Fifty questions owners actually ask

No single income threshold exists, because the benefit comes from income you leave in the corporation rather than income you earn. Someone earning a great deal and drawing all of it out gains little; someone earning less and retaining most of it can gain more. Run the calculator on the amount you would actually retain, not on revenue. Full answer on Should I incorporate? →

Incorporating mainly defers tax. Profit you leave in the company is taxed at roughly 11% in BC instead of your personal rate (up to 53.5%). You pay personal tax later when you withdraw it, so the benefit is holding onto more money now to reinvest or smooth your income. If you spend everything the business earns, the tax benefit is small and incorporation is more about liability protection. Full answer on the incorporation calculator →

Partly. A corporation is a separate legal person, so its debts are generally its own. But it does not protect you against your own negligent acts, and it does not help with any debt you have personally guaranteed — which most lenders and many landlords will ask for. Full answer on Should I incorporate? →

Incorporating has a one-time cost plus ongoing annual work: a T2 corporate return, bookkeeping, and a way to pay yourself (salary or dividends). We quote all of it as a fixed fee so you can weigh it against the tax benefit. Full answer on the incorporation calculator →

Yes. It creates two reporting periods for that year — unincorporated up to the transfer, then the corporation after it — and the transfer of assets into the corporation needs care to avoid triggering tax. It is worth planning rather than doing on the last day of a quarter. Full answer on Should I incorporate? →

Then the usual advantages do not apply: no small business deduction, no general rate reduction, full corporate rates plus an additional 5% tax, and restricted deductions. If most of your income comes from one client whose work you would otherwise do as an employee, run the PSB risk assessment first. Full answer on Should I incorporate? →

A T2 return is due six months after your corporation’s fiscal year-end. However, any balance owing is generally due within three months of year-end for a CCPC claiming the small-business deduction (two months otherwise) — so the payment deadline usually comes before the filing deadline. Full answer on CRA tax deadlines →

Almost always. We prepare year-end compilation financial statements (CSRS 4200) alongside your T2 — the package your bank, lenders and the CRA expect from an incorporated business. Full answer on Tax Services →

The small business deduction lets a Canadian-controlled private corporation (CCPC) pay a reduced combined federal-and-BC corporate tax rate of about 11% on its first $500,000 of active business income, versus roughly 27% above that. Claiming it correctly — and planning around the $500,000 limit and any associated companies — is a core part of every T2 we prepare. Full answer on Tax Services →

We catch you up. We prepare prior-year T2s and statements, file what’s outstanding, and where appropriate use the CRA Voluntary Disclosures Program to reduce penalties. Full answer on Tax Services →

Yes. CRA correspondence and audit support is a core service. We respond on your behalf, produce documentation, and file Notices of Objection when needed. Full answer on Tax Services →

Not as a scheduling tactic. A fiscal year end is set with the first return and changing it afterwards generally requires CRA approval supported by a genuine business reason. Because it is hard to undo, the year end deserves proper thought when the corporation is set up rather than being left to default. Full answer on the year-end hub →

Registration becomes mandatory once your taxable revenue exceeds $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters, or in a single calendar quarter. Below that you are a small supplier and registration is optional. The threshold is measured on worldwide taxable revenue, not on profit, so a business with thin margins can cross it well before it feels large. Full answer on the GST/HST hub →

The rate follows where your customer is (place of supply): 5% GST in Alberta and the territories, 13% HST in Ontario, 15% HST in the Atlantic provinces, and 5% GST plus a separate provincial tax in BC, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. We configure and file it correctly for every province you sell into. Full answer on GST/HST filing →

Annual filing means less paperwork but a much larger single payment, and it can still require quarterly instalments. Quarterly filing keeps the balance small and the number visible. Monthly suits high-volume businesses or those regularly in a refund position. Choose based on how well the business holds cash it does not own. Full answer on the GST/HST hub →

Neither is better in the abstract — it depends on how much GST/HST you pay on your own expenses. Businesses with low taxable input costs, such as service firms, often come out ahead on the quick method; businesses buying a lot of taxable goods and services usually do not. Run both against your actual numbers before choosing. Full answer on the GST/HST hub →

