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 […]
BC PST on Professional Services | What Changes on October 1, 2026
If you send invoices for accounting, engineering, architecture, security or commercial property management in BC, October 1, 2026 is the day your invoices change. From that date, those services stop being PST free. You add 7% PST on top of the GST you already charge, you need a PST number before your first taxable invoice, […]
Do You Need to Register for BC PST? A 2026 Guide for Business Owners
If you sell anything in British Columbia and you are not sure whether you should be charging 7% PST, here is the fastest way to find out: PST is charged on things, not on profits. If what you sell is taxable and you sell it in the ordinary course of business in BC, you register, […]
Final Tax Return for a Deceased Person Canada
Losing someone is hard enough without a confusing tax process on top. If you’re the executor or a family member handling an estate, this guide walks you through the final (terminal) return and what the CRA requires in plain, compassionate language for 2026. Quick answer: When someone passes away in Canada, a final (terminal) tax […]