Personal tax accountant in Regina

The Saskatchewan half of the return

Saskatchewan does not run its own personal income tax return. Provincial tax is calculated on form SK428, filed with the federal T1 and assessed by the CRA, but it uses Saskatchewan’s own brackets and its own set of non-refundable credits. The federal half and the provincial half are two calculations on one filing.

The provincial side is where most of the local items sit. A recent graduate who stayed in Saskatchewan may be claiming under the Graduate Retention Program. A family may have provincial credits that differ from their federal equivalents. These are small lines individually, and they are also the ones a do-it-yourself return most often leaves blank.

Salary plus a side business

Regina has a large public sector workforce. Many households pair a steady government or Crown corporation salary with a consulting practice, a rental unit or a small trade on the side. The T4 income is the easy part. The side business is reported on form T2125, with its own income, expenses, capital cost allowance and, where the business is large enough, GST.

The trap is the filing date. Being self-employed moves the filing deadline to June 15 for you and your spouse, but the balance owing is still due April 30. Interest on a balance paid in June starts in May. Self-employed tax returns sets out what we need from you.

Instalments after a good year

The CRA asks for personal instalments when your net tax owing exceeds $3,000 in the current year and in either of the two previous years. The dates are March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15. An owner whose side business grew, or who realised a large gain, often receives the first reminder with no warning.

Farm households work differently. Where farming is your chief source of income, a single annual instalment is due by December 31 instead of four quarterly ones. We set the instalment approach each spring so the following April does not arrive with a bill and an interest charge.

When you own the company that pays you

Owners of Regina corporations pay themselves in salary, dividends or both, and the choice shows up on the T1 as much as on the T2. Salary creates RRSP room and CPP contributions; dividends carry a dividend tax credit at both the federal and Saskatchewan level and create neither. Money drawn from the company without a salary or declared dividend sits in a shareholder loan, and if it is not repaid within one year after the corporation’s year-end it is generally taxed as your income anyway.

We prepare the personal and corporate returns together, so the mix is decided once with both returns in view. Corporate tax in Regina covers the company side.

Rotations, farms and the rest of a Regina tax year

Some Regina residents work away: oil and gas rotations in the southeast of the province, potash sites, or construction camps. Where an employer requires you to pay your own expenses, a signed T2200 opens the door to employment expense claims. Energy services in Regina covers the employer side of that arrangement.

Others own farmland outside the city, or part of a family farm. Farming income can be reported on the cash method, and qualified farm property can qualify for the lifetime capital gains exemption and for transfers to the next generation. Farm accounting in Regina covers both.

What is covered

One Chartered Professional Accountant handles the whole file:

• T1 preparation with the full Saskatchewan provincial schedule
• Self-employment, rental and farm schedules where they apply
• Salary and dividend mix reviewed against the corporate return
• Corporate return prepared on the same file
• Instalment review and CRA correspondence

Remote, and there is no Regina office

EverStone operates from one office, in Abbotsford, British Columbia, and has no Regina location. Engagements run entirely online — video meetings, e-signature and a secure upload link, and personal income tax is federal legislation with a provincial schedule on top, so preparation is not tied to a local address. Personal returns for Regina clients are prepared entirely remotely: slips arrive through a secure upload link, we download what the CRA already holds with your authorisation, and you sign electronically. Nothing needs to be printed or dropped off. Keep your records for six years, and if an assessment looks wrong, a notice of objection is due within 90 days of the notice of assessment.