Collins Barrow. Chartered Accountants

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1 Income Tax for Small Business Presented by Jason Timmermans, BA, CA Partner KMD

2 Introduction Information package What are you hoping to get out of today s session?

3 Agenda Basics of Canadian income tax system Procedures for reporting business income Allowable criteria for deducting expenses Filling out your tax return The how's and why s of record keeping CRA and you 10 Common Problems Final Q & A (you can ask questions through the presentation)

4 Less: Basic Layout of a Personal Income tax return (T1) Personal income from all sources (ALL worldwide income) - tax deductions Equals: = taxable income Multiply by: x tax rates (marginal) Equals: = tax before tax credits Less: - tax credits Equals: Less: Equals: = tax owing before taxes paid - tax withheld from earnings or personal tax instalments paid Tax owing for tax due day

5 Types of Income and Marginal Tax Rate Different types of income attract different tax rates Employed, Self-Employed l (Business), Pension & Interest Dividends (eligible and non-eligible) Capital Gains Marginal tax rate: The tax rate on your next $1 of income.

6 Personal Tax Rates in Canada Income Level Marginal Tax Rates (2011 Federal and Ontario Combined) Employment/ Business/ Interest/ Pension Eligible Canadian Dividends Capital Gains up to $41, to 24% (6%) to 4% 10 to 12% $41,500 to $83, to 39% 9 to 16% 15.5 to 19.7% Above $83,100 43% to 46% 22% to 28.2% 2% 21.7% to 23% Above $128,800 46% 28.2% 23% Excludes OAS Clawback of 15% above $67,668 and Ontario Health Premium

7 The Fundamentals of Tax Planning Main goal of tax planning is to minimize taxes and maximize i cash flow Need to understand your business and how it affects you and the taxes you will have to pay Will you be able to plan properly if you bring in your shoe box on April 15 th th.

8 What Taxes Are Applicable Being self employed you have to determine what taxes are applicable to you. Ensure that t with any taxes they are filed on time to avoid penalties and interest. Penalties and interest on late filings are not deductible expenses.

9 Taxes Personal taxes CPP HST WSIB Source deductions d (payroll)

10 Personal Taxes Due when you file your tax return. June 15 th for self employed individuals. Taxes due by April 30 th. Interest charged after April 30 th. After June 15 th there are penalties and interest.

11 Personal Taxes Being self employed any money you make, revenue less expenses, you pay tax on. It doesn t matter if you have not taken out all of the money yy you made.

12 Personal Taxes Are you putting enough money away to pay your personal taxes? Once you have taxes owing greater than $3,000 at the end of the year you also need to start making installments. Installments are due on the 15 th of the month for March, June, September and December.

13 Tax Planning EXAMPLE April 30, 2012 you owe $5,000 in taxes for the 2011 year September 15, 2012 you owe $2,500 for the 2012 year December 15, 2012 you owe $2,500 for the 2012 year Total taxes paid in 2012 $10,000

14 Canada Pension Plan Contributions Being self employed you are the employer and the employee. The deduction for an employee is 4.95% to a maximum of $2, The employer portion is the same. Total CPP could be $4,436 if your income is $47,200.

15 Are You Registered for HST? Are your sales in excess of $30,000 over four consecutive quarters Need to have record keeping to track HST collected (sales) and HST paid (expenses) You can claim HST ITC s on all HST paid on expenses including assets

16 Are You Registered for HST? continued HST ITC s reduce the amount of HST to be remitted to CRA Alternatively you can use the Quick Method to track HST Quick method is 7.8% on the first $30,000 of sales and 8.8% 8% on the remaining sales plus HST (some restrictions apply)

17 WSIB Needs to be paid on employees and subcontractors. t Rates very due to the type of work that is being completed. Due to Provincial and Federal governments sharing information, they are cracking down on people for WSIB.

18 Source Deductions (Payroll) As the employer you deduct CPP, EI and Income taxes from employees. It is your responsibility to remit these plus the employers portion to CRA. Usually paid the 15 th of the month following the month in which the payroll is paid.

19 Accounting Software You can use accounting software such as Quickbooks, Simply Accounting or many other software systems Cost can range from $200 to $250,000 You can use manual systems such as ledger books or Excel spreadsheets You can hire either an internal or external bookkeeper

20 Accounting Software continued ADVANTAGES Reduced time Better financial reports such as HST Ability to produce payroll DISADVANTAGES Learning curve Added cost for programs and training

21 WHY? Record keeping allows the ability to track the profitability of the company Allows the ability to make changes to pricing, reduce unnecessary costs Allows the ability to then monitor the impact of decisions Reduces year end accounting fees instead of bringing in your shoebox

22 Why? - continued General understanding of your financial position related to your business Allows for communications with financial institutions Compliance with tax legislation

23 Why? - continued Every small business owner should learn to at least read the financial statements Statements should be produced on a timely basis, especially if you are using a bookkeeper

24 Definitions Gross profit how much are you making on your sales after deducting direct costs. Net profit how much did you make after deducting all expenses Fixed costs costs that remain similar regardless of level of revenue Variable costs costs that fluctuate with sales

25 Filing Your Tax Return Reporting your revenue and your expenses for your business are done on the form T2125. This gets filed with your personal income tax return, T1 General.

