Personal tax accountant in New Westminster

April 30, and June 15 for the self-employed

Most T1 returns are due April 30. If you or your spouse or common-law partner carry on a business, the filing date moves to June 15. The payment date does not move. Interest on an unpaid balance starts after April 30 whichever filing date applies, which catches out many first-year sole proprietors.

If your net tax owing is more than $3,000 in the current year and in either of the two previous years, the CRA expects quarterly instalments on March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15. The instalment calculator shows what each should be.

A suite in your house, or a condo you rent out

New Westminster has a large stock of older houses in neighbourhoods like Queen’s Park and the Brow of the Hill, and many towers Downtown and along the Quay. Both produce rental income that belongs on form T776. Rent, less mortgage interest, property tax, insurance, strata fees and repairs, is reported each year.

Two decisions deserve care. Repairs are deducted, but improvements are capital and are claimed through CCA, which is usually left unclaimed on a home you live in. And renting out part of your home, or all of a condo you used to live in, can affect the principal residence exemption when you sell. The rental income return page covers the detail.

A side business next to a T4

Plenty of New Westminster residents hold a salaried job and run something on the side: design work, tutoring, a small online shop, weekend renovations. That business is reported on form T2125 on the same T1 as the T4 income. Expenses are deductible against it, including a share of home costs where the space is used regularly for the business.

Once taxable sales pass $30,000 in four consecutive calendar quarters, GST registration becomes mandatory. A side business can cross that line quietly. A self-employed T1 with schedules is commonly $250–$450. See the self-employed return.

Owners paid by their own corporation

If you own a company, your T1 picks up whatever the company paid you: salary on a T4, dividends on a T5, or both. The personal return and the corporate return should be planned together, because the mix decides CPP contributions, RRSP room and the tax rate on each dollar. We prepare both where we hold the company file; see corporate tax in New Westminster.

Two personal details follow from owning a company. Dividends are grossed up on the T1 and then offset by the dividend tax credit, so the income shown is higher than the cash received. And a balance you owe the company at its year-end can turn into personal income a year later if it is not repaid. Both are easier to manage when one CPA sees the two returns side by side.

Owners paid only in dividends also make no CPP contributions, which lowers the eventual pension. That can be a deliberate choice, but it should be a choice rather than an accident.

RRSP contributions, and when they count

An RRSP contribution made early in the new year can be deducted on the previous year’s return, or carried forward to a later year. Carrying it forward makes sense when your income is about to rise, because the deduction is worth more at a higher rate. Your room depends on earned income, so an owner paid only in dividends builds none. See RRSPs for business owners.

Your notice of assessment shows the room available for the coming year. We check it against what you plan to contribute, so an over-contribution does not slip through. The current limits are on the RRSP limit update.

Notices, reviews and the 90-day clock

When the CRA reassesses or asks for receipts, the response window is short. A notice of objection has to be filed within 90 days of the notice of assessment. Records should be kept for six years. If a letter arrives about a return we prepared, it is handled as part of the work. If it concerns an older year, see CRA review support.

What to send, and how the return gets done

The CRA already holds most of your slips. With your authorization, we download the T4, T4A, T5 and RRSP slips it has on file, which removes the most common cause of reassessments: a slip that was missed. You then send whatever the CRA does not have through a secure upload link.

That usually means a short list. Rent received and the costs of the suite or condo. Business income and expenses if you are self-employed. Childcare receipts, medical expenses and donation receipts. The rent you paid, if you rent your home, since a BC credit depends on it. Moving expenses if you moved for work.

We prepare the return, send you a summary with the refund or balance, and answer questions by email. You approve it by e-signature and it is filed electronically. Your notice of assessment then lands in your CRA account, usually within a few weeks. If anything on it differs from what was filed, we look at it with you. The document checklist lists what to gather before you start.

Remote, and there is no New Westminster office

EverStone prepares New Westminster personal returns virtually, from a base in Abbotsford. There is no New Westminster office, and nobody on the ground there. Slips and receipts come in through a secure upload link, questions are answered by email, and the return is approved by e-signature before it is filed electronically.