--- title: "Ask an Accountant: Real Questions, Answered | EverStone" url: https://www.everstonecpa.com/ask description: "The questions Canadian owner-managers actually ask — CRA letters, deadlines, paying yourself, GST/HST — each linked to a CPA’s plain-English answer." type: service-or-info updated: 2026-10-02 faq_count: 4 publisher: EverStone CPA Inc., a Chartered Professional Accountant firm registered with CPA British Columbia and CPA Alberta service_area: British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba language: en-CA contact: info@everstonecpa.com · https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online --- [Home](https://www.everstonecpa.com/) [Resources](https://www.everstonecpa.com/resources) Ask Straight answers # Ask an accountant: *the questions we actually get* **Quick answer:** Every question below links to the page where a CPA answers it in plain English — 72 of the most-asked, grouped by topic, out of the 2409+ answered across this site. If yours is not here, the [search](https://www.everstonecpa.com/search) covers everything, and [an enquiry](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online) covers what a page cannot. And if it’s truly one-of-a-kind, [ask a CPA directly](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) — free, usually answered the same business day. ## Ask about CRA letters & reviews - [Do you help with CRA reviews and audit letters?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-abbotsford) - [Will filing late returns trigger an audit?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/behind-on-bookkeeping) - [What does the CRA ask for if it reviews my business?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/bank-reconciliation-why-it-matters) - [What triggers a CRA audit for a small business?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/cra-audit-triggers-small-business) - [Does claiming a home office trigger an audit?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/cra-audit-triggers-small-business) - [Can I be audited if I did nothing wrong?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/cra-audit-triggers-small-business) - [How do I reduce my audit risk?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/cra-audit-triggers-small-business) - [How does CRA spot a mismatch between my GST filings and my tax return?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/cra-audit-triggers-small-business) - [Does reporting a business loss mean I will be audited?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/cra-audit-triggers-small-business) - [Do cash-heavy businesses get more scrutiny?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/cra-audit-triggers-small-business) - [Does filing an objection stop collection action?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/cra-collections-what-happens-next) - [How long do I have to file a notice of objection?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/cra-notice-of-objection-how-to-file) ## Deadlines - [What does a farm or trades year-end cost?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-chilliwack) - [What does a corporate year-end cost for a Langley business?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-langley) - [What does a year-end cost for a one-person corporation in Maple Ridge?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-maple-ridge) - [What does a year-end cost for a Mission corporation?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-mission) - [What does a corporate year-end cost for a Surrey contractor?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-surrey) - [Do I have to file T5018 slips?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-surrey) - [Do you prepare year-end financial statements?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accounting-services) - [My year-end is weeks away and the firm just merged. What comes first?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/accounting-firm-merged-what-now) - [Is there a deadline for the GST/HST bad debt adjustment?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/accounts-receivable-collection-small-business) - [When must a declared bonus actually be paid?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/bonus-vs-dividend-year-end-canada) - [Does a bonus create RRSP room?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/bonus-vs-dividend-year-end-canada) - [Is bonusing down to the small-business limit still worth it?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/bonus-vs-dividend-year-end-canada) ## Paying yourself - [How should I pay myself from my Maple Ridge professional corporation?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-for-incorporated-professionals-maple-ridge) - [Should I pay myself salary or dividends?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-for-incorporated-professionals) - [How does Ontario’s personal surtax affect my salary-vs-dividend mix?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-ontario) - [Can I declare a bonus to reduce this year’s corporate tax?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/agency-consulting-accounting) - [What is the 180-day rule for accrued bonuses?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/accrued-bonus-180-day-rule-canada) - [Does the 180-day clock run from year end or from the declaration date?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/accrued-bonus-180-day-rule-canada) - [Is a payment on day 180 late?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/accrued-bonus-180-day-rule-canada) - [What happens if the bonus is paid after 180 days?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/accrued-bonus-180-day-rule-canada) - [Does the rule apply to amounts owed to a shareholder-employee?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/accrued-bonus-180-day-rule-canada) - [Are vacation pay and retiring allowances treated the same way?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/accrued-bonus-180-day-rule-canada) - [Do dividends paid to an owner count toward BC payroll for EHT?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/bc-employer-health-tax-guide) - [What is a capital dividend account?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/capital-dividend-account-explained) ## GST/HST - [Does BC’s PST apply to the software and subscriptions my business uses?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-british-columbia) - [How does PST work on a construction contract where I supply both materials and labour?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-british-columbia) - [Do I need a BC PST number if I sell online to customers in BC?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-british-columbia) - [Alberta has no PST — does that mean sales tax is a non-issue for my business?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-calgary) - [Does Alberta’s lack of PST change anything for a construction business specifically?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-edmonton) - [Do I still register for GST/HST if Amazon already collects it?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-for-ecommerce) - [Do I need a separate GST registration for my professional corporation?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-for-incorporated-professionals-maple-ridge) - [Do I charge GST/HST on rent?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-for-real-estate-investors) ## Payroll & people - [I have one client and I am incorporated in Maple Ridge. Am I a personal services business?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-for-incorporated-professionals-maple-ridge) - [What payroll filings does a Manitoba employer have beyond CRA remittances?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-manitoba) - [I am a consultant with one main client. Should I be worried?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-maple-ridge) - [I work for mostly one client through my corporation — is that a problem?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-maple-ridge) - [Do you handle T5018 subcontractor reporting for my construction business?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-surrey) - [I use subcontractors — could CRA reclassify them as employees?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-surrey) - [Could CRA treat my incorporated consulting income as if I were an employee?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-toronto) - [Are our freelancers contractors or employees?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/agency-accountant-toronto) - [Is EHT the same as CPP and EI?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/bc-employer-health-tax-guide) ## Starting & structuring - [When should an Aldergrove sole proprietor think about incorporating?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-aldergrove) - [When does BC’s Employer Health Tax start applying to a growing business?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-british-columbia) - [What provincial filings does a BC corporation have on top of its T2?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-british-columbia) - [When should an online seller incorporate?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-for-ecommerce) - [What actually happens if CRA decides my corporation is a PSB?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-for-incorporated-professionals-maple-ridge) - [Can I claim a home office if I spend most days at my client’s Vancouver site?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-for-incorporated-professionals-maple-ridge) - [Do you work with incorporated professionals across Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-for-incorporated-professionals-maple-ridge) - [What can I leave in my corporation, and what happens if I do?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-for-incorporated-professionals-maple-ridge) - [What is a personal services business and why does it matter?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-for-incorporated-professionals) - [I mostly bill one client — is my corporation a PSB?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-for-incorporated-professionals) - [Do you work with professionals outside BC?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-for-incorporated-professionals) ## Your question, your numbers Pages answer in general. An **Advice Call** answers about *your* corporation — 45 minutes with a CPA, $225 plus applicable tax, booked by email, paid by secure link. [Book a Paid Advice Call](https://www.everstonecpa.com/advice-call)[Looking for an accountant? Send an enquiry](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online) ★★★★★ “…have been completing my bookkeeping, taxes and financials for the last 2 years and they have been amazing. Thank you!” R. H. · Google review ## Common questions about asking a CPA **Does it cost anything to ask?** No. A question sent from this page is answered free. You get an answer to the question as asked, not a records review; where a real answer needs your file, we say so and quote the cost. Ask us → **How quickly will I hear back?** One business day. Questions that arrive in the evening are usually answered the next morning. If a question needs research before it can be answered properly, you get told that on the first reply rather than left waiting. **Can you answer for my specific situation?** Up to a point. General questions about how a rule works are answered directly. A question that turns on your numbers — whether to incorporate this year, what a particular sale will cost in tax — needs the figures, and that is either a paid Advice Call or a proper engagement. **Who actually replies?** A Chartered Professional Accountant. There is no intake queue: the CPA who answers the question is part of the firm that would do the work. --- Source: https://www.everstonecpa.com/ask Prices: https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing · Contact: info@everstonecpa.com · https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online