A. Individuals have until April 30th to file their taxes if there is no business income earned by husband or wife. Individuals who have business income have until June 15th to file, but tax amounts owing are still due by April 30th. Corporations have 6 months to file, and 3 months to pay if the amount owing is $3000 and there is a perfect compliance record. Estates have 3 months to file and pay in most cases.

A. Refunds are usually issued 2 weeks from e-file date. We e-file after the tax returns are signed. We do not offer cash-back or cash on the spot.

A. For new clients, we like to see the previous year’s tax return filed. For existing clients, this is not necessary. For everyone though, we like to see the Notice of Assessment from prior year, this year’s slips, and any income and expense summaries you may have prepared or received.

A. Generally speaking, businesses that engage in a commercial activity in Canada (with a few exceptions) must register for HST unless annual taxable revenues do not exceed $30,000. A business can, however, voluntarily register if their annual revenues are below $30,000. Once a business has registered, it must remit the tax (see table below) it collects on its taxable sales less the goods and services tax it pays on expenditures. The timing for remitting the tax, completing the GST returns and instalment payments usually depends on gross revenues. All of this certainly has an impact on a business’ cash flows. The HST in Quebec, Revenue Québec administers the GST/HST. If your business is located in Quebec, , visit the Revenue Québec web site.

A. You are able to deduct home office expenses if your home represents your principal place of business or you are using a designated room/area in your home for your business and you meet clients on a regular and ongoing basis. The type of home office expenses that you may claim are rent, mortgage interest, property taxes, insurance, utilities, repairs & maintenance, alarm fees etc.

A. You can generally deduct 50% of the costs of meals and entertainment provided they are incurred for business purposes.

A. If you are in GTA area and owe money to Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), you can pay it a number of ways:

1. You can mail a cheque to them at:
Sudbury Tax Centre
1050 Notre Dame Ave
Sudbury, ON P3A 5C32

A. If you are in GTA area and owe money to Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), you can pay it a number of ways:

1. You can mail a cheque to them at:
   Sudbury Tax Centre
   1050 Notre Dame Ave
   Sudbury, ON P3A 5C32
   
   

   Please make your cheque payable to RECEIVER GENERAL and put your SOCIAL INSURANCE NUMBER on it.

2. You can pay it at your bank either through a teller, bank machine or over the Internet. Once again use your Social Insurance Number as your identification number.

A. Simply call them up at 1-800-959-8281 and ask them about the status of your tax return. They will usually try to prompt you to use their website because they are trying to provide most of their services online. If you do not want to use the website, then remain on hold until you speak to a general inquiries clerk. If you would prefer to use the Canada Revenue Agency website, then go to: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca

A. A corporation is a separate legal entity. There are both advantages and disadvantages to incorporate a business. The principal advantages to incorporating are for potential tax deferral purposes (a Canadian corporation’s rate of tax from active business can be as much as 25%-30% less than that of an individual taxpayer) and limited liability protection (shareholders of a corporation are generally not personally liable for the debts of the corporation). However, the main disadvantages to operating as an incorporated entity as opposed to operating as an unincorporated business or sole proprietorship is that it is more costly (both in terms of setting up the company and annual professional fees in maintaining the company). A review of your situation and objectives is important to determine your best route.

A. In order to successfully claim a deduction of salaries to family members, such remuneration should be reasonable, be commensurate with the type of work or duties done by the family member, and be actually paid out. You should also remit deductions at source on such salaries where applicable.

A. My most important piece of advice is to make sure that all your returns are filed on time. It is my belief that late filing returns is the biggest cause of audit. Other causes include large fluctuations in expenses and above-average expense deduction for the industry you are in.