Trades and contractor accountant in Richmond Hill
A Richmond Hill contractor deals with one harmonized sales tax, compulsory workplace coverage that can reach the owner personally, statutory holdbacks, and a payment clock that starts with a proper invoice. Get those four right and most of the year looks after itself.
EverStone is a CPA for incorporated contractors and a Richmond Hill small-business accountant, working remotely.
Quick answer: Trades companies in Richmond Hill, Ontario charge a single 13% HST rather than separate federal and provincial taxes. Compulsory WSIB coverage extends to most owners in construction, and Ontario’s construction legislation sets holdback and prompt payment rules. EverStone prepares the corporate return, HST filings and T5018 slips remotely. Published fees start at $300 a month for bookkeeping and $100 for a personal return.
For a one-owner Richmond Hill trades business, 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.
Who we work with
Trades businesses from Richmond Hill rarely work only in Richmond Hill. A renovation contractor, electrician, plumber, HVAC installer or finishing trade typically takes jobs from Oak Ridges to Markham, Vaughan and Aurora, and into Toronto, for homeowners, general contractors and commercial clients. Commercial and industrial work is part of the picture too: the City’s own business profiles feature advanced manufacturers and precision-component makers, whose premises need building, servicing and fitting out. The mix of homeowner work, subcontract work for builders and commercial jobs matters for the accounting, because each comes with different rules on coverage, holdbacks and invoicing.
One tax on the invoice
Ontario applies a single 13% harmonized sales tax rather than a federal tax plus a separate provincial one. That removes a question that complicates estimating in a province with a separate provincial sales tax — whether the provincial tax on materials is a cost buried in the price or a line on the invoice. In Ontario the tax is charged on the supply and recovered on the inputs through input tax credits.
What replaces it is a cash-flow problem. The full 13% is collected on every progress billing, and the credits on materials are recovered only when the return is filed. A Richmond Hill contractor therefore holds a meaningful amount of HST between remittances, and money held tends to get spent. A separate account for sales tax, or remittances on a shorter cycle, prevents the April surprise. See the input tax credits guide, and GST/HST filing in Richmond Hill for the return itself.
Compulsory coverage reaches the owner
Ontario extends mandatory workplace insurance into construction at the ownership level. Under the province’s compulsory coverage rules, independent operators, sole proprietors, partners and executive officers of corporations carrying on business in construction generally must register with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and carry coverage. The exceptions are limited; the notable one is a business that does only home renovation work for a homeowner who hires and pays it directly. Employees always require coverage.
For an owner-operator, this is the obligation most often missed, and a general contractor will often ask a subtrade for a WSIB clearance certificate before paying. Keeping coverage current is therefore a cash-collection issue as well as a compliance one. Payroll in Richmond Hill covers WSIB reporting alongside CRA remittances.
Statutory holdback and a payment clock
Ontario’s construction legislation requires a portion of the contract price to be held back on a project, sets prompt payment obligations that follow a proper invoice, and provides for adjudication of payment disputes. The accounting effect of a holdback is the same as anywhere: revenue that has been earned but is not yet collectible sits in receivables, and holdbacks retained from your own subtrades are costs already incurred. Both belong in the period the work was done, not the period the holdback is released.
The prompt payment rules change the role of the invoice. What makes an invoice proper — and when it is delivered — becomes the event that starts the clock. Billing that used to be merely untidy now delays money, which makes invoice discipline a working-capital issue rather than an administrative one.
Subtrade reporting is federal
The T5018 requirement is federal, so a Richmond Hill construction business that pays others for construction services reports those payments to the CRA. Many contractors use a long tail of small specialised subtrades, which makes the underlying question — is this person a subtrade or an employee — a live one. Control, ownership of tools, the ability to subcontract and the chance of profit or loss decide it, and the cost of guessing wrong falls on the payer. The worker classification guide sets out the tests.
Trucks, tools and the vehicle log
Trucks, vans, trailers and larger tools are capitalised and depreciated through CCA rather than expensed when bought, and the class decides the rate. A vehicle used for both business and personal driving needs a log that separates the kilometres, because that log is what supports the claim on review. Timing a large equipment purchase before or after the year-end can change the tax for the year, which is a conversation for the autumn, not the following spring.
Instalments and a winter-shaped year
Southern Ontario winters compress the outdoor building season, so revenue arrives unevenly while tax obligations arrive on a calendar. Corporate instalments set from a prior-year formula routinely mismatch a contractor’s actual cash. A strong season can create both a large balance owing and an instalment schedule that starts before the next season’s receivables come in. Modelling that in the autumn is straightforward; discovering it in spring is not. See corporate tax instalments.
When to incorporate
Many trades start as sole proprietors reporting on form T2125. Incorporating usually starts to pay once profit regularly exceeds what the owner needs to live on, because profit left in the company is taxed at the combined small-business rate of 11.2% rather than at personal rates. It also brings a T2, payroll or dividends, and a registry annual return. Corporate tax in Richmond Hill covers the T2 side, and personal tax in Richmond Hill covers how the owner’s pay is taxed.
What is covered
One Chartered Professional Accountant handles the whole file:
- T2 corporate return and year-end financial statements
- HST registration, filing and input tax credit reconciliation
- Statutory holdback schedules, receivable and payable sides
- T5018 information returns and worker classification review
- Job-costed bookkeeping and progress billing cut-off
- Instalment planning built around the actual season
Remote, and there is no Richmond Hill office
EverStone has no office in Richmond Hill. Engagements run entirely online: video meetings, e-signature and secure document exchange, with receipts and supplier invoices sent from a phone. Corporate tax is federal law with a provincial layer, so the work is not tied to a postcode. See accounting for Ontario businesses.
Prepared and reviewed by a Chartered Professional Accountant at EverStone CPA, a CPA firm working with small and midsized businesses in BC, Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba. Updated . About the firm · Send an enquiry
What a trades business has to get right
| Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Subcontractor payments | Construction payers report subcontractor payments to the CRA on a T5018 |
| Holdbacks | Amounts held back under a construction contract are recognized on their own timing, not when invoiced |
| Tools and equipment | Larger purchases are capitalized and depreciated rather than expensed in full |
| Vehicle use | A log separating business from personal kilometres is what supports the claim |
| Sales tax where you operate | 13% HST, a single registration and a single return |
Source: Construction and trades accounting. General information, not advice.
Other services for Richmond Hill businesses: bookkeeping and year-end statements.
Richmond Hill trades accounting FAQ
Do Richmond Hill contractors charge HST on construction work?+
Does an owner-operator in Ontario construction need WSIB coverage?+
What does the statutory holdback do to the books?+
Why does invoice quality matter more in Ontario?+
Do I need to file T5018 slips?+
Do you have a Richmond Hill office?+
Do you work with trades outside Richmond Hill itself?+
Related services and local guides
The rest of what we do for Richmond Hill businesses, nearby cities, and the reference pages behind this one.
Fees are fixed and agreed in writing before the work starts; the published fee page shows the starting points.
Building in Richmond Hill?
Corporate tax, HST, subtrade slips and holdback timing handled by one CPA who works with contractors. Send an enquiry.
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