At: The GST/HST threshold
When GST/HST registration was due
You passed $30,000 in taxable sales and are not sure when you had to register for GST/HST.
What we do
GST/HST registration and returns.
Tax Returns & Planning
We prepare and file personal, corporate and GST/HST returns, and we look at your position before the year ends, not only after. For owner-managers that means deciding salary and dividends, instalments and timing while those choices can still be made.
Where tax returns and planning come into play across the tax year
The points where this service comes into play are numbered.
- Stage 1Starting outA self-employed person filing a T1 with business income for the first time.
- Stage 2The GST/HST thresholdA business that has just crossed the GST/HST registration threshold.1
- Stage 3Owner payAn owner-manager of a small corporation who pays themselves by salary, dividends or both.
- Stage 4Before year-endSalary and dividend mix, instalments, and the timing of large purchases.2
- Stage 5FilingT1 and T2 returns, with the GIFI schedules drawn from your books.3
- Stage 6Catching upAnyone with returns from past years still unfiled.4
Numbered points are explained below.
The four points, explained
At: Before year-end
Next year, talked about this year
Your corporate return is always filed at the last minute and nobody talks to you about next year.
What we do
A planning conversation before year-end: salary and dividend mix, instalments, and the timing of large purchases.
At: Filing
A home sale on the return
You sold your home and don’t know whether you had to report it.
What we do
T1 personal returns, including self-employment, rental and investment income.
At: Catching up
Years of unfiled returns
You have years of unfiled returns and don’t know where to start.
What we do
Catch-up filing for past years.
What the engagement includes
Request a proposal- Personal returns
T1 returns, including self-employment, rental and investment income.
- Corporate returns
T2 returns, with the GIFI schedules drawn from your books.
- GST/HST
Registration and returns once your sales require them.
- Year-end planning
Salary and dividend mix, instalments and the timing of large purchases, talked through before year-end.
- Slips
T4 and T5 slips where they follow from the planning decisions.
- Catching up
Returns for past years still unfiled.
- Something not listed?
Ask us. If it is Canadian tax, bookkeeping or advisory work, we will tell you plainly whether we can help.
How it runs
Engagement
We agree which returns we prepare, for which years, and the date we need your records by.
Planning conversation
Before your year-end we go through income so far, what is expected, and the choices still open to you.
Records and preparation
You send your slips, statements and books. We prepare the returns and come back to you with any questions.
Your approval
We walk you through each return and the amount owing or refundable. Nothing is filed until you approve it.
Filing and follow-up
We file electronically and send you copies. When your notice of assessment arrives, send it to us and we explain what it says.
When is my personal return due?
For most people, April 30. If you or your spouse or common-law partner are self-employed, the return is due June 15, but any balance owing is still due April 30.
When is my corporation’s T2 due?
Within six months of the end of its tax year. The balance of tax owing is generally due two months after year-end, or three months for some Canadian-controlled private corporations that meet the conditions.
Do I have to register for GST/HST?
You stop being a small supplier once your taxable sales pass $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over the last four consecutive quarters. After that you must register, and the CRA gives 29 days from the sale that took you over the limit.
I sold my home. Do I have to report it?
Yes. Even when the principal residence exemption covers the whole gain, the sale and the designation must be reported on Schedule 3 and Form T2091(IND). A late designation may be accepted, but a penalty can apply.