Personal tax returns in Canada, prepared by a CPA
Most personal returns are simple. The ones that are not usually have a business, a property or a portfolio inside them.
Quick answer: A personal return is straightforward until something is attached to it. Self-employment brings a business statement and both halves of CPP; a rental brings a decision about depreciation; investments bring a cost base nobody has tracked. Each has its own page below. Returns start at $100.
Tax preparation in Abbotsford is done at the Abbotsford desk and, for everyone else in Canada, online; the Abbotsford personal tax page covers the local particulars.
Three situations that change a return
A basic T1 is quick and cheap. These are the three that are not, each on its own page.
Self-employed
Business income on a T2125, deductions reviewed properly, instalments set, and both halves of CPP explained before they arrive. Counsellors with an agency job and a private practice on the side are a frequent case; see accounting for counsellors in BC.
From $100 Learn more →Rental property
Current against capital decided on each cost, the depreciation trap avoided, and change-in-use flagged before it happens.
From $100 Learn more →Investments & capital gains
Interest, dividends and gains each on their own basis, with the cost base the slips do not carry worked out.
From $100 Learn more →Personal taxes, coordinated with the corporate side
For an incorporated owner the two returns are one decision. How you take money out of the corporation — salary, dividends or a mix — changes both, and preparing either without the other means guessing at half the answer. The personal taxes follow the corporate choice, not the other way round.
Where we do both, that is one engagement and no handover. Corporate tax covers that side, and the salary and dividends calculator lets you see the shape of it first. Deciding the two together is also what keeps a refund on one side from being a bill on the other.
Where we do this
EverStone is a fully virtual, one-CPA firm based in Abbotsford, British Columbia. Personal tax preparation runs virtually for businesses across Canada, the Fraser Valley included. The rules are federal with a provincial layer, so the work is not tied to a postcode — what changes by province is which return goes where.
Pages for the cities we work in most: personal tax accountant in Abbotsford · Chilliwack · Mission · Langley · Surrey · Maple Ridge · Vancouver · Victoria · Calgary · Edmonton · Toronto · Ottawa · Winnipeg.
Not in one of those? The engagement is identical. How a remote CPA engagement works covers authorization, secure document exchange and e-signature.
What we need for your personal tax return
Most of a T1 is assembled from paper other people send you. The fastest returns are the ones where it arrives in one go. Here is the list, in the order it usually matters.
Income slips
- T4 from each employer, and T4A for pension, contract or other income
- T5 for interest and dividends, T3 for trust and mutual fund income, and T5008 for securities sold
- Government slips: T4E for employment insurance, T4A(P) and T4A(OAS) for CPP and Old Age Security
Deductions and credits
- RRSP and FHSA contribution receipts, including those from the first 60 days of the year
- Childcare, medical, charitable donation and tuition (T2202) receipts
- Support payments, moving expenses and union or professional dues, where they apply
Anything with a business or property in it
- Self-employment income and expenses for the T2125, and a vehicle log if a vehicle is claimed
- Rental income and expenses for the T776
- Last year’s notice of assessment, and any instalment reminders the CRA has sent
Once you authorize us as your representative, the slips the CRA already holds can be downloaded directly, which catches the one that never reached your mailbox. We prepare the return, walk you through the result before it is filed, and file electronically.
The dates
The T1 is due April 30, and so is any balance owing. If you or your spouse are self-employed the filing deadline moves to June 15, but the balance is still due April 30 — interest runs from May 1 on anything unpaid. A basic T1 starts from $100; see pricing for what moves it up.
Why personal returns get reassessed
A missing slip. The CRA matches every T4, T4A, T5 and T3 issued in your name against the return. A slip left off — often a small T5 from a savings account — comes back as a reassessment with interest, and a second omission of $500 or more within four years adds a penalty.
An RRSP over-contribution. Contributions above your deduction limit, beyond a $2,000 cushion, are taxed at 1% a month until they are withdrawn. The limit is on your last notice of assessment.
Employment expenses without the form. An employee claiming home-office or vehicle expenses needs a signed T2200 from the employer. Without it the claim is disallowed.
Credits claimed without receipts. Medical, donation and childcare claims are the ones the CRA asks to see. Keep the receipts for six years from the end of the tax year they relate to.
Filing for a couple or a family
Two returns prepared together are usually worth more than two prepared apart. Eligible pension income can be split between spouses on Form T1032; childcare expenses generally have to be claimed by the lower-income spouse; medical expenses for the whole family can be combined on one return; and donations can be pooled so the higher credit rate applies sooner. None of that is visible from one return on its own, which is why we ask for both.
Filed late? The late-filing penalty calculator estimates what the CRA will add to a balance owing.
Common questions about personal returns
What does a personal return cost?+
When is it due?+
Can you file previous years?+
Do you do returns for people who are not business owners?+
Do you prepare the personal return in the same office as the corporate one?+
What do you need from me to prepare the return?+
The forms and the dates
The T1 is due April 30, or June 15 where either spouse has self-employment income — though any balance is still due April 30. Business income goes on T2125, rental income on T776, employment expenses on T777 with a signed T2200 from the employer, and the sale of a principal residence is reported on Schedule 3 with form T2091 even when no tax results.
Who this is for in the Fraser Valley
Personal returns here are mostly the personal half of a corporate file. Think of the Abbotsford or Chilliwack owner who took salary and dividends and needs the T4 and T5 to agree with the T2, the Langley or Surrey couple with a rental and a small business on the side, the Mission family with a home office and a vehicle. Preparing both halves in one office is what keeps the numbers consistent between them.
What it costs. Personal tax from $100 per return; self-employed, rental and investment schedules are quoted with the return. Every published fee →
Personal tax by city
The same T1 service, with each city page covering its province’s credits and rules.
- British Columbia: Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission, Langley, Surrey, Maple Ridge, Aldergrove, Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna
- Alberta: Calgary, Edmonton
- Saskatchewan: Saskatoon, Regina
- Manitoba: Winnipeg
- Ontario: Toronto, Ottawa, Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton, London, St. Catharines, Windsor, Oshawa, Barrie
- Quebec: Montreal, Quebec City
- Nova Scotia: Halifax
Talk to a CPA about this
One Chartered Professional Accountant, start to finish. Fixed fees, quoted in writing before any work begins, and no obligation from a first conversation.
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