Expert Tax Accountants in Quinte West

Property tax is an annual municipal levy on real estate, charged by the city or town where the property sits rather than by the CRA. The bill is the assessed value of the property multiplied by the tax rate the municipality sets each year, and it funds local services such as roads, waste collection, policing and the education portion the province adds. Assessed value is set by a provincial assessment authority, so it is not the price you paid.

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.

A tax return reports a calendar year of income and settles your account with the CRA. You file a T1, list the income from your slips along with any self-employment or investment income, claim deductions and credits, and the return calculates the tax owed. Tax already withheld from your pay is credited against that figure, leaving either a refund or a balance to pay. For the 2025 tax year the deadline was 30 April 2026, and an online return for that year is usually processed in about two weeks.

Two separate reliefs apply. For income tax, employment or business income earned by a person registered under the Indian Act is exempt when the income is earned on a reserve; income earned off reserve is generally taxable and reported normally. For sales tax, a status card lets a qualifying purchaser buy goods on a reserve, or delivered there, without GST/HST, and Ontario also gives point-of-sale relief on the provincial portion off reserve. Confirm the current conditions with the CRA and Ontario.

Severance is employment income in the year you receive it, so it is added to your other income and taxed at your marginal rates. The employer withholds at lump-sum rates, which are often lower than the rate you end up at, so a balance can be owing when you file. Part of a retiring allowance can sometimes be transferred straight to an RRSP within your available room, deferring the tax. Sort this out before the payment is issued.

Rateable value is a British term for the figure used to charge business rates. Canada does not use it. The comparable number here is the assessed value of a property, set by the provincial assessment authority and multiplied by the municipal tax rate to give your property tax bill. If you think the assessment is wrong, the assessment authority has a request-for-reconsideration or appeal process with its own deadline.

Three sources are normally used: the split shown on your municipal assessment notice, an appraisal, or a reasonable allocation in the purchase agreement. The split matters because land is not depreciable, only the building portion can be claimed for capital cost allowance, and both parts are tracked separately when you sell. Keep the working papers supporting your allocation; the CRA can challenge a split that looks arbitrary.

You remain responsible for what your return says, even when someone else prepared it, so the CRA assesses the tax, interest and penalties against you. A preparer who makes or participates in a false statement can face third-party penalties of their own, and may be liable to you for negligence, which is why engagement terms and professional insurance matter. Keep your source documents for six years from the end of the tax year they relate to.

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.

It means the price shown excludes sales tax, which is added at the till, so what you pay depends on the province. Ontario adds 13% HST; New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island add 15%; Nova Scotia adds 14%; Alberta and the territories add 5% GST only. British Columbia adds 5% GST plus 7% PST, Saskatchewan 6% PST, Manitoba 7% RST, and Quebec 9.975% QST on the pre-GST price.

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.

You cannot write off the income itself, but you deduct the costs of earning it. Common current expenses are mortgage interest (not principal), property tax, insurance, utilities you pay, condo fees, advertising, property management, and repairs that maintain the property. Improvements that better the property are capital and depreciated instead. Only the rented portion counts where you also live there. Keep invoices for six years from the end of the tax year they relate to.