Where an amount is owing, the penalty is 1% of that amount plus 0.25% of it for each complete month the return is late, up to 12 months, with interest charged separately on the unpaid balance. Full answer on GST filing deadlines →

Yes. Once registered, you file for every reporting period whether or not you sold anything, and a nil return takes minutes. Skipping periods with no activity is treated as a missed filing, can hold up refunds, and can affect your reporting frequency. If the business has genuinely stopped, closing the account is the right step rather than simply not filing. Full answer on GST filing deadlines →

The obligation to charge and remit starts from the date registration was required, not the date you noticed. That means tax can be owing on past sales you never charged it on, plus interest. Coming forward voluntarily generally puts you in a better position than waiting to be found, so this is worth addressing quickly. Full answer on the GST/HST hub →

Yes. Paying yourself a salary from your corporation makes you an employee of it for payroll purposes, which means a payroll account, source deductions withheld from each payment and remittances to CRA on schedule. Dividends work differently and do not run through payroll, which is one reason owners often choose them. Full answer on the payroll hub →

Remittance due dates follow your remitter type. Most new and small employers are "regular remitters," meaning source deductions are due by the 15th day of the month following the month you paid wages. Larger payrolls remit more frequently. We confirm your schedule and remit on time. Full answer on Payroll Services →

CRA charges a penalty on late remittances, calculated on the amount and how late it is, and repeated lateness increases the rate. It’s one of the fastest penalties CRA assesses, which is exactly why we manage the schedule for you. Full answer on Payroll Services →

T4 slips have to be filed with CRA and given to employees by the last day of February for the preceding calendar year. Because payroll runs on the calendar year rather than your fiscal year, this deadline is independent of your corporate year end and catches owners whose year end falls elsewhere. Full answer on the payroll hub →

You can, provided the work is real and the pay is reasonable for that work. A salary to a family member who genuinely performs a role is an ordinary business expense; one paid for no work is not deductible and can be reassessed. Keep a record of what the role involves and how the amount was set. Full answer on the payroll hub →

The invoice can look cheaper because there are no employer contributions, but the saving is only real if the person genuinely is a contractor. If the relationship is really employment, the payer can end up responsible for the deductions that should have been withheld, plus interest and penalties, long after the work is finished. Full answer on the payroll hub →

Salary versus dividends depends on your income, whether you want RRSP room and CPP, and your cash needs. For professionals with uneven engagements, the mix and timing of draws can meaningfully smooth your personal tax. We model both and recommend what fits. Full answer on Incorporated Professionals →

Not without consequences. Any cash you withdraw that isn't salary, dividends, or a repayment of money you personally lent the corporation is treated as a shareholder loan under the Income Tax Act. Left unpaid past the deadline, it gets added to your personal income — on top of whatever you eventually pay when you do withdraw funds properly. Full answer on the shareholder loans guide →

Under subsection 15(2) of the Income Tax Act, a loan from your corporation must generally be repaid within one year after the end of the corporation's taxation year in which the loan was made, or the full unpaid balance is added to your personal income for the year the loan was made. The repayment also can't be part of a series of loans and repayments designed to avoid the rule. Full answer on the shareholder loans guide →

Salary and dividends are the two normal, sustainable ways to pay yourself and each has predictable tax treatment. A shareholder loan is meant to be short-term and repaid — not a substitute compensation method. Owner-managers who repeatedly draw and repay loans to avoid salary or dividends risk CRA recharacterizing the withdrawals and assessing the full balance as income, plus interest and penalties. Full answer on the shareholder loans guide →

A one-client corporation might be at risk. Billing one main client is one factor, but CRA looks at the whole picture: whether you control your own work, use your own tools, take on business risk, and have other customers. We assess your specific situation and help structure things to reduce the risk where possible. Full answer on Incorporated Professionals →

A home-office claim is harder but not automatically lost. The test is whether the home space is your principal place of business or is used regularly and exclusively for the business, and heavy on-site time weakens the first branch. Administration, proposals and bookkeeping done at home still count toward the overall picture. Record where the work actually happens rather than assuming the client site decides it. Full answer on Incorporated Professionals →