26 Filling out the T2125 Revenue Cost of Goods Sold Expenses Automotive expenses Office-in-Home Other issues

27 T Revenue Enter in either your total revenue and then deduct HST. Or enter in net revenue.

28 T2125 Costs of Goods Sold Use this section if you have direct costs associated with your revenue. Includes materials, direct labour, subcontracts. Need to account for opening and closing inventory.

29 T Expenses Any other expenses that you incur for the business. Meals and entertainment are only 50% deductible. Clothing is normally only deductible if there are logos on it. Bad debts, you need to have claimed revenue in order to claim a bad debt.

30 T Expenses Rent is if you rent an office or other place of business. Maintenance and repairs can include items directly related to an office in home.

31 T Automotive Expenses Are you claiming your auto expenses related to business? Prorate expenses between business and personal mileage Deduct expenses including gas, repairs and maintenance, insurance, lease payments, depreciation, interest

32 T Office in Home Do you have an office in your home that you use on a regular basis for business purposes? You can deduct a percentage of the house expenses related to the office Expenses to include are utilities, property taxes, mortgage interest

33 Other Issues CCA It is possible to claim CCA on assets that t you might already own and are now using in your business computer, printer, shelving, desk, etc. Transfer to business at fair value Your CCA claim is not mandatory you can postpone deductions

34 Other Issues continued Private health service plan - Can deduct premiums paid for health coverage under a supplementary health plan - Restrictions: $1,500 for yourself and spouse, $750 for each minor child

35 Tax Planning Tips CCA (depreciation) does not need to be used. Interest deductibility. Can you pay down other debt and then borrow for business purposes? p

36 Tax Planning Tips If you have significant income does it make sense to start t looking at incorporating. Incorporation makes sense if you are retaining income in the business to pay off debt, buy new equipment, or just not spending the money. Other legal reasons.

37 Tax Planning Tips Income splitting for your business. Does your spouse or even your children work for the business? Pay your spouse or children that t are in lower income brackets. Any payments to your spouse or children need to be reasonable for work that they do.

38 Tax Planning Tips The ideal is to have the total family income split as equally as possible. RRSP s should be made by the higher income person. Ensure that if there is a significant difference in incomes that spousal RRSP s are used.

39 Tax Planning Tips Unless your income is over $40,000 RRSP s may not be your best investment decision. Consider TSFA s.

40 Canada Revenue Agency Late filing penalties. 1 st time is 5% and 1% per month for 12 months. 2 nd time within 3 years it is 10% and 2% per month for 20 months. You can apply for Taxpayer Relief if you meet the eligibility criteria.

41 Canada Revenue Agency Once your tax return is assessed CRA has 3 years to go back and review that return. Keep records for 7 years. If you need to change your return you can file a T1 adjustment.

42 Canada Revenue Agency If you get a notice of assessment or reassessment that you don t agree with you can file a notice of objection within 90 days. This would normally be after a review or an audit.

43 Canada Revenue Agency Losses in a year can be carried back 3 years. Losses can be carried forward 20 years. If you have non-capital losses carried forward you do not have to use all of the losses in a year where you have income. Could make sense to not claim some or all of the losses.

44 Canada Revenue Agency Online Services My Account Business Account Represent a Client Internet filing arc.gc.ca/

45 Top 10 Common Problems 1. HST not being recorded for personal expenses such as office-in in-home and vehicle expenses 2. Assets that are being used in the business are not being recorded and depreciated 3. Payroll not being tracked correctly, source deductions d being remitted incorrectly ( ( srvce/tx/bsnss/pdoc-eng.html) eng.html)

46 Top Ten Common Problems 4. Late filing of returns (HST, T1 s, etc) 5. Installments not being paid during the year 6. Poor record keeping leading to additional costs to prepare tax returns 7. Combining i personal and business expenses

47 Top Ten Common Problems 8. Not including all eligible expenses related to the business 9. Not including all revenue generated by the business 10.Getting accounting advice from people that are not accountants

48 Keeping Business Expenses Separate Separate bank account and credit cards Folders for each month, retain all receipts Miscellaneous folder for personally paid business expenses

49 How to Keep up with the Changes Canada Revenue Agency website CA Firm/Tax Preparation Company website Publications Tax tips Canada Tax Guide Newspapers p Budget Summaries

50 What s New For the 2010 year end EI contributions are eligible to self employed individuals. Sign agreement Deducted from T1 return annually

51 Questions? What Questions Do You Have? Jason Timmermans, BA, CA Partner KMD LLP 91 Frank Street Strathroy ON N7G 2R5 Phone: (519) ext. 118 Fax: (519) Website: