Frequently asked questions

1. Fill in our online intake form, or call us at +1 (204) 541-0436.
2. Send us your slips and documents (see the document checklist).
3. We prepare your return and explain the result to you.
4. You sign the CRA e-file authorization (form T183) and we file your return electronically.

No. You can work with us in person at our Winnipeg, Brampton or Surrey offices, or completely online by phone, WhatsApp, email and video call. We file returns for clients across Canada.

For the 2026 tax year:

• April 30, 2027: personal returns are due, and any balance owing must be paid.
• June 15, 2027: returns are due if you or your spouse or common-law partner were self-employed. Any balance owing is still due April 30.
• March 1, 2027: last day to make RRSP contributions you can deduct on your 2026 return.

If you owe tax and file late, CRA charges a late-filing penalty of 5% of the balance owing plus 1% for each full month the return is late, up to 12 months. Interest is also charged on unpaid amounts.

Even if you can’t pay right away, file on time to avoid the penalty. Late filing can also delay or stop benefit payments such as the GST/HST credit and Canada child benefit.

Yes, we recommend it. Filing every year, even with no income, keeps you eligible for credits and benefits you would otherwise miss, including:

• Canada child benefit (CCB)
• GST/HST credit
• Canada workers benefit
• Provincial credits and benefits, such as the Ontario Trillium Benefit for Ontario residents

• You report your worldwide income from the date you became a resident of Canada. Income before that date is generally not taxed in Canada, but CRA may ask for it to calculate benefits.
• Your return needs your date of entry into Canada.
• Newcomers can apply for the GST/HST credit with form RC151, and for the Canada child benefit with form RC66 if you have children.
• File every year to keep your benefits coming.

We run free newcomer tax sessions. Ask us about the next one.

Everyone

• Social insurance number (SIN)
• Photo ID showing your name and date of birth
• Void cheque or direct deposit form (skip this if direct deposit is already set up)
• Current mailing address and email address
• Marital status

Slips and receipts

• T4 from each employer
• T2202 tuition slip from your college or university
• Other slips such as T4A, T5 or T4E
• RRSP and FHSA contribution slips or amounts
• RC210 (Canada workers benefit advance payments), if you received one
• Donation and medical receipts

If you are married or common-law

• Spouse’s name and date of birth
• If your spouse lives in Canada: their SIN and the same documents listed above
• If your spouse is outside Canada or on a visitor permit: let us know, as their world income may still be needed

• Annual earnings summary from each app (not needed if a T4A was issued)
• Total price of your vehicle, including interest and tax
• Year and month you bought the vehicle
• Total vehicle insurance paid for the year
• Repairs and maintenance: service, repairs, tires, car washes and accessories such as mats
• Total fuel purchased in the year
• Total phone bill paid in the year
• Kilometres driven for work, and total kilometres driven in the year

Keep a mileage log. CRA can ask you to support the business-use percentage you claim.

Keep your receipts, slips and supporting documents for at least six years from the end of the tax year they relate to. CRA can ask to see them during a review.

Step 1: Provide your personal information

1. Enter your social insurance number, date of birth and current postal code.
2. Enter an amount from one of your last two income tax returns (have a copy handy). A return for one of those years must have been filed and assessed.
3. Create a CRA user ID and password, and set up security questions.
4. Enroll in multi-factor authentication.

After step 1 you get limited access. CRA then sends you a security code.

Step 2: Enter your CRA security code

Return to My Account, sign in with your user ID and password, and enter the security code when prompted. You then have full access, including Auto-fill my return.

You can also sign in through a Sign-In Partner (your online banking login) or a provincial partner such as the BC Services Card.

Option 1: Online (recommended)

1. Sign in to CRA My Account and open Profile (top right).
2. Scroll to Authorized representatives and click + Add, then Start.
3. Enter our RepID and click Search: 6QN3N2P Copy
4. Select authorization Level 2, online access Yes, and leave the expiry date empty.
5. Click I confirm and submit.

If you use My Account on your phone, turn your phone sideways to see the RepID field.

Option 2: We do it for you

Call us at +1 (204) 541-0436 or email info@tobatax.com and we will send you an authorization form to sign.

Sign in to CRA My Account to view and print your notice of assessment or reassessment. NOAs issued after February 9, 2015 are available to print. For earlier years, you can see detailed summaries.

For a Revenu Québec notice, sign in to your Revenu Québec My Account.

• Sign in to CRA My Account and select Change my address and phone number(s).
• Call CRA at 1-800-959-8281.
• Complete and send form RC325.
• Send CRA a signed letter with your SIN, new address and the date you moved.

Processing times change through the year depending on how busy CRA is. CRA’s goal is to issue refunds within about 2 weeks for returns filed online and 8 weeks for paper returns.

