Realtor accountant in Oakville

For a one-owner Oakville realtor’s PREC, monthly bookkeeping, payroll and the year-end T2 with statements usually cost from $450 to $650 a month all-in. The year-end covers the T2 with Schedule 1 and Schedule 50, the CCA schedule, the small business deduction, T4 or T5 slips for the owner’s pay, and the instalments for the year ahead.

The hub for realtors, PRECs and brokers explains commission income in general. If you also hold rental property, see accounting for real estate investors.

Selling in Oakville and across Halton

Oakville agents rarely work inside the town limits alone. A typical year can include listings in lakeside Bronte, in Glen Abbey and elsewhere in town, buyers moving from Mississauga or Toronto, and deals in Burlington and Milton, the other Halton municipalities. That pattern matters for the accounting in two ways. The driving is substantial, so the vehicle claim is often the largest deduction on the return, and it has to be supported by a log. And commission arrives on closing dates that cluster in the busy seasons, so tax and HST have to be set aside as each cheque lands rather than found in April.

What changed for Ontario realtors in 2020

Before 2020, an Ontario salesperson or broker had to take commission personally. Every dollar was taxed at personal rates in the year it was earned, whether you spent it or not. Since then, a registrant can have the brokerage pay commission to a personal real estate corporation instead. The corporation pays tax at corporate rates, and you decide how and when money moves to you.

The rules are narrow. The corporation exists to carry on your real estate trading, the ownership and control conditions are set by the province, and the brokerage relationship stays in place. In practice a PREC is a vehicle for one agent’s commission, not a general holding company. Get the structure confirmed before the first commission is redirected, because a cheque paid to the wrong entity is awkward to undo.

Does a PREC make sense for you?

The benefit comes from leaving profit in the corporation. If you draw everything you earn to cover a mortgage and living costs, the deferral is small and the extra T2, bookkeeping and year-end statements cost more than they save. If you earn well above what you spend, the gap stays in the company at the lower small-business rate until you need it. The answer turns on how much you draw, not what you gross.

Run your real numbers through the incorporation calculator and the salary-versus-dividends calculator before you decide. Then decide the draw pattern at the start of each year. Money taken from the PREC without being declared as salary or dividends becomes a shareholder loan. If it is not repaid within one year after the corporation’s year-end, it is generally taxed as your income. The shareholder loans guide covers the trap.

Paying yourself from a PREC

Once commission flows to the corporation, you are paid by salary, dividends or a mix. Salary goes through payroll with a T4 slip, carries CPP and creates RRSP room; dividends go on a T5 slip and do neither. Many agents applying for a mortgage find a steady T4 easier to document. Others prefer dividends and simpler admin. Ontario’s personal surtax changes where the crossover sits, so the mix is worth reviewing each year with the personal return rather than set once and forgotten.

HST on commissions

Real estate commission is a taxable supply, so a registered agent charges 13% HST on it. Registration is mandatory once taxable sales pass $30,000 in four consecutive calendar quarters, and most full-time agents cross that early. If you incorporate, the PREC needs its own HST registration, separate from the one you held personally. Commission paid to the old number after the switch is a common first-year error.

Registration also lets you recover HST on staging, photography, advertising and vehicle costs through input tax credits. Most agents with annual revenue of $1.5 million or less file once a year, which makes it easy to spend the HST held in the account. Moving each commission’s HST to a separate account the day it lands prevents a large April bill. See GST/HST filing in Oakville.

Car and home-office claims

Most Oakville agents drive between listings, showings and the brokerage, often well beyond the town. The vehicle claim is based on the business share of kilometres, and a log is what proves that share. A log kept for the whole year, or for a representative period that matches the pattern, holds up. A percentage estimated at filing time does not. Use the mileage and vehicle log from the first week. The vehicle itself is depreciated through CCA, with its own class limits for passenger vehicles.

A home office is claimable where it is your principal place of business, or used regularly and exclusively to meet clients. A desk available at the brokerage weakens the claim but does not end it; what counts is where the work actually happens. Inside a PREC, both claims work differently. The corporation reimburses you or owns the car, and a company-owned car can create a taxable benefit.

Commission timing and instalments

Commission arrives on closing dates, not a payroll calendar. A busy spring can deliver most of a year’s income in a few months, and the gross deposit is before splits, desk fees and marketing. Personal instalments are required when net tax owing exceeds $3,000 in the current year and either of the two previous years. They are due March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15. The CRA’s reminder is based on history, so a rising year can leave you short even if you pay it exactly. Setting aside a fixed share of each commission keeps April calm. The tax instalment calculator shows the schedule.

What EverStone handles for you

One CPA, one fixed fee agreed up front:

• PREC T2 return and year-end financial statements
• Personal T1 coordinated with the corporate return, or a T2125 if you are not incorporated
• HST registration and filings for you or your PREC
• Vehicle, home-office and marketing claims supported properly
• Instalments planned against real closing dates
• Salary and dividend mix reviewed each year

Fixed fees, fully online

EverStone is a CPA firm serving Oakville realtors entirely online: video calls, a secure upload link and e-signature. A self-employed T1 with schedules is commonly $250–$450; a PREC with bookkeeping and a T2 is quoted after we review your enquiry. If you only need a decision made, a 45-minute Advice Call is a flat $200 + GST. See what it costs.

Remote accounting for realtors

EverStone is a fully virtual CPA firm, serving Oakville agents entirely online. There is no Oakville office and no local staff. Meetings are held by video or phone, documents come in through a secure upload link and are signed by e-signature, and no visit is required at any point. Commission statements, the PREC decision and your expense records are handled together, because in practice they are one decision.