Explore Small Business Finance Topics
Discover our most popular topics for Canadian solopreneurs and small business owners. From income tax and GST/HST to QuickBooks tutorials and managing your business finances, these guides are designed to help you move from financial uncertainty to financial confidence.
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📑Canadian Income Tax
Guidance on filing and planning your Canadian taxes, from T1 and T2 returns to instalments
📊Managing Business Finances
From cash flow to pricing and metrics — learn to manage your business finances with confidence.
🏢 Canadian Business Structure
Should you incorporate? Stay informed on sole proprietorships, corporations, and registrations.
💰 GST/HST & QST
Understand how to register, file, and maximize input tax credits while avoiding common mistakes.
🧾 Guides and Tutorials
Practical accounting processes like reconciliations, journal entries, and reporting.
📝 Deductions & Expenses
Learn which expenses are CRA deductible and how to track them for maximum tax savings.
Quebec Taxes & Business
QST, Revenu Québec filings, Quebec payroll, and provincial rules every entrepreneur should know.
👤 Paying Yourself
Salary vs dividends, management fees, and how to pay yourself from your corporation or small business.
💻 QuickBooks Online & Tools
Tutorials, guides and time-saving tips for using QuickBooks Online effectively.
🏦 Money & Personal Finance
Personal finance strategies for entrepreneurs, from RRSPs to saving for taxes.
9 Tax Facts about Charitable Donations for Individuals and Small Business Owners
Every good act is charity. A man's true wealth hereafter is the good that he does in this world to his fellows. - Moliere. Unfortunately, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has specific criteria for what qualifies as a charitable donation and not all good acts qualify for a tax benefit. Growing a moustache (although not without its costs) or running a marathon, are generally not considered to be a charitable donations according to the tax code. Luckily there are a multitude of charitable organizations that do qualify the donors to receive a tax credit for their donations.
Guidance on Registering for Payroll and Remitting Source Deductions
There comes a time for many small business owners when they decide that they need to hire employees. This is usually an excellent sign as it means a) the business is growing and b) the small business owner has learned to delegate. It also means that additional paperwork needs to be filled out and additional taxes need to be paid. The simplest option when deciding to augment your workforce is to have the new worker invoice the business, based on hours worked or some other formula. Unfortunately, there are very specific rules as to who qualifies as a self employed contractor. Essentially, if your have someone that works full time, has little flexibility with respect to the hours that they work and you provide the tools such as a desk/office, computer etc, then there is a good chance that the tax authorities will classify them as an employee. In this case, where your worker is clearly an employee, you must register for payroll, pay them a salary and submit regular, periodic payroll reports and payments to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). As usual, if you live in Quebec, you must submit to Revenue Quebec (MRQ) as well.
Should you register for GST/HST and QST and What it Means to Be Zero Rated
When starting your new Canadian small business or launching into self employment, it is essential to determine whether you are required to register for GST/HST (and QST if you have a started a business in Quebec). The simple answer is that if you anticipate that your annual gross revenues (total sales) are going to exceed $30,000 and your products or services do not qualify as Exempt or Zero rated (explained below) , then you are required to register for GST/HST and collect sales taxes from your Canadian customers and clients.
The $30,000 limit applies to the last 4 quarters of revenues. If you decide not to register for sales tax upon the inception of your business/self employment, then you must monitor your sales revenues over a rolling 4 quarter period and register once you get close to this amount.
Should You Pay Yourself a Salary or Dividend? 7 Considerations For Small Business Owners
While incorporation has many benefits for small business owners, it does introduce additional complexities that are not faced by registered businesses. Unincorporated business owners are essentially taxed on their net business income, which allows for more time to devote to tax planning and how to spend all of your richly deserved profits. Incorporated business owners, on the other hand, cannot just withdraw cash from their businesses as the need or whim arises. There needs to be a formalized structure in place which usually takes the form of either salary or dividends. Either type of remuneration has tax and other implications that need to be considered before making a decision.
10 Tax Facts that every corporation Owner should Know
What is Capital Cost Allowance and How Does it Impact Your Business
Frequently a client of mine will purchase a high ticket item such as a computer or a piece of furniture and will simply show it as an expense on their profit and loss. Since you purchased something that relates to your business, it should be considered to be a deduction and classified as an expenses.
Unfortunately, accountants and revenue agencies do not see it this way. From their perspective, an item that is purchased for a business, whose value extends beyond one year, is actually an asset that should be depreciated over the useful life of the asset. In other words, the expense that you can claim for the asset is only the portion of the asset that is used in the year that you claim it.
While accountants refer to the amount of the asset that is expensed each year as depreciation, Revenue Canada refers to this as capital cost allowance or CCA.
