Frequently Asked Questions

Filing tax return in first year is essential to ensure you get various Tax credit and benefits including Ontario trillium, child credit, Hst credit and so on. You become Tax resident in Canada when you land on PR and have residential ties. The income you earned before landing in Canada is not taxable, however Global income is Taxable after you land in Canada.

You’ll need to declare any foreign property (stocks, real estate) you own when it comes time to file your tax return with a value in excess of $ 100,000.

Both the options have pros and cons as listed above. However a Contractor has an option to Incorporate and get tax benefits versus a full timer. It is also a market practise to offer higher rate per hour for a Contractor as he is not entitle for full time benefits like health insurance (premium family cover 2K), ESOP, RRSP contributions, etc. As per the current market trend a Full time BA gets say 80K Gross, his after tax (avg 25% tax) in hand would be approx. 60K. In case of a Incorporated Contractor, he can expense out business expenses and Company is liable to pay preferential rate of 13.5% taxes after expenses and he receives Dividend tax credit. The in hand cash after taxes and benefits would be 70K approx. after paying personal taxes. Thus it leads upto 15% of tax savings as compared to full time employee. Other benefits of Incorporation would be Tax splits, deferred income, etc. Also note as per current market a BA gets a contract rate of $80 per hour which turns to be $130K annually. So not only a Contractor gets tax benefit but also higher pay. None of the options have job security as Contract can be terminated any time and Full time employee fired with small severance package. So Choice is yours.

It is always beneficial to file taxes together as the tax credit, standard deduction, tuition fees paid, etc. can be split / transferred to high income spouse to have the tax advantage. If both have zero income, filing taxes will help you receive various federal and provincial benefits and credits.

In addition to T4 slips, basic information for all family members like Name, address, Date of birth, Sin number, contact details, date of landing , foreign income after landing, foreign property details, RRSP contribution slips and any other supporting to claim provincial credits should be enough to file taxes normally.

For Self - employed, Uber drivers, foreign income recipients, business persons and Contractors, Tax filing is complex and a Designated CPA is highly recommended to ensure Tax optimization and Tax planning. For full time employees or new immigrants with Zero income, tax return is not complex, if you have time and understanding of various provincial credits and have accounting / taxation knowledge, you can go for Online software and give a try, the only risk is if you are unaware of all the benefits and credits, you may loose one. Filing tax returns for full time employees is not expensive and can cost average of $ 40 to $ 60. Recommendation is to meet an Experienced CPA Designated Accountant. As this is not one time thing, but eventually you will earn high income and will have to plan your taxes to have optimal solution in later years, a designated professional is always a preferred choice.

Commute is a time consuming and costly affair. We meet in person to explain the tax liability and benefits and also work online through Skype calls, Emails and Phone calls to ensure your needs are understood and well taken care of, so you do not have to waste time and money in commute. Just fill up an excel checklist we mail you and attach T4 or any supporting's for provincial credits and consider your job done.

This are not taxable in Canada if declared properly on your first landing.

Normally employer are obligated to compute taxes based on your annual income and remit to CRA. In most of the cases your deduction will be higher as provincial credits, transfer of benefit from spouse, etc. are not accounted for and you will have a Tax refund.

It is ideal to provide your banking details - void cheque to your accountant while filing your taxes so auto transfer of refund will be set to receive e-transfer in 2 weeks of filing or they mail you the cheque.

Ride sharing services are considered as business and you are consider self-employed with a 15th June Tax filing deadline like sole proprietors. HST registration is mandatory for ride sharing services. You can write off various business expenses against the income. You will need Uber / Lyft statement and a list of all the expenses you have incurred for the business to file your Personal return and HST return. Meet your accountant in advance to understand what can be expensed out so you have a better knowledge from the beginning.

Under normal conditions, a person files a tax return for the province in which they are residing on December 31 of the taxation year.

You get T4 from each employer you have worked with, T4 will be mailed to you based on the address your employer has in records. If you have moved, contact your employer and ask them to mail to new address or email you.

The federal government introduced a new tax credit, based on a down payment amount of $5,000, for first time home buyers that buy a qualifying home in the year the home is purchased. So your tax liability is reduced by $ 750 (15%).

RRSPs is one instrument which reduces your gross income and so you pay taxes for lesser income. Please note this contribution has 18% cap and can be withdrawn tax free only when you retire at 65 years of age. If you withdraw before that, it gets added to your current income and is taxed at a higher rate. The tax free savings account allows an opportunity to grow funds tax free as no taxes are levied on Dividend or Capital gain on Investments in TFSA. Although contributions to a TFSA are not tax deductible like RRSPs so contribution is made from after tax money but any growth is tax free. It has an annual limit, for 2019 it is $6,000 per Individual. Other than above there are provincial and federal credits you can apply if eligible for the same.

Please email us at: [email protected] and we will get back to you to the earliest possible. Considering the Tax season replies may be delayed. Also we will consider the urgency of the question. Please write a brief background about your self, when you landed or planning to do so along with the question and provide a contact number to reach out, so we can assess the situation properly before replying. CRA website is a great source of some basic information you would need to know, we recommend to see CRA website and then contact us. Time is a limited resource with all of us and lets optimize it.