A fixed-fee CPA for London, Ontario businesses
EverStone CPA is a Chartered Professional Accountant firm serving London, Ontario and the rest of Middlesex County remotely. Corporate tax, bookkeeping, payroll and personal returns run by video, phone and a secure upload link, at a fee fixed in writing before any work starts.
Who we help here: parts makers and food processors, farms and agri-food businesses, contractors, carriers running the 401 and 402, and restaurants — owners in London itself and out to St. Thomas, Strathroy and Woodstock.
Quick answer: A London, Ontario business deals with one 13% HST, the Ontario Employer Health Tax once payroll passes its exemption, WSIB coverage and an annual return through the Ontario Business Registry. EverStone handles all of it remotely from Abbotsford, BC, with one CPA on the file and a fee agreed in writing before work begins. Published fees start at $100 for a personal return and $300 a month for bookkeeping.
A city that makes, grows and moves things
London sits where the 401 and the 402 meet, roughly halfway between Toronto and the Detroit and Port Huron crossings, with some of the most productive farmland in the province on every side of it. That location shapes the businesses that come to an accountant from here. They tend to own things: machines on a shop floor, a line of tractors and trailers, a combine, a commercial kitchen, a fleet of pickups and a trailer of tools.
Owning things changes the accounting. Inventory has to be counted and valued, equipment runs through capital cost allowance and eventually comes back as recapture or a terminal loss, and payroll is usually the largest cost after materials. A consulting firm can go a year without thinking about any of that. A London shop, farm or carrier cannot.
What Ontario adds to a London file
Ontario harmonised its sales tax with the GST, so one 13% HST covers both and the provincial part is recoverable through input tax credits. That makes the sales tax side simpler than in a province with a separate PST. The provincial obligations sit elsewhere:
- Employer Health Tax on Ontario payroll above the exemption, with the rate picked from a graduated table before the exemption comes off.
- WSIB, registered and reported separately from anything the CRA sees, and compulsory for most construction work.
- The Ontario annual return, filed through the Ontario Business Registry within six months of year-end, apart from the T2.
- The Construction Act, whose 10% holdback decides when a contractor’s revenue turns into cash.
Current rates and thresholds are kept on the Ontario tax facts page, each one with its source.
Accounting and tax services for London businesses
Each service has its own page, written for how owners in London, Ontario use it.
Corporate tax (T2)
The federal return that carries Ontario corporate tax, prepared with year-end statements, owner pay planning and the registry return on the same calendar.
Personal tax (T1)
Returns for owners, families and the self-employed, from $100 for a simple T1, prepared alongside the company file so dividends and salary are decided once.
Bookkeeping
Monthly books from $300 a month with the HST return included, reconciled so inventory, equipment and payroll are right before year-end arrives.
Payroll
Source deductions, remittances, T4s, Employer Health Tax and WSIB reporting for shop crews, seasonal farm help and kitchen staff.
Advice Call
A 45-minute call with a CPA on one decision — a truck purchase, an incorporation, a hire — for a flat $200 + GST.
Fractional CFO
Forecasting, margin reporting and lender packages for a growing London company, from $2,500 a month, without a full-time hire.
Industries around London, and the paperwork each one carries
Every industry page below goes into the filings, records and questions particular to that kind of business in and around London, Ontario.
Manufacturers. Automotive parts, metal fabrication and food processing carry inventory, work in progress and heavy equipment, and some of the process work on the floor may qualify for SR&ED. See accounting for London manufacturers.
Farms and agri-food. Middlesex, Elgin and Oxford farms can use the cash method, sell mostly zero-rated products and face the largest tax event of their lives when land passes to the next generation. See farm accounting around London.
Contractors. Residential builders and trades deal with the 10% holdback, progress billing, T5018 slips and WSIB clearances. See contractor accounting in London.
Trucking. Carriers and owner-operators on the 401 and 402 corridor track fuel tax by jurisdiction, CCA on tractors and trailers, and long-haul meal claims. See trucking accounting in London.
Restaurants. Kitchens and bars live on food cost, tip handling and daily cash reconciliation. See restaurant accounting in London.
How a London business’s year runs
The calendar follows your fiscal year-end, not January. Books stay current each month. Before the year closes, we raise the decisions that still can be acted on: whether to buy the next machine before or after year-end, a bonus or a dividend, how much to leave in the company. The T2 is due six months after year-end, but the balance is due two or three months after it, which is the date owners most often miss. The Ontario annual return falls in the same six-month window.
HST runs on its own cycle, annual for most smaller businesses and quarterly or monthly as revenue grows. T4 and T5 slips are due by the last day of February. Contractors add T5018 slips. Our deadline reminders put each date in front of you in advance.
Fixed fees, fully online
No hourly meter runs on a question. The fee is agreed in writing after a free consultation, so a call in July about a lease or a new hire costs nothing extra. Published pricing shows where each service starts. A self-employed return with schedules is commonly $250–$450; a trades corporation with bookkeeping, payroll and the year-end T2 usually runs $450–$650 a month.
Prepared and reviewed by a Chartered Professional Accountant at EverStone CPA, an Abbotsford CPA firm working with small businesses and incorporated contractors across the Fraser Valley and Canada. Updated September 2026. About the firm · Book a free consult
Which return applies to you
| If you are | You file |
|---|---|
| A sole proprietor | A T1 personal return with form T2125 for the business |
| An incorporated business | A T2 corporate return, plus the Ontario annual return through the registry |
| An employer | Payroll remittances, T4 slips, WSIB and, above the exemption, Employer Health Tax |
| A farm | Farm income on the cash method where you elect it, reported on the T1 or T2 |
| Sales tax where you operate | 13% HST, a single registration and a single return |
Source: When incorporating starts to pay. General information, not advice.
Questions from London business owners
How much does an accountant cost in London, Ontario?+
Can a CPA in BC file an Ontario corporation’s return?+
Do you have a London office?+
What about the time difference?+
Do you work outside the city itself?+
When is the Ontario annual return due?+
Do you work with businesses outside London itself?+
Related services and local guides
Nearby cities, the rest of what we do for London businesses, and the reference pages behind this one.
Running a business in London, Ontario?
One CPA for the corporate return, the books, payroll and HST. Fixed fee, fully online. Book a free consult.
Remote accounting from Abbotsford
The firm operates from 32615 South Fraser Way in Abbotsford and serves London, Ontario remotely. There is no London office and no staff based there. Everything runs by video call, phone and a secure upload link, so nothing about the engagement depends on being nearby. The person who answers your question in October is the one who prepared the return in the spring.
Talk to a CPA about this
One Chartered Professional Accountant, start to finish. Fixed fees, quoted in writing before any work begins, and no obligation from a first conversation.