion follows brackets, the percentage held back rises as pay rises. For an exact figure, run your gross pay through the CRA's Payroll Deductions Online Calculator, which applies the current year's tables.

Ontario charges land transfer tax on the value of the consideration, normally the purchase price, when the transfer is registered. The rates are graduated: each band of the price is taxed at its own rate, so the bill rises faster than the price. Toronto adds a second municipal land transfer tax on top. First-time buyers may claim a rebate, and buyers who are neither citizens nor permanent residents can face an extra non-resident charge. Run your actual price through the province's calculator before closing.

Not indefinitely. Property tax is collected by your municipality, which charges interest on arrears and can eventually register a tax arrears certificate and sell the property under provincial tax-sale rules. The permitted period of arrears is set by provincial legislation and varies, so ask your municipality for its schedule and payment options. Municipal arrears are separate from anything owing to the CRA, and paying one does not clear the other.

Not across the board. For 2026 the lowest federal bracket rate is 14%, with 20.5%, 26%, 29% and 33% applying above it, and the federal basic personal amount is $16,452, tapering to $14,829 on net income between $181,440 and $258,482. The capital gains inclusion rate stays at one-half for 2025 and 2026; the 2024 proposal to raise it was never enacted. Brackets and credits are indexed annually, so check the CRA's rates for the year you are filing.

Register in Represent a Client from the CRA sign-in page; the RepID is issued straight away once your identity is confirmed. A RepID identifies you personally, a group identifier covers a team, and a business number is used where a firm acts. The identifier alone opens nothing: each client must then authorise you online from their own CRA account, or sign an AUT-01 for the CRA to process, before you can see their information.

The Canada Revenue Agency is the federal body that administers income tax, GST/HST, payroll deductions and most benefit payments, including the Canada child benefit and the GST/HST credit. It processes returns, issues assessments and refunds, collects amounts owing, and runs reviews and audits. Provinces set their own rates, but the CRA collects personal and corporate tax for every province except Quebec, which administers its own returns through Revenu Quebec. You reach it by phone or through CRA My Account.

Take-out and delivered prepared food is taxable in Ontario, so 13% HST normally applies. Ontario's point-of-sale rebate removes the provincial part on qualifying prepared food and beverages sold under a set dollar limit, leaving only the 5% federal part, which is why a small coffee-and-muffin order can show less tax than a large one. Basic groceries you take home, such as bread, milk and produce, are zero-rated and carry no GST/HST at all.

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.

Exemptions is American wording. Canada uses non-refundable credits instead, starting with the basic personal amount, which is $16,452 federally for 2026 and reduced at high incomes, plus credits for age, disability, tuition, dependants and more. You list the ones that apply on the personal tax credits return you give your employer, which lowers the tax withheld each pay. The same credits then reduce the tax calculated on your return.

No. QST is a separate Quebec tax administered by Revenu Quebec, and it cannot be recovered on your federal GST/HST return. Only a business registered for QST can claim input tax refunds for the 9.975% QST it pays, and registration normally follows from making taxable supplies in Quebec. An Ontario business with no QST registration treats the QST on a Quebec invoice as part of the cost of the expense. Check Revenu Quebec for the registration rules.

Yes. Employment insurance benefits are taxable income, including a retroactive lump sum, and the payer withholds some tax before you receive it. Report the amount in the year you received it, using the benefit slip issued for that year, and expect the tax to be trued up on your return. If the retroactive payment covers earlier years and is large, the CRA can apply a special averaging calculation on request.

A tax debt is not reported to the credit bureaus, so owing the CRA does not by itself move your score. It can still reach your credit indirectly. The CRA may register the debt with the court and secure it against property, and that registration is public, so a lender doing a search can find it. Interest compounds daily in the meantime. If you cannot pay in full, ask about a payment arrangement before collection begins.