Refunds are fastest with direct deposit. You can check the status in CRA My Account.

CRA usually pays the GST/HST credit around the 5th of July, October, January and April.

If you haven’t received a payment on the expected date, wait 10 working days before contacting CRA.

The CWB is a refundable tax credit for people and families who are working and earning a low income. It has two parts: a basic amount and a disability supplement. You claim it on your tax return.

If you’re entitled to the CWB, CRA automatically pays up to 50% of it in advance through the Advanced Canada workers benefit (ACWB), in three payments. You don’t need to apply.

You may be eligible if you

• earn working income and your net income is below the limit for your province or territory
• are a resident of Canada for the whole year
• are 19 or older on December 31, or live with your spouse, common-law partner or child

You are not eligible if you

• were a full-time student for more than 13 weeks in the year, unless you had an eligible dependant on December 31
• were confined to a prison or similar institution for 90 days or more in the year
• don’t have to pay tax in Canada because you are, or are related to or employed by, an officer or servant of another country, such as a diplomat

Similar rules apply to your spouse or common-law partner. An eligible dependant is your (or your partner’s) child who is under 19, lives with you on December 31 and is not eligible for the CWB themselves.

A First Home Savings Account (FHSA) helps first-time home buyers save for a home. You can contribute up to $8,000 a year, to a lifetime limit of $40,000.

• Contributions are tax-deductible, like an RRSP.
• Qualifying withdrawals to buy your first home are tax-free, like a TFSA.
• Unused room carries forward, up to $8,000 in a single year.
• Contributions must be made by December 31 to count for that tax year. Unlike an RRSP, there is no 60-day window after year-end.
• You must be a Canadian resident, at least 18, and a first-time home buyer.

Opening an account early starts your contribution room, even if you contribute later. Ask us how an FHSA fits with your RRSP.

Contributions made by March 1, 2027 can be deducted on your 2026 return. Your contribution limit is shown on your latest notice of assessment and in CRA My Account.

Most businesses must register once their taxable sales go over $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over four consecutive quarters. Below that, you are a small supplier and registration is optional.

Rideshare drivers (such as Uber and Lyft) are the exception: they must register for GST/HST from their first ride, whatever they earn. Food delivery only (such as Skip or DoorDash) follows the normal $30,000 rule.

You can deduct reasonable expenses you incur to earn business income. Common ones include:

• Vehicle costs (fuel, insurance, repairs, lease or depreciation), based on your business-use percentage
• The business share of your phone and internet
• Supplies, software, advertising and professional fees
• Home office expenses, if you meet CRA’s conditions

Keep receipts and a mileage log. Personal expenses can’t be deducted.

Yes. If you’re self-employed, you pay both the employee and employer portions of CPP contributions on your net self-employment earnings. They are calculated on your tax return, and half is deductible. EI is optional for self-employed people.

CRA may ask you to pay by instalments if your net tax owing is more than $3,000 ($1,800 in Quebec) in the current year and in either of the two previous years. Instalments are due March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15.

The T2 return is due six months after the end of your corporation’s tax year. For example, a December 31 year-end is due June 30.

Any balance owing is generally due two months after year-end, or three months for many Canadian-controlled private corporations that claimed the small business deduction.

If your corporation pays dividends, it must issue a T5 slip to each shareholder and file a T5 Summary with CRA by the last day of February of the following year. For dividends paid in 2026, the deadline is March 1, 2027, because February 28 falls on a Sunday.

Use our free Dividend Calculator to work out the slip amounts.

It depends on your situation. In general:

• Salary is a deductible expense for the corporation, creates RRSP room and builds CPP benefits, but requires payroll and CPP contributions.
• Dividends avoid payroll and CPP, and are simpler to pay, but don’t create RRSP room and aren’t deductible for the corporation.

Many owners use a mix. Book a consultation and we’ll model both for you.

If you work in insurable employment, your employer deducts EI premiums from your pay. There is no age limit for EI premiums.

EI provides temporary income support while you are unemployed and looking for work, or upgrading your skills. EI special benefits also cover:

• sickness
• pregnancy
• caring for a newborn or newly adopted child
• caring for a critically ill family member

If you are 18 to 64, work in pensionable employment and don’t receive a CPP retirement or disability pension, your employer deducts CPP contributions from your pay.

If you are 65 to 69 and work while receiving a CPP or QPP retirement pension, contributions continue unless you choose to stop them.

CPP pays a pension when you retire or become disabled, and benefits to your survivors when you die.

Most small employers are regular remitters: the CPP, EI and income tax deducted from employees’ pay must reach CRA by the 15th of the month after the month you paid employees. Larger employers remit more often, and some small employers can remit quarterly.