Expert Tax Accountants in Stratford

The Ontario HST rate is 13% for 2026, and it has been 13% since 1 July 2010. That single rate carries a 5% federal component and an 8% Ontario component, and the CRA collects and administers all of it. Place-of-supply rules decide which province's rate applies, so goods delivered in Ontario take 13% and a delivery into Nova Scotia takes 14%. Basic groceries are zero-rated at 0%, while exempt supplies such as most long-term residential rent carry no HST and no input tax recovery.

Alberta is generally the lowest-tax province: it charges no provincial sales tax and its provincial income tax rates sit at or near the bottom of the range. The highest combined personal rates are found in Quebec and the Atlantic provinces. Any comparison depends on more than headline rates, though. Sales tax, property tax, payroll levies, health premiums and the credits you qualify for all move the real burden, so compare your own total rather than the top bracket.

Yes. Tips and gratuities are taxable income whether they come from customers directly, are pooled, or are paid out through the employer. Tips your employer controls and distributes run through payroll, so tax, CPP and EI are withheld and they show on your T4. Cash tips handed to you directly are not on any slip, but you still report them as other employment income and keep a running record. You can elect to have direct tips count as pensionable CPP earnings.

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.

A deposit labelled Canada Pro in Ontario is normally the Ontario Trillium Benefit, which bundles the Ontario energy and property tax credit, the Northern Ontario energy credit and the Ontario sales tax credit. One labelled Canada FED is a federal payment such as the GST/HST credit or the Canada workers benefit. Both are calculated from your filed T1, so file every year even with no income. Sign in to CRA My Account to see exactly what was paid and why.

Line 23400 is net income before adjustments. Start from total income on line 15000, then subtract the deductions claimed in the next section of the return, which total on line 23300 - items such as RRSP contributions, union dues, child care, moving expenses and employment expenses. The result feeds line 23500 for any social benefits repayment, giving net income on line 23600. Tax software calculates it once your entries are in.

Line 12100 is interest and other investment income. It captures bank and term deposit interest, amounts shown on T5 slips, interest credited on savings bonds, income from certain annuities and the interest portion of some settlements. Report it even when no slip arrives, because institutions are not required to issue a slip for very small amounts. Dividends and capital gains have their own lines. The line number is unchanged from recent years, so software lists it under investment income.

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.

A reasonable allowance paid to cover meals and incidental costs while you travel for work on your employer's business is generally not taxable and is not reported as income. It becomes taxable when it is not tied to travel, is really extra pay, or exceeds what the costs reasonably require. Overtime meal allowances and allowances for travel inside your normal work area follow their own rules, so check the CRA's employer guide on allowances before treating a payment as tax free.

It is a quarterly payment for lower and modest income residents of Canada for tax purposes, and you get it by filing a return; for most people there is no separate application. Eligibility turns on the CRA's age and family conditions, broadly an adult, or younger if you have a spouse, common-law partner or a child living with you. The amount depends on family net income and the number of children, so both spouses must file.

Online sellers charge the sales tax of the province where the goods or service are delivered, not where the business sits. For 2026 that means GST 5% alone in Alberta and the territories, HST 13% in Ontario, 15% in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island, and 14% in Nova Scotia, down from 15% on 1 April 2025. British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec add PST, RST or QST on top of the GST. Large foreign platforms and digital subscription providers must register and charge tax too.

A balance in the thousands almost always means a whole slice of income had little or no tax taken off it. Self-employment is the usual reason, since nobody withholds for you and CPP contributions on that income are yours to pay as both employee and employer. Large RRSP withdrawals, severance, stock benefits, capital gains and rental profit do the same. Check each slip against the assessed return, then start instalments or set money aside so next year is not a repeat.