Expert Tax Accountants in Melfort

HST combines the 5% federal GST with a provincial component in five participating provinces. For 2026 the combined rates are 13% in Ontario, 15% in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island, and 14% in Nova Scotia since 1 April 2025. Elsewhere you charge the 5% GST alone, or GST plus a separate provincial tax. The rate follows the province of supply, not where your business sits.

As the rules stand for the 2025 tax year filed in 2026, the late-filing penalty is 5% of the balance owing plus 1% of that balance for each full month the return is late, to a maximum of 12 months, so 17% at worst. It rises to 10% plus 2% per month for up to 20 months, a 50% maximum, but only where the CRA formally demanded the return and had already charged a late-filing penalty for any of the three preceding tax years. Interest compounds daily.

EI benefits are taxable income. Service Canada withholds income tax before each payment reaches you, and the total benefits plus the tax withheld appear on your T4E for the year. That withholding follows a basic calculation rather than your full marginal rate, so people who also worked during the year often end up with a balance owing at filing. Asking Service Canada to withhold more, or setting money aside yourself, avoids a surprise. Higher-income claimants can also have to repay part of their regular benefits through the return.

Municipal property tax is billed by your city, town or rural municipality rather than the CRA, and unpaid amounts build arrears with interest set by local bylaw. Once arrears have stood for the period allowed under provincial tax enforcement law, the municipality can register a lien against the title and eventually take title or sell the property. Notice steps and timelines vary, so ask your municipality for the schedule on your own account.

It helps cash flow but is not forgiveness. Provincial and municipal deferral programs, generally aimed at seniors, people with disabilities or families with young children, register a charge on the property and add interest until the home is sold or transferred, reducing the equity your estate keeps. It can make sense on a fixed income with substantial equity. Compare the program's interest rate with your other borrowing costs and tell your family and executor.

Canada has no married-filing-separately election; every person files their own return, and who claims property tax comes down to use, not marital status. Property tax on your own home is not deductible at all. It becomes deductible only against income the property earns: a share against rental income, or the business-use portion of a home office claim. Claim it on the return of the spouse who reports that income.

Total your income, subtract deductions such as RRSP contributions and child care, apply your credits, then compare the resulting tax with the tax already withheld on your slips and any instalments paid. Tax software runs that comparison as you enter slips and shows a running balance before you submit. After filing, the notice of assessment confirms the figure, and CRA My Account shows the refund or amount owing and where it stands.

Sometimes. A medical expense claim for massage therapy only works if the therapist is authorised to practise under the law of the province where the service was given, and massage therapy is regulated in some provinces and not others. Where it does not qualify, the receipt cannot be claimed even with a doctor's referral. Check the CRA's list of authorised medical practitioners by province before claiming, and keep receipts showing the practitioner and date.

Do not count on it. The printed income tax package has been stocked at some Canada Post outlets and Service Canada offices during filing season, but availability changes year to year and by location, and the popular provincial packages run out early. The dependable routes are downloading and printing the package from canada.ca, or phoning the CRA to have one mailed to you. Filing through certified software removes the need for paper forms altogether.

The rate is the same. The payment is added to your income for the year and taxed at your marginal rates like any other pay. What differs is the withholding. Pay in lieu of notice runs through normal payroll deductions, while a retiring allowance has tax withheld at flat lump-sum rates that can be higher or lower than what you ultimately owe. The difference is settled when you file your T1, so a large payout often produces a refund or a balance.

Periodic spousal support paid under a written separation agreement or a court order is taxable to the person who receives it and deductible to the person who pays it. Child support under most current orders is neither taxable nor deductible, and lump-sum settlements generally attract no deduction. Both former spouses should report matching figures and keep the order on file, because mismatched claims are a common review trigger.

Yes. Interest paid on a loan under a federal or provincial student loans programme gives a non-refundable credit, and any part you cannot use in the year you paid it can be carried forward and claimed in a later year, within the carry-forward window the CRA sets out. Only the student who took the loan can claim it; it cannot be transferred to a parent or spouse. Interest on a bank line of credit does not qualify.