Frequently asked questions
Tax and Accounting Questions From London, Ontario Clients
These are the questions people ask A&P Accounting & Tax Experts most often, answered the same way we would answer them across the desk in our downtown office. They come from London employees, landlords, newcomers, sole proprietors and owner-managers of small corporations.
Answers are grouped into working with our firm, personal taxes, small business and corporate taxes, and CRA letters. Each one starts with the short answer, then explains the rule, the deadline or the trade-off behind it.
General answers only go so far. If a deadline is close, the CRA has written to you, or several years are involved, call us so we can look at your actual situation.
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Getting started
Working With Our Firm
Most new clients want to know the practical things first: what the first call costs, whether they have to come downtown, and how their documents are handled. Here is how working with our London accounting team actually runs, and you will find parking, transit and hours for our downtown London office on the contact page.
Do you offer a free consultation?
We offer a free quote by phone. You describe what needs filing, we ask a few questions about your slips, business or CRA letter, and we give you a fixed fee before any work starts.
There is no cost or obligation for that call. If you decide to go ahead, the quoted fee is what you pay, and our fees and pricing for accounting and tax work in London explains what drives the number.
Do you work with clients outside London?
Yes. We work with clients across Elgin, Oxford and Middlesex counties, and many of them work with us entirely online, with documents uploaded to a secure portal and authorizations signed electronically.
Our service areas around London, Ontario include St. Thomas, Woodstock, Strathroy, Ingersoll, Komoka and Dorchester, all within about 35 minutes of our Wellington Street office if you prefer to meet in person.
What languages do you speak?
Ask when you call and let us know the language you are most comfortable in, and we will tell you honestly how we can help. You are always welcome to bring a family member or trusted friend to an appointment to help with translation.
Newcomers often worry that a first Canadian return is too complicated to explain. We take the time to walk through residency, world income and benefits step by step, as described on our page about who we serve, including newcomers and international students.
Can you deal with the CRA on my behalf?
Yes, once you authorize us. Through the CRA's Represent a Client service, you give us access to view your account, download slips and speak with CRA agents about your file.
You choose the level of access and can cancel it at any time in My Account or My Business Account.
What accounting software do you work with?
We keep books in QuickBooks Online and Xero, the two cloud platforms most London small businesses use. If you already have a file in either one, we work in it directly rather than rebuilding your records.
If you are still on spreadsheets or a shoebox of receipts, we can recommend a setup that suits the size of your business. See our cloud bookkeeping services for London small businesses for how that transition works.
How do you keep my documents secure?
Documents are exchanged through a secure client portal rather than by unencrypted attachments, and authorizations such as the T183 e-filing form are signed electronically.
If you prefer paper, you can drop off a folder at our downtown office and pick up your originals when your return is done.
T1 returns
Personal Taxes
Personal tax questions spike every March and April, and most of them come down to deadlines, refunds and whether a return is worth handing off. For help with your own filing, see our personal tax return preparation in London, Ontario.
What is the latest I can file my taxes without a penalty?
For the 2026 tax year, most people must file by April 30, 2027. If you or your spouse or common-law partner earned self-employment income, the filing deadline is June 15, 2027, but any balance owing is still due April 30.
Filing late when you owe triggers a penalty of 5% of the balance plus 1% for each full month the return is late, up to 12 months, and interest on top. The full list of dates is on our Canadian tax deadlines and document checklist.
How far back can I file a tax return?
You can file a return for any past year, and the CRA expects every unfiled year to be filed. Refunds, however, are generally only paid on returns filed within 10 calendar years after the end of the tax year.
Filing catch-up years also restarts benefits such as the Canada Child Benefit and the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, the new name for the GST/HST credit since July 2026. We prepare personal tax returns for current and past years, often several years at once.
Is it worth paying for tax preparation?
It depends on how complicated your year was. If your only income is one T4 and you have no dependants or unusual claims, tax software or a free CRA volunteer tax clinic (CVITP) may be all you need.
Paying a professional starts to make sense when you have rental income, self-employment, capital gains, a separation, a death in the family, several unfiled years or a CRA letter. Those are the returns where missed deductions, wrong elections and reassessments cost far more than the preparation fee.
How long does it take to get my tax refund?
The CRA aims to issue refunds within about two weeks for returns filed electronically and about eight weeks for paper returns, when there are no issues. Refunds can be held longer if the CRA selects the return for review or you owe money from another year.
Signing up for direct deposit in CRA My Account is the fastest way to receive the money once it is approved.
Can I change a tax return after it has been filed?
Yes. You can request a change for any of the past 10 calendar years, usually through ReFILE by your tax preparer, the "Change my return" option in My Account, or Form T1-ADJ.
Wait until you receive your Notice of Assessment for the original return before requesting an adjustment. We can review a return someone else prepared and tell you whether an adjustment is worth filing.
Do I need to file if I had little or no income?
You are not required to file if you owe nothing, but filing is the only way to qualify for most federal and Ontario benefits. Students, seniors on a fixed income and newcomers often miss out on the Ontario Trillium Benefit and the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit simply because no return was filed.
A low-income return is usually quick to prepare, and any earned income it reports adds to your RRSP contribution room for future years.
Behind on a return or two?
Call for a fixed quote to catch up. We will tell you which years to file first and what documents to request from the CRA.
Owners and corporations
Small Business and Corporate Taxes
Business owners juggle more filing obligations than most people realize: HST, payroll remittances, T2 returns, instalments and year-end statements. The answers below cover the decisions we see London owner-managers struggle with most.
For ongoing help, see our corporate tax return services and small business accounting in London.
When does a business need to register for HST?
You must register once your taxable sales pass $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over four consecutive calendar quarters. Below that, you are a small supplier and registration is optional. Taxi and rideshare drivers are the exception and must register from their first dollar of fares.
Registering voluntarily can make sense if you buy a lot of equipment, since it lets you claim input tax credits on the 13% Ontario HST you pay. Our GST/HST registration and return filing service covers both situations.
Can I switch accountants partway through the year?
Yes, and it is more common than people think. You authorize us through Represent a Client, request your prior-year returns and working papers from your previous accountant, and we pick up from the last reconciled month in your books.
The cleanest switch points are just after a fiscal year-end or an HST filing period, but there is no wrong time if the current service is not working for you.
What is the difference between bookkeeping and accounting?
Bookkeeping is the day-to-day recording of transactions: categorizing sales and expenses, reconciling bank and credit card accounts, and tracking what customers and suppliers owe. Accounting uses those records to prepare financial statements, tax returns and advice.
Good accounting depends on good books. See our monthly and catch-up bookkeeping services and our small business accounting and financial statement services for how the two fit together.
When is my corporation’s T2 return due?
A T2 corporate return is due six months after the end of the corporation’s tax year, so a December 31, 2026 year-end must file by June 30, 2027. Any balance owing is due earlier: two months after year-end, or three months for many Canadian-controlled private corporations that claim the small business deduction.
Missing the payment date adds interest even if the return itself is on time. We handle T2 corporate tax returns and year-end statements for Ontario corporations.
Should I incorporate my business?
Incorporating pays off mainly when your business earns more than you need to live on, because profits left in the corporation are taxed at the low small business rate on the first $500,000 of active business income. If you withdraw everything you earn, the savings shrink and the extra filing costs may outweigh them.
Limited liability, plans to sell and family income splitting rules also factor in. Our Ontario business incorporation service starts with that cost-benefit conversation.
Does my bank need financial statements from an accountant?
Most lenders ask incorporated borrowers for annual financial statements, and for owner-managed businesses that is usually a compilation engagement prepared under CSRS 4200. It presents your numbers in a standard format without the testing involved in a review or audit.
If your bank or a franchisor asks for a review or audit specifically, check that requirement before your year-end so there is time to arrange it.
When the CRA writes
CRA Letters and Tax Problems
A letter from the CRA is stressful, but most can be resolved with a clear, complete response sent on time. The worst outcome usually comes from ignoring the deadline, not from the original issue. Our CRA audit support for London taxpayers covers reviews, audits, objections and relief requests.
How do I know a CRA call or text is real?
Check before you respond: sign in to CRA My Account or My Business Account yourself and see whether the same message or balance appears there. The real CRA never demands payment by gift card, prepaid card or cryptocurrency, never threatens arrest, and does not send refunds by text or e-transfer link.
If a caller pressures you, hang up and call the CRA back on a number from canada.ca. The CRA keeps a list of current tax scams and fraud warnings.
What if I can’t pay what I owe the CRA?
File your return on time anyway, because the late-filing penalty is often larger than the interest on the balance. Then contact the CRA to set up a payment arrangement, which you can often propose yourself through My Account.
Interest keeps running until the balance is paid, but a realistic arrangement stops collection action. If financial hardship caused the debt, interest relief may be possible under the Taxpayer Relief provisions.
The CRA sent me a letter asking for receipts. What should I do?
Respond by the date printed on the letter, which is often 30 days away. These review letters usually ask you to prove a specific claim such as medical expenses, child care, moving costs or rental expenses, and they are routine rather than a sign of wrongdoing.
Send only what was requested, with a short summary that ties each receipt to the amount claimed. Our CRA review and audit support starts with reading the letter with you and preparing a clear response.
Can CRA penalties and interest be cancelled?
Sometimes. Under the Taxpayer Relief provisions, the CRA can cancel or waive penalties and interest caused by circumstances beyond your control, a CRA error or financial hardship.
Requests must relate to a tax year that ended within the past 10 calendar years and need supporting evidence, such as medical records or proof of the event that caused the delay.
What is the Voluntary Disclosures Program?
The Voluntary Disclosures Program (VDP) lets you correct unreported income or unfiled returns before the CRA contacts you, in exchange for relief from some penalties and part of the interest.
The disclosure must be voluntary and complete, so it only works before the CRA starts its own enforcement action on the issue. Talk to us before submitting anything, since a partial disclosure can do more harm than good.
Got a CRA letter on your desk?
Read us the reference number and the deadline over the phone, and we will tell you what the CRA is asking for and how we can respond.
Still Have a Question?
If your question is not answered here, it probably depends on details only a conversation can sort out. Call our office and we will give you a straight answer and a fixed quote if there is work to do.