How to Register and Incorporate a Business in Alberta (Steps and Costs)
In Alberta you register a business through a registry agent or authorized online service provider, not directly with the government. A sole proprietorship or partnership registers its trade name (usually around $50 to $100 all-in). A corporation needs an Alberta NUANS name report (unless it’s numbered), Articles of Incorporation and a registered office in Alberta. […]
Statutory Holiday Pay in BC | How to Calculate It (with Examples)
In BC, stat holiday pay is an “average day’s pay”: take everything the employee earned in the 30 calendar days before the holiday (not counting overtime) and divide it by the number of days they worked or earned wages in that period. To qualify, the employee must have been employed for 30 calendar days and […]
CRA Tax Instalments | Who Has to Pay, How Much and the Interest If You Don’t
You have to pay CRA tax instalments if your net tax owing is more than $3,000 this year AND it was also more than $3,000 in either of the last two years ($1,800 if you live in Quebec). Instalments are due March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15. If you pay late or […]
Partnership vs Corporation in Canada | Tax, Liability and Cost Compared
A partnership is cheaper and simpler: profits flow straight to the partners’ personal tax returns, but in a general partnership each partner is personally liable for all the business’s debts, including mistakes made by the other partner. A corporation costs more to set up and run, but it limits your personal liability and lets you […]
Retained Earnings in Canada: Formula, Tax Treatment and Common Mistakes
Retained earnings are the total profits your corporation has earned since it started, minus all the dividends it has paid out. The formula is: Beginning retained earnings + net income (or − net loss) − dividends = ending retained earnings. Retained earnings aren’t taxed again on their own. The corporation already paid tax on the […]
How to Dissolve a Corporation in BC | The Tax Steps Most Owners Miss
To voluntarily dissolve a BC company, it must first have no assets and no liabilities (or adequate provision for every liability), be up to date on its BC annual reports, and have the dissolution authorized by the shareholders. A director swears an affidavit confirming this, and you file a Dissolution Application with BC Registries. On […]
PD7A Explained: Remitter Types, Due Dates and What Late Really Costs
What a PD7A Is and What CRA Expects You to Do With It A PD7A is the statement CRA sends you for your payroll account. It does two jobs at once: it tells you what CRA has recorded for your remittances so far, and it acts as the remittance voucher for your next payment. The […]
T2200 and T2200S: An Employer’s Guide to Signing
What a T2200 Is and When an Employer Must Sign One Every January a handful of employees ask for “the work from home form.” Here is what you are actually being asked to sign, and what it commits you to. Form T2200, Declaration of Conditions of Employment, is an employer’s certification that an employee was […]
Capital Cost Allowance: Classes, Rates and the Half Year Rule
What Capital Cost Allowance Is and Why You Cannot Just Expense an Asset You bought a $60,000 piece of equipment this year. You cannot deduct $60,000. You deduct a percentage of it each year, and that deduction is called capital cost allowance, or CCA. The quick orientation: Supplies and repairs are deducted in full the […]
Small Business Grants and Funding in BC: What Is Actually Available
What Funding Actually Exists for BC Small Businesses Right Now Let us start with the honest version, because most articles on this topic will not give it to you. There is very little free money for a general small business in BC. There is no program that hands a retail shop or a restaurant $50,000 […]