Realtor accountant in Ottawa

One-owner Ottawa realtor’s PREC clients: bookkeeping, payroll and the T2 from $500 a month. 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.

Commission income works the same way across the country: realtors in Vancouver face an identical instalment and HST/GST profile, and our national accounting page for real estate agents sets out the deductions the CRA reviews most.

Ottawa’s market has a rhythm, and tax does not follow it

Government relocation cycles and posting seasons make income cluster. Instalments based on last year’s total ignore when this year’s money arrives, so a strong spring can become a quiet-quarter cash problem. We set instalments to the real pattern and adjust them as it changes.

Gross commission is not your income

Your deposit is after the brokerage split but before desk fees, marketing, vehicle and licensing costs, and the taxable figure differs again. Planning from the deposit under-reserves for tax. Keeping expenses current all year, not in April, makes the number reliable.

Whether a PREC is worth it

A personal real estate corporation changes where commission lands: income is earned by the corporation and paid out deliberately, which opens the salary-versus-dividend decision and the option of leaving profit in the company. It also adds a corporate return, formal bookkeeping and real record-keeping obligations.

Whether it pays turns far more on how much you draw than on what you gross. If you spend essentially everything you earn, the deferral advantage narrows quickly. We run it on your actual drawings — our salary-versus-dividends calculator is a reasonable starting point.

The shareholder loan trap that catches newly incorporated realtors

Once incorporated, the business account is not yours. Money taken without being declared as salary or a dividend is a shareholder loan, and one left past the deadline is added to your income, often unexpectedly. Commission timing invites ad-hoc draws; a regular scheduled draw prevents most problems. See our shareholder loans guide.

Expenses: what holds up and what does not

Vehicle costs, home office, marketing, licensing, dues and technology are ordinarily deductible when incurred to earn commission. Two failures are common: a vehicle claim without mileage records, and dropping a defensible home-office claim. Decide the position early and keep records as you go.

Your first year incorporated, month by month

The first PREC year holds most of the surprises. The corporation earns the commission, and it becomes your income only when you pay it out.

The rhythm that works is simple. Keep the corporate account separate from personal spending. Take a regular draw instead of money as deals close. Decide the salary-and-dividend mix early in the year, and revisit it if the year changes. Keep a mileage log from day one, because it is the claim most often lost. Expect the first corporate year-end to need more documentation than a personal return; that is a one-time adjustment.

Owners who set this up properly in year one rarely think about it again. Owners who do not tend to spend year two untangling it.

Working with us from Ottawa

Everything runs online by video, phone, secure upload and e-signature, with booking in Eastern time. The fee is fixed up front, so ask about a deal structure in August, not at year-end.

Coordinating the corporate and personal returns

With a PREC there are two linked returns. What the corporation pays out shapes your personal return, and the December mix sets the April personal bill. Prepared separately, they give a corporate plan that works alone and a personal bill nobody modelled. We prepare both and set the split on the combined result.

What EverStone handles for you

One CPA, one fixed fee agreed up front:

• Corporate return and year-end statements for your PREC
• Personal T1 coordinated with the corporate return
• Instalments planned against real commission timing
• Vehicle, home office and marketing claims properly supported
• HST registration and filings
• Shareholder loan balances watched before they become income

Fixed fees, fully online

EverStone is a CPA firm working with Ottawa realtors entirely online. Booking shows Eastern times automatically, and anything sent at the end of your day is usually answered before the next one starts. The fee is fixed and agreed before work begins. See what it costs.

Remote accounting for realtors

EverStone is a fully virtual, one-CPA firm. There is no Ottawa office and no local staff. We meet by video or phone and exchange documents securely by email and e-signature. Commission income, the PREC question and expense tracking are handled together, as one decision.