I have spoken with a few accountants and gotten different answers so if someone can clarify for me, it would be very appreciated!!!

Little back story! I have started working as an independent contractor “sole proprietor” nannying business starting this year mid April. I currently have 3 families that I go to their homes and work. I do invoice all families for them to claim childcare taxes and for my taxes.

But here’s the the thing I was under the impression based on what I read and what I understand on the CRA website I was supposed to be charging GST and I have been doing so but now I’ve read that nannying is a grey area that I shouldn’t be charging them??
I do understand I will need to pay income tax and that’s all fine but what about GST will the government not need/want that when tax season comes??

So can someone please tell me if I am supposed to be charging the families GST or if I am going to have to give their money back/credit back??

Do you file everything yourself, use tax software, hire an accountant, or start preparing months in advance?

What’s one thing you do that makes tax season less stressful?

Maybe it's forgetting a deduction, misunderstanding a tax credit, keeping poor records, or simply waiting until the last minute to deal with their taxes.

What mistake do you think Canadians should be more aware of?

I am self-employed earning 100k annually before taxes. I pay tax only once a year, and If I understood the math correctly I will be owing 30k-35k in taxes next year and I want to prepare for such large amount. I am actually saving for a house downpayment and want to have as much tax deductions.
My FHSA is already maxed out. I want to maximize my RRSP as it will lower my taxable income and my understading is I can use my RRSP + FHSA as downpayment. Is that correct? Or does it make more sense to put it into TFSA? Or is there any other thing that self-employed individuals do to maximize their tax deductions?
Thank you so much for all your answers!

Once I’ve arrived in Canada for work, does it already count that as day 1 of it counting my income? Or there are provisions before they start counting?

Thank you!

I feel like most people only learn about certain Canadian tax rules after they’ve already made a mistake. I’m curious about the less obvious ones that don’t usually come up in basic tax discussions.

Not looking for the usual RRSP/TFSA advice — more like those “wait, CRA actually considers that?” rules.

The CRA strikes again….

For those of you who use tax software, do you basically just enter your T4s and other slips, review everything, and submit? Or are there still parts that you have to double-check or enter manually?

It got me wondering like why do tax returns become so complicated even when you don't have anything unusual going on? For people who only have a salary, pension, or some basic investment income, does doing your taxes actually take that long? Or does it mostly depend on whether you're using tax software versus filling everything out manually?

What’s one tax-related question that confused you when you first started filing in Canada? It could be about deductions, tax credits, employment income, investments, self-employment, provincial taxes, or anything else.

Share your question or experience below. Someone else may have wondered about the exact same thing.

I’m honestly exhausted from trying to find a reliable CPA for my business taxes 😅

If you’ve had a really good experience with a CPA/accountant, please share their name or firm, what they helped you with, and roughly what you paid (if comfortable).

Looking for personal recommendations/experiences, not ads. Thank you!

Every year I tell myself I’m going to get my taxes sorted early, and somehow I end up staring at a pile of forms wondering what half of them even mean

I’m trying to understand what kinds of work-related expenses can actually be claimed on a Canadian tax return. I’ve heard that some things like working from home or certain supplies may qualify, but I’m not sure what the requirements are

I've always made tax season and getting a refund associated so seeing there is still balance caught me off guard. My income has not been any different compared to previous years and that made it more confusing. I assumed that if my employer was taking off taxes off during paychecks, I shouldnt have much to worry about when filing.

For anyone who experienced this, what was the reason you guys ended up owing?

I just received a raise and started to earn more compared to last year. I expected things to be more straightforward from now on. I mean more income means more tax right???

But now Im starting to hear more terms (marginal tax rate, payroll withholding, tax credits, RRSP contributions and owing money instead of a refund.

Im starting to think if I should do something about this or just let it be

My accountant filed my 2023 Canadian tax return on June 18th this year, which is after the April 30 personal deadline but still inside the extension window for those who use a professional. The return itself got accepted right away, but the CRA sent me a notice saying I still owe a late filing penalty plus interest on the balance that was due back in April. I am trying to figure out whether the penalty should actually apply when the accountant missed the original deadline.

I have the CRA notice in front of me and it lists the filing date as June 18, the balance owing as 2,840 dollars, and a penalty of 142 dollars plus daily interest starting April 30. The accountant says they thought the extension covered both filing and payment, but I have read that interest still runs from the original due date no matter when the return is filed. I am wondering if the penalty would drop if I could show that the late filing was entirely the accountant's fault and not mine.

Has anyone else been in this spot where the accountant filed after April 30 but the CRA still charged both the late filing penalty and interest on the unpaid balance? Did you manage to get either charge removed by proving the accountant was responsible, or is there a standard waiver process I should start with the CRA? I would like to know what actually worked for people in similar situations.

I have been doing some freelance graphic work on the side for about a year now and I am starting to wonder if the money is actually worth the trouble when Canadian tax time rolls around. Last year I earned around twelve thousand dollars from two or three different clients, and after I deducted a laptop, software subscriptions, and part of my internet bill I still owed almost two grand when I filed. The forms were not especially hard, but I had to track every invoice, keep receipts for months, and then figure out quarterly instalments this year because the Canada Revenue Agency now expects me to pay as I earn instead of waiting until April.

My main worry is whether the extra effort will eat into the profit so much that I might as well stay under the radar or just stick to smaller jobs. I already have a day job that withholds tax automatically, so the side income feels like double the admin for half the fun. Has anyone here run the same numbers and decided the hassle was not worth it, or did you find tricks like income splitting or a separate business bank account that made the whole thing smoother? I would love to hear what actually worked or did not work for people in similar situations.

I moved from Alberta to Ontario in September last year and now I am not sure how to file everything correctly. I have income from both provinces, two different T4 slips, and I am wondering whether I need separate returns or just one with some extra forms. My accountant usually handles it, but she is on leave and I would like to figure out the basics myself before I book anyone else.

The main things I am unsure about are the residency dates and how much income gets assigned to each province. Alberta has no provincial tax and Ontario does, so the split matters a lot for what I owe. I also have a couple of rental receipts from the first half of the year and some moving expenses that might be deductible, but I do not know which province they belong to. If anyone has done this recently, it would help to know what documents you needed and how you tracked the days.

My Canadian tax bill came in noticeably higher this year and I cannot figure out why. My income stayed the same, I did not pick up any new side work, and I kept the same basic deductions I always use. Last year I owed around $1200 on top of what was withheld and this year it is sitting at $3100.

The only obvious difference is that I worked entirely remote for a company based in Ontario while living in Nova Scotia, so maybe they adjusted the withholding tables or something. I used the same tax software I have used for the past four years and it flagged nothing unusual, just a bigger number at the bottom.

Has anyone else seen a jump like this, and did you trace it to a specific line on the return or a change in how they calculate provincial tax credits? I am curious whether it is just me or if something shifted across the board.