Messy books are a common starting point. We do a catch-up and clean-up engagement to reconcile prior periods, fix miscategorized transactions and bring everything current — then keep it that way monthly. Full answer on Accounting Services →

We work primarily in QuickBooks Online, and also support Xero and Wave. If you don’t have software yet, we’ll set you up on the right platform and migrate your existing records. Full answer on Accounting Services →

Yes. We prepare compilation financial statements under CSRS 4200, quoted together with your T2, ready for your bank, lenders and the CRA — and we tie them directly to your corporate (T2) tax return. Full answer on Accounting Services →

A compilation engagement is one where we compile the financial information you provide into financial statements and attach a compilation engagement report. It doesn’t provide assurance — we don’t audit or review the information — which makes it the cost-effective choice when your reader doesn’t require assurance. Full answer on Compilation Engagements →

Many lenders accept one for smaller credit facilities, but it is the lender’s call and larger or riskier lending often calls for a review or audit instead. Ask your bank what level of engagement it requires before the work is done, because upgrading afterwards means a different engagement rather than an add-on to the compilation. Full answer on Compilation Engagements →

Which engagement you need depends on what your reader requires. Many small corporations only need a compilation. If a lender or shareholder specifically requires assurance, a review or audit may be necessary. We’ll tell you honestly which engagement fits your situation rather than upselling. Full answer on Compilation Engagements →

No year is so old that it cannot be filed. Older years sometimes affect what relief is available, which is one of the things the first conversation establishes. Full answer on Catch-up filing →

Usually yes. Books are commonly reconstructed from bank and credit card statements, and that is normal work rather than an exception. Bring what you have. Full answer on Catch-up filing →

Filing brings you into compliance, which is where you want to be. Remaining unfiled is the position that attracts attention, not the act of catching up. Full answer on Catch-up filing →

Filing and paying are separate. File first — that stops late-filing penalties growing — and then deal with the balance, for which arrangements exist. Not filing because you cannot pay is the expensive version of this situation. Full answer on Catch-up filing →

Respond by the date on the letter with the documents it asks for. A review is not an audit — CRA routinely verifies claims like medical expenses, donations or child care after assessing a return, and supplying the receipts usually ends it. Ignoring the letter is what turns a routine review into a reassessment that removes the claim entirely. Full answer on Personal Taxes →

The CRA charges interest on late payments from the day after they were due, plus a late-filing penalty on returns filed after the deadline (which increases for repeat late filing). Filing on time even when you can’t pay in full avoids the filing penalty. We keep every deadline tracked so you never get caught. Full answer on CRA tax deadlines →

Hourly billing punishes you for asking questions. Fixed fees mean you know the full cost before we start, you can email or call any time without watching a meter, and surprises are off the table. Every engagement is quoted up front after a free consultation. Full answer on Pricing →

No. If the scope changes mid-year we discuss and agree on any adjustment before doing the work. The quote you accept is the price you pay. Full answer on Pricing →

Yes. Corporate tax (T2), personal tax (T1), GST/HST and CRA filings are federal, so a Canadian CPA can prepare and file them for a business in any province. Provincial items — Ontario HST, BC PST, Manitoba RST, provincial corporate rates and payroll taxes — are simply part of the work, and we handle them for the province you operate in. Full answer on Virtual CPA →

We prepare your books and returns, and you approve and sign electronically. We meet by video or phone whenever you want to talk something through — no printing, mailing or in-person visits required. Full answer on Virtual CPA →

Easy — we handle the handover. With your permission we request your prior-year files and CRA access, and we take it from there. Most owners are fully switched within a couple of weeks and never have to have an awkward conversation with their old firm. Full answer on Virtual CPA →

Not at all. We talk through your situation, you get a clear fixed quote, and you decide. Most owners leave the call knowing exactly what their year will cost. Full answer on Pricing →

You’ll work directly with the same Chartered Professional Accountant, start to finish. We keep things personal — you won’t be handed off to rotating junior staff. Full answer on About →