T1 income tax returns, reviewed before filing
Personal Tax Accountant in London, Ontario
A&P Accounting & Tax Experts prepares personal income tax returns for London households, from a teacher with one T4 to a retired couple splitting pension income or a landlord with three units near Fanshawe College. Our tax preparation in London, Ontario covers the whole family: we prepare each return, e-file with the CRA and stay on call after the Notice of Assessment arrives.
What sets our personal tax work apart is the conversation before anything is filed. You see the draft, we explain where your refund or balance comes from, and you leave knowing what to change next year.
Clients rate us 5.0 on Google and most often mention clear explanations and attention to detail, the kind that catches the forgotten slip or receipt that changes a result.
- 5.0 stars on Google
- Downtown London office
- In person or fully online
- Open Saturdays
What we prepare
Our Personal Income Tax Return Services in London
A T1 is the General Income Tax and Benefit Return every Canadian resident files to report the year’s income, claim deductions and credits, and qualify for benefits such as the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (formerly the GST/HST credit) and the Canada Child Benefit. You need one if you owe tax, want a refund or receive any income-tested benefit, which in practice means almost everyone.
Our income tax services in London, Ontario cover preparation, EFILE submission, a check of your Notice of Assessment against what we filed, and help setting up or navigating CRA My Account. The situations below are the ones we see every season, each with its own slips and forms.
Employment Income and T4 Returns
Your employer reports salary, tax withheld, CPP, EI and union dues on the T4 slip. We claim union and professional dues, and for remote or commission employees we use the T2200 your employer signs to deduct a share of rent, utilities and supplies using the detailed method.
The temporary flat-rate home office method ended after 2022, so the T2200 now matters more than ever.
Rental Property Income
Rental income goes on Form T776, with mortgage interest, property tax, insurance and repairs deducted against it. Capital cost allowance (CCA, the tax version of depreciation) is optional and cannot create a rental loss.
Claiming CCA lowers tax now but can trigger recapture when you sell, a trade-off we model for near-campus rentals by Western and Fanshawe. See the CRA’s rental income guidance.
Investments and Capital Gains
T5 slips report interest and dividends, T3 slips report mutual fund and trust income, and T5008 slips report securities sold. Gains and losses go on Schedule 3, where half of a net gain is taxable under the 50% inclusion rate, which stayed in place after the proposed increase was cancelled.
Selling your home also belongs on Schedule 3 as a principal residence designation. The CRA explains line 12700 capital gains in detail.
Students, Newcomers and First-Time Filers
Western University and Fanshawe College issue tuition on the T2202 slip, and unused tuition credits carry forward or transfer up to $5,000 to a parent. Newcomers need their residency date set correctly, since income earned abroad before arrival is not taxed in Canada.
New residents also file Form RC151 to start the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, and parents use RC66 for the Canada Child Benefit.
Seniors and Pension Income Splitting
Form T1032 lets couples move up to half of eligible pension income to the lower-income spouse, which can lower combined tax and protect Old Age Security from the clawback (the OAS recovery tax on higher net incomes).
We also pool medical expenses on the spouse where they produce the larger credit.
Notice of Assessment and My Account Help
After the CRA assesses your return, we compare the Notice of Assessment to what we filed and explain any differences. If you are not yet using CRA My Account, we help you register so you can track refunds, benefit payments and RRSP room yourself.
Slips piling up on the kitchen counter?
Call our London office and we will tell you exactly what to bring and what your return will cost.
Money left on the table
Deductions and Credits London Filers Often Miss
The biggest refund mistakes are rarely arithmetic. They are credits nobody asked about: a rent receipt that never made it onto the ON-BEN form, a parent’s disability certificate that was never filed, or child care paid to a neighbour that seemed too informal to claim.
We ask the questions software skips, then check each claim against the CRA rules on deductions, credits and expenses.
Ontario Trillium Benefit and Rent or Property Tax Credits
The Ontario Trillium Benefit combines the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit, the Ontario Sales Tax Credit and the Northern Ontario Energy Credit. You apply by completing Form ON-BEN with your return and entering the rent or property tax you paid for your principal residence.
Skip the form and the monthly payments that start each July never arrive.
Medical Expenses and the Disability Tax Credit
Medical expenses can be claimed for any 12-month period ending in the tax year, which helps when a big dental bill straddles December. The Disability Tax Credit requires Form T2201, Part B of which must be certified by a medical practitioner, such as your doctor or nurse practitioner, depending on the impairment.
Once approved, the credit can be claimed back up to ten years and transferred to a supporting family member.
RRSP and FHSA Deductions
RRSP contributions made up to 60 days after year-end count toward the prior year, so the deadline for the 2026 tax year is March 1, 2027. The First Home Savings Account allows $8,000 a year and $40,000 over your lifetime, and each contribution is deductible.
Neither deduction has to be used right away; carrying it to a higher-income year can be worth more. The CRA’s FHSA page covers eligibility.
Moving Expenses for a New Job or School
If you moved at least 40 km closer to a new job, business or full-time post-secondary program, Form T1-M lets you deduct moving costs from income earned at the new location. That includes movers, temporary lodging, travel and the cost of selling your old home.
Child Care Expenses and the Canada Child Benefit
Child care is claimed on Form T778, and in two-parent households it generally must be claimed by the spouse with the lower net income. Daycare, day camps and babysitters all qualify if you have receipts with the provider’s name or SIN.
The Canada Child Benefit is recalculated every July from both parents’ returns, so one late filing can pause payments for the whole family.
Smaller Claims That Add Up
Interest on student loans, eligible home accessibility expenses, the home buyers’ amount, charitable donations pooled on one spouse and the Canada Training Credit for course fees all appear on returns we review. Individually small, together they often change a balance owing into a refund.
Your checklist
Documents to Bring for Your Personal Tax Return
Bring every slip you received plus receipts for anything you want to claim. Most slips must be issued by the end of February, but T3 slips have until the end of March, which is why investment-heavy returns are often the last to finish.
| Document | Comes from | Usually arrives |
|---|---|---|
| T4 employment slip | Your employer | By the end of February |
| T4A, T4A(P), T4A(OAS) | Pension payers, Service Canada | By the end of February |
| T5 investment income | Banks and brokers | By the end of February |
| T5008 securities sold | Your brokerage | By the end of February |
| T3 trust and fund income | Mutual funds, trusts | By the end of March |
| T2202 tuition | Western, Fanshawe, other schools | By the end of February, in the student portal |
| RRSP and FHSA receipts | Your financial institution | Early January and mid-March |
| Rent receipts or property tax bill | Landlord, City of London | Keep from the year |
| Medical, child care, donation receipts | Providers and charities | Keep from the year |
Our printable tax deadlines and document checklist lists every date for the 2027 filing season.
Our process
How We Prepare Your Personal Tax Return
Every personal return follows the same four stages, whether you drop off a folder in February or upload photos of your slips the week before the deadline. Nothing is filed until you have seen it and signed off.
Drop Off or Upload Your Slips
Leave your documents at our Wellington Street office or send them through our secure client portal. With your Represent a Client authorization, we also pull your slips from the CRA using Auto-fill my return.
Review and Questions
We match what you sent against what the CRA has on file and flag anything missing, such as a T5 from a second bank. Then we go through the draft with you in person, by phone or on video.
Your Approval and EFILE
You sign Form T183, the authorization that lets us file electronically, by e-signature or in person. We then EFILE the return, and refunds on returns filed on time usually arrive within about two weeks.
Notice of Assessment Check
When the CRA issues your Notice of Assessment, we compare it line by line to the return. If the CRA changed anything, we explain why and respond if the change is wrong.
Late and missed returns
Behind on Your Taxes? Catching Up on Previous Years
Filing late costs money only if you owe, but not filing at all costs nearly everyone. The late-filing penalty is 5% of the balance owing plus 1% for each full month late, up to 12 months. Repeat late filers face 10% plus 2% a month, for up to 20 months.
Why Filing Still Matters When You Owe Nothing
The Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, the Canada Child Benefit, the Ontario Trillium Benefit and Guaranteed Income Supplement all stop when a return is missing. Unfiled years also leