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:
Unincorporat
Are you Ready to Make the Transition to Self-Employment
There are many of to whom the promise of being one’s own boss as a self employed business owner seems extremely appealing (particularly if have an extensive set of "leisure"wear). You might crave the feeling of accomplishment that is no longer possible at your current place of employment or you seek greater flexibility and love the idea of working from home. Perhaps you feel that you are not being compensated adequately for your skills or the value that you add to your organization. Or you simply might find yourself bored and uninspired, scouring social media sites for hours on end, and realize that you need a change of pace.
7 Reasons Why Debt is Good for Your Business
Debt is often perceived negatively. Debt can be “evil”, “crippling” and an “unforgiving master”( the last one from the Google query “Debt is…”;). It suggests a lack of sufficient cash flow and an inability to fulfil your funding requirements. It also an indication of increased risk, as if you are unable to service your debt repayments, it could have dire consequences for your business (see American Apparel). There is however another side to debt. The majority of large corporations have some level of debt. It can be a great way for individuals to earn a return on their investment. And of course it is an integral part of the engine that drives the world economy. For small business owners, debt can actually provide some great benefits as long as it is managed responsibly. Some of these are discussed below:
What to Do When your Tax Obligations are Overdue
The Many Hats of Self Employment
Being self employed comes with many benefits. You can sleep in, work in your pyjamas and go shopping in the middle of the day. You no longer have to report to a boss who doesn't really understand what you do or deal with mindless workplace politics. It all sounds wonderful, but unfortunately there are also many challenges. Small business owners have to deal with uncertainty and risk. They need to be disciplined and deal with the many demands that being self employed can impose upon us. In the early stages of self employment, most of us have to take on the responsiblity of fulfilling the administrative functions that you find in a more established business. Some of the skills that you need to develop are:
What Small Business Owners Should Know about Leasing vs Buying their Car, Corporate Ownership of Vehicles and Deducting Car Expenses
It's Bad Business to Let the Killer Get Away With It: The Sam Spade Guide to Better Business
Sam Spade, the hard edged protagonist of The Maltese Falcon, is in some ways the quintessential small business owner. He is a private detective (or dick if you prefer) with an office, a partner, a secretary and a network that would make a social media climber swoon. As a small business owner he takes on the risks of running a business and enjoys the rewards. He sets his own prices which vary significantly depending on the client and the job. (Recovering the Maltese Falcon is worth thousands, while searching for someone’s sister is worth considerably less). And despite his womanizing and wayward ways, he also embodies qualities that would behoove business owners to emulate.
9 Psychological Traits that Affect Our Investing and Business Decisions
Modern portfolio theory assumes that we are rational investors and invest only in efficient and optimal portfolios that provide the maximum return for minimum risk. The truth (as posited by Behavioural Economists) is that we far from rational and are subject to a myriad of psychological influences and behaviours that prevent us from not only making optimal investment or business decisions, but can in some cases turn us into morons. We buy and hold too long or buy and sell too quickly; we refuse to accept losses assuming that we will recover our money or we sell losing investments way too soon; we are overconfident about our own abilities or place too much trust in “experts”; we maintain the status quo and do nothing or we change things too frequently. The dichotomies of investing behaviour are numerous and fascinating and have lead to creation of field of study referred to as Behavioural Ecomomics. Each of these behaviours also has a tremendous impact on our business decisions and are discussed below:
5 Income Tax Tips from the Trenches
It is the time of year when many accountants and tax preparers live, breathe, eat and sleep taxes (leaving very little time to write about them!). And while much of it is routine, there are numerous issues that arise, the treatment for which is not immediately apparent and can actually be quite interesting (perhaps more so to a tax nerd), some of which are compiled below:
Breaking Up with a (Likeable) Client
Many of us have clients who are annoying, cheap, stupid , high maintenance or some combination thereof. As a new business owner, we are often stuck with these clients because we need them. However, we look forward to the day when we will have the thriving business that we so deserve, and fantasize about the spectacular way in which are going to fire them (you can shove your business into your rear orifice etc.) This is actually a productive fantasy as can help to channel and concentrate anger. Of course, in the majority of cases, a firing should be conducted with slightly less vigour.
Small Business Survival Statistics and 9 Steps to Improve Your Chances of Sticking Around
The temptation to start a small business or venture into self employment can be strong particularly for those who are unhappy with their existing employment situation. The freedom and flexibility that being your own boss seems to offer can be seductive, as is the potential for growth which you, as the business owner, can have full control over. You may have an idea or a particular skill that you believe is desirable to a specific target market and you are confident that once this target market is aware of your existence they will all be banging down your door. Consequently, you start your business by offering an amazing product or services, only to realize that building up a customer base is more challenging than you thought. Additionally, there are a number of other obstacles for which you do not have the expertise (done by another department when you were an employee) whether it is marketing, website development, legal research and accounting. Finally, you realize that you actually need a fairly sizable source of cash to maintain the business, deal with growth opportunities, whilst ensuring that you are able to support yourself.
CJAD Finance Segment with Tommy Schnurmacher – Everything You Want to Know about Small Business
3 Invoicing Options for Small Businesses and Freelancers
If you are running a business of any size, it is essential that you have a system in place that allows you to get paid. A system can range in sophistication from a handwritten receipt to a software generated invoice which is part of an entity wide CRM system. To meet this need there are countless invoicing solutions available and many billions of dollars are spent annually on setting up systems to meet each business’ unique needs.
Almost all accounting software geared to small business owners and freelancers have built-in invoicing modules that integrate with your accounting. This is very useful when doing your books as you don’t have to worry about entering your invoicing manually and it allows you to track your accounts receivable and deposits into your bank account. There are also invoicing solutions that are not full-fledged accounting systems; however they usually integrate with the more popular software.
What is the Hiring Credit for Small Business?
Recently, a client received a notice from the CRA indicating that he had received a credit of $265. The explanation was simply that it was a hiring credit. Upon further research, we determined that the credit was a result of the provision in the 2011 budget that gave a credit to small business for hiring additional employees.
To be eligible for the credit, small businesses are not required to prepare any additional reporting. The small business hiring credit is simply calculated based on the increase in employment insurance (EI) premiums paid in 2011 over 2010. The maximum amount that any business is eligible to receive is $1,000.
Since the calculation is based on amounts reported on your T4 slips for 2010 and 2011, you are only eligible if the slips have been filed for these calendar years.
It appears that the amount of the credit is 100% of the excess of 2011 EI premiums over the 2010 EI premiums, up to aforementioned limit of $1,000.
The credit will not actually be paid out immediately, but applied to your payroll account.
New businesses (like my client) will receive the credit. Their 2010 EI premiums will be calculated at $0.
Note that since the EI credit should reduce your payroll expense, it will reduce your business expense and by extension, increase profits. The journal entry is as follows:
Dr. Payroll (EI) Liability
Cr. Payroll Expense
Once you receive your payroll statement from Revenue Canada indicating the amount of the credit, you may reduce the payroll liability owing to them by the same amount. You cannot, however, estimate the amount of the credit before you have received notification from Revenue Canada.