Dental accountant in Abbotsford

The GST exempt-supply wrinkle

This is what makes dental accounting genuinely different. Most dental services performed for health reasons are exempt from GST/HST, while cosmetic procedures can be taxable. The consequence is that you generally cannot claim input tax credits on the costs of providing exempt services, and where a purchase supports both exempt and taxable work, the input tax credits must be apportioned. The CRA addresses this directly in its guidance on input tax credits related to dental practices. Getting the split right — and not over-claiming — is central to a clean dental file.

Incorporation and equipment

Established practices often benefit from incorporating — retaining income at lower corporate rates and deferring personal tax — though whether and when depends on your earnings and draw. Dental practices are also equipment-intensive: chairs, imaging and operatory equipment are significant capital assets depreciated through capital cost allowance. We handle both the incorporation question and the equipment schedule.

Staff, payroll and the practice as a business

A dental practice is a real business with staff, so payroll and source deductions, benefits and the associated bookkeeping all have to run cleanly alongside the clinical side. One CPA keeping the payroll, GST, equipment and corporate tax aligned means the business side does not distract from the practice.

Associating, buying in, or running your own practice

A dentist's accounting depends heavily on where they are in their career, and the same person often moves through several stages. An associate is frequently self-employed — invoicing the practice, deducting their own vehicle, professional and development costs, and setting aside their own tax — and the most common mistakes here are under-remitting and missing legitimate deductions. A dentist buying into or purchasing a practice faces a significant transaction with financing, goodwill and equipment to structure, and how the purchase is set up has lasting tax consequences. A practice owner runs a full business: staff and payroll, equipment, the GST exempt-versus-taxable split, and usually a corporation. Each stage has a different optimal setup, and the transitions between them — associate to owner, sole practice to incorporated — are exactly the moments where good advice pays for itself. We tailor the accounting to your stage and keep it aligned as your practice grows.

What EverStone handles for you

One CPA, one fixed fee quoted up front, everything below covered:

• T2 corporate tax return and year-end financial statements
• GST exempt-versus-taxable split and input-tax-credit apportionment
• Incorporation assessment and setup
• Equipment (chairs, imaging, operatory) CCA schedules
• Payroll and source deductions for practice staff
• CRA correspondence handled for you

Fixed fees, fully online

EverStone is an Abbotsford CPA firm, and every engagement runs online — video calls, e-signature and secure document exchange — so you never lose a day to an office visit. You are not billed by the hour or the phone call: your fee is a fixed amount agreed before any work starts, so you can ask a question in June without watching a meter. The same CPA handles your file all year, which means the person who prepares your return is the person who answers when you call. See what it costs or book a free, no-obligation consult and leave with a clear written quote.

About the author

Sunny Dhillon, CPA

Founder of EverStone CPA and a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC). More about Sunny →