How to Pay Dividends: Completing the T5 Slip and Summary
If you are the owner of a Canadian corporation, you can choose to pay yourself (and other shareholders) dividends instead of a salary. Alternatively, some shareholders also take dividends in addition to a salary depending on their tax planning strategy. If you do decide to pay yourself dividends, it is important to ensure that you prepare the proper documentation for Revenue Canada (CRA) and if you live in Quebec, Revenue Quebec (MRQ) since this must be reported as investment income on your personal tax return in the calendar year in which the dividends are paid. If you are paying dividends to a Canadian shareholder, you must issue a T5 slip while non resident shareholders receive an NR4 slip. The T5 dividend slips are generally due by February 28th of the calendar year following the year in which the dividend was paid Although no income taxes are due at the time of filing the T5 slips with the government, interest and penalties apply for late filing . The process of submitting preparing and submitting the dividend declarations and the documents that need to be filled out and returned to the CRA and MRQ are discussed below:
What Happens When You Contribute Excess Amounts to your RRSP
Being able to contribute to an RRSP is one of the great tax saving strategies available to all Individual Canadian Taxpayers who generate “earned income” which is essentially income earned from employment (salaries) or self employment. It is extremely important to know that there are unfortunately limits to how much you can contribute and Revenue Canada (CRA) actually imposes penalties on overcontributions to your RRSP.
Note that passive income like dividends and interest is ineligible and does not factor into the calculation for how much you can contribute to an RRSP.
4 Alternatives for Preparing Your Small Business Payroll
Paying salaries to employees (or yourself) requires more than just determining the gross amount to be paid. The Canada Revenue Agency and Revenue Quebec require that employers calculate a variety of taxes on the salaries paid, remit them to the federal and provincial governments and prepare annual reports demonstrating that the calculations are correct and all salary deductions have been paid. This can be a lot of work for business owners whose time is better spent generating sales and building their businesses. Luckily there are many options for small business owners to calculate their payroll and salary remittances, many of which simplify the process:
Know Your Small Business Tax Deadlines In 2025
As we approach the new year, it is time to start thinking about a subject near and dear to your heart i.e. taxes (insert appropriate emoji).
Below are the deadlines that all small businesses need to know for 2025.
5 Reasons to Change Your GST/HST/QST Reporting Period and How to Do It
When starting a business the selection of the GST/HST or QST reporting period i.e. how often to file your sales tax returns is often based on new business considerations. Many new business owners are quite enthusiastic and/or orderly and therefore would prefer to file their reports and pay the balance owing on a more regular basis. Conversely owners might be concentrating on the other aspects of running their business and do not want to be bothered with the administrative hassle of regular monthly or quarterly reporting. In this case, you might select the annual reporting option to make the year end reporting requirements as simple as possible. As time passes and your business evolves, you might realize that the option that you initially selected may no longer be the most optimal.
Revenue Canada Interest, Penalties and Payment Arrangements for Income Tax and GST/HST Returns
Whether you are an individual or a business in Canada, taxes are an inescapable part of your existence. All sources of income need to be calculated, tax returns needs to be filed and taxes owing must be paid. This is somewhat facilitated if you are an employee as your employer tends to take care of the majority of remittances. Self-employed individuals, sole proprietorships, partnerships and corporations on the other hand, must account for their income and expenses , determine taxes payable and remit the appropriate amounts. Additionally, businesses are also responsible for other filings including GST/HST and QST and payroll. A lack of knowledge, imperfect accounting systems and the business of running a business sometimes interfere with the timeliness of filings. The Canada Revenue Agency attempts to curb these tardy behaviours by imposing penalties and interest on late filings as follows:
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Is the Quick Method of Reporting GST/HST & QST the Right Choice for your Small Business
If you are self employed or a small business with annual sales between $30,000 and $400,000, it might make sense to select the Quick Method of reporting your GST/HST and QST, which is essentially a simplified method of reporting sales taxes . While regular reporting of sales taxes requires that you calculate all amounts collected and paid on eligible expenses, the quick method (or simplified method as it is also referred to)requires the application of a single reduced rate to your sales while GST/HST and QST paid on expenses is not deductible. The key details of the Quick Method and its suitability for your business are discussed below:
What Small Business Owners Need to Know About Income Tax Instalments
Transitioning from being a full time employee to small business ownership or self employment means that you need to cultivate self discipline. You can no longer rely on your employer to take care of business functions that do not relate to your job ,and must take a much more active role in ensuring that you remain on top of your obligations whether it is collecting payments from customers, paying bills or ensuring that you do not run afoul of Revenue Canada. One of these obligations requires that you calculate and pay the full amount of your income taxes when you file your income tax return, rather than having your employer remit deductions from your paycheck directly. In addition to having to calculate and pay your income tax, once you exceed a certain income threshold, you are also required to pay income tax and sales tax instalments.
What Unincorporated Small Business Owners Need to Know about Filing Their Taxes
Being a small business owner comes with challenges, not the least of which is doing your taxes. While most Canadian taxpayers have relatively simple tax returns that can easily be completed using software, small business owners have the additional burden of reporting details relating to their businesses. This can seem onerous, but understanding what needs to be done, and when, can significantly help reduce the stress and ensure that the tax filing process is smooth and straightforward.
One of the types of income on which you pay income taxes is what Revenue Canada (CRA) refers to as “income from self-employment” that is essentially the same as income from a small business. If you do have business income, then you are required to declare your business income on a tax return. As an unincorporated small business owner, this business income is reflected on a separate schedule on your personal tax return. The schedule is called a T2125, which is a “statement of business activities” (discussed below) and at minimum requires that you show any income you earned from a business venture. If you have incurred expenses to earn the business income, you may also deduct these from your gross revenues or sales to arrive at net income from business. Unlike a simple personal tax return with no business income, the information that must be reported on a T2125 is generally not simply provided to you on a tax slip, such as a T4 or T5, but must be compiled and calculated.