Money

Canadian Tax & Your Business

By Susan Ward, About.com Guide

Income tax, GST/HST, provincial taxes, municipal taxes, payroll, import/export – no matter what kind of business you start, knowing which taxes have to be paid when and how is an essential piece of your business knowledge base. Bookmarking this page will give you a handy reference for everything from income tax due dates through tax planning tips to help you reduce the amount of tax your Canadian small business has to pay.

Income Tax Basics
Tax Topics of Special Interest to Small Businesses
Corporate Income Tax
Business Income Tax Deductions
Help Doing Your Income Tax

Filing Income Tax
Canadian GST/HST
PST (Provincial Sales Tax)
Payroll Taxes
Minimize Your Small Business's Tax Bill

Income Tax Basics

What is business income and what isn't? How do you report it on your income tax return? How much money do you have to make before you declare it? (See 5 Common Business Tax Myths.) Why do you need to know all about Capital Cost Allowance? These income tax basics answer these questions and more.

Tax Topics of Special Interest to Small Businesses

Some of these tax issues are of "special interest" because they are tax rules that can seriously affect your tax standing and prevent your small business from claiming particular deductions (such as being declared an employee or a personal services corporation). Others relate to details about tax topics that only affect small businesses, such as the possibility of changing your business's year end date.

Corporate Income Tax

Tax advantages are one reason to incorporate your Canadian small business. It's not just a matter of certain tax deductions, such as the Small Business Deduction, that are only available to incorporated small businesses, but the fact that being incorporated makes tax management easier. These articles present what you need to know about corporate income tax in Canada.

Business Income Tax Deductions

Income tax deductions for Canadian business.

For many small business owners, the single biggest tax advantage to owning a business is being able to write off their business expenses against their income, reducing the amount of income tax payable in the process. But what business expenses can be claimed and what are the rules for claiming particular business expenses? Find the answers in these articles:

Help Doing Your Income Tax

Whether you're doing your own income tax or going to have your income tax prepared by a tax professional such as an accountant, here's help for getting the job done, from a line-by-line guide to completing your first T1 income tax return when you have a business through a checklist that will help you get all the necessary tax information together for your accountant.

Filing Income Tax

When do you have to have your income tax filed by? How and where can you file your small business's income tax? How long after you've filed should the refund arrive? This section provides the answers for small business owners filing T1 tax returns. (If your small business is incorporated, refer to the Corporate Income Tax section on this page.)

Canadian GST/HST

Even if your small business is really, really small, you don't want to ignore GST/HST because if you don't collect and remit GST/HST, you can't get back any of the GST/HST your small business pays out – and, of course, because most small businesses don't have a choice. Read all the details in the articles below:

PST (Provincial Sales Tax)

If your small business is domiciled in one of the provinces that still has retail sales taxes instead of HST (Harmonized Sales Tax), this section is for you. You'll also need to know about provincial sales taxes if your small business sells online in Canada because some provinces expect you to charge and remit their provincial sales tax if you do. (See Charging Provincial Sales Taxes on Online Sales.)

Payroll Taxes

Hiring your first employee is the start of a whole new tax relationship with the Canada Revenue Agency. Here's what you need to know about your tax responsibilities as a Canadian employer.

Minimize Your Small Business's Tax Bill

Paying tax is necessary; taxes fund all kinds of good things such as roads and social programs. But paying more tax than we need to pay is not. Learn about tax strategies you can employ to reduce the amount of tax your small business has to pay in the articles below.

Small Business: Canada