Chart of Accounts for Canadian Small Businesses (Free Template)
A chart of accounts (COA) is the list of every category your business uses to record money coming in and going out, grouped into five types: assets, liabilities, equity, revenue and expenses. Each account gets a number (usually 1000s for assets, 2000s for liabilities, 3000s for equity, 4000s for revenue and 5000s to 6000s for […]
T2 Schedule 100 and 125 (GIFI) Explained Line by Line
Schedule 100 is your corporation’s balance sheet and Schedule 125 is its income statement, both reported to the CRA using standard GIFI codes (General Index of Financial Information). Instead of attaching your financial statements to the T2, you map each line of them to a 4-digit GIFI code. Schedule 101 is the opening balance sheet […]
Saskatchewan PST | Registration, Rates and Filing for Businesses
Saskatchewan charges 6% PST on top of the 5% federal GST (11% combined) on most goods and many services. There’s no small-business threshold. If you sell taxable goods or services in Saskatchewan, you must get a PST vendor licence before your first taxable sale. You register, file and pay through Saskatchewan eTax Services (SETS). PST […]
Vacation Pay in BC | 4% vs 6%, Calculation and Payout Rules
In BC, employees earn vacation pay of 4% of their total wages once they’ve worked 5 calendar days, rising to 6% after 5 consecutive years with you. Vacation pay must be paid at least 7 days before the employee’s vacation starts, or on every pay cheque if you both agree in writing. When someone quits […]
Input Tax Credits | What You Can and Can’t Claim on Your GST/HST Return
Input tax credits (ITCs) let GST/HST-registered businesses get back the GST/HST they paid on business purchases. You claim them on line 106 of your GST/HST return, and they’re subtracted from the GST/HST you collected. You can claim ITCs only for purchases used in your commercial (taxable) activities, you need proper receipts, and you generally have […]
Estate Freeze in Canada | How It Works and Who Should Consider One
An estate freeze locks in today’s value of your business in your hands and moves all future growth to your kids or a family trust. You exchange your common shares for fixed-value preferred shares, usually under section 86 of the Income Tax Act, which is tax-deferred. New common shares are issued to the next generation. […]
Family Trust in Canada | How It Works, What It Costs and the 21-Year Rule
A family trust is a legal arrangement where trustees hold assets, most often shares of a family business, for the benefit of family members. Since the 2018 TOSI rules, it’s no longer a simple way to split income with family. Its main uses today are multiplying the $1.25 million lifetime capital gains exemption when you […]
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. […]
What Is a CCPC? Benefits, Rules and How You Can Lose the Status
A CCPC (Canadian-controlled private corporation) is a private Canadian corporation that isn’t controlled by non-residents or by public companies. Most small incorporated businesses in Canada are CCPCs. The status matters because it unlocks the small business deduction (a combined rate of about 11% on the first $500,000 of active business income in BC and 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 […]