Do You Need a Shareholder Agreement in BC
You incorporated with a friend, a sibling, or a colleague. Fifty fifty, handshake, off you go. Business is good. Nobody has ever needed a document to sort anything out. Then one of you wants out, or gets sick, or gets divorced, or dies. And the thing you never wrote down becomes the only thing that […]
Best Accounting Software for Canadian Small Businesses (2026 Comparison)
Most software comparison articles you will find are written for American businesses, which is a problem, because the thing that actually breaks accounting software in Canada is sales tax. GST, HST, and provincial sales taxes that behave completely differently from each other. BC PST in particular is where a lot of otherwise excellent software falls […]
Shareholder Loans in Canada | The One Year Rule and How to Avoid a Surprise Tax Bill
You needed money. The corporation had money. You moved it, your bookkeeper posted it to “Due from shareholder,” and everyone went back to work. That entry is a loan, and there is a clock on it. Repay Before the End of the Next Fiscal Year, or the Whole Balance Becomes Your Income Under subsection […]
Home Office Deduction in Canada: Employees vs Self Employed vs Corporations
If you work from your kitchen table, a spare bedroom, or a proper office in your basement, you have probably wondered the same thing everyone else does: how much of this can I actually write off? Here is the honest answer. It depends entirely on how you are paid, not on how nice your setup […]
Airbnb and Short Term Rental Taxes in BC | The Complete 2026 Owner’s Guide
You listed a suite, the bookings came in, and now you are staring at a payout summary wondering which taxes are already handled and which ones are quietly piling up in your name. It is a fair question, because BC short term rentals sit at the intersection of four separate tax systems plus a provincial […]
Accountant vs Tax Software | When Paying a Professional Is Actually Cheaper
The Honest Answer: Most Canadians Do Not Need an Accountant If your tax situation is all of the following, use software and keep your money: Employment income on T4 slips Investment slips from a Canadian institution, T3 and T5, that import automatically RRSP contributions, tuition, medical expenses and donations No business, no rental, no foreign […]
T1135 Explained | Reporting Foreign Property After You Move to Canada
If you moved to Canada and still own a bank account, apartment, shares or investments back home, form T1135 is probably in your future. The rule is that a Canadian resident who owns specified foreign property with a total cost amount of more than $100,000 CAD at any point in the year has to file […]
T4 vs T4A vs T5 | Which Slip Do You Have to Issue?
The rule is simpler than it looks. Match the slip to the nature of the payment, not to the person receiving it. If you paid someone for working under your direction, that is employment and it goes on a T4, with CPP, EI and income tax withheld all year. If you paid someone for services […]
WorkSafe BC for Employers | Registration, Premiums and 2026 Rates Explained
If you hire anyone in BC, WorkSafeBC coverage is mandatory, it is not the same thing as your liability insurance, and it is not optional just because the person is part time, casual or calls themselves a contractor. You register within about 10 days of hiring your first worker, you get assigned a classification unit […]
Starting a Business in BC | What to Register, in What Order (2026 Checklist)
Registering a business in BC feels like six separate government agencies who have never spoken to each other, because that is roughly what it is. The good news is the order is fixed and logical: structure first, then name, then the BC Registry, then your CRA business number, then whichever tax and payroll accounts your […]