Canadian tax basics

# Canadian tax basics

This is a starting point for a small business in Canada. It doesn't give tax advice. Ask your accountant about your own return. Dates and rules change, so check canada.ca each year.

Which return you file

• Sole proprietor: business income is reported on Form T2125, Statement of Business or Professional Activities, attached to your personal return (T1).
• Partnership: the partnership files an information return (T5013). Each partner reports their share on a T1 with a T2125.
• Corporation: files a T2 return, generally within six months after the fiscal year-end.

Due dates

• T1 (sole proprietor): any balance owing is due April 30. The return itself is due June 15 for self-employed people.
• T2 (corporation): the return is due six months after the year-end. Any balance owing is generally due two or three months after the year-end, depending on the type of corporation.

Fiscal year

A sole proprietor's business income is generally worked out on a calendar year. A corporation can choose its fiscal year-end. Ask your accountant before you set one.

GST/HST registration

You must register for GST/HST when your taxable sales go over $30,000 in four consecutive calendar quarters. You can register earlier. See ca-gst-hst.

What Pop Books does

• Shows a GST34 worksheet for the period from your invoices and bills (see return-worksheet).
• Shows totals by tax line in the tax-line report (see tax-lines).

Pop Books does not prepare the T2125, T2 or T5013 yet. It does not file GST/HST returns through CRA until it is certified for electronic filing. Until then, file through CRA My Business Account, using the worksheet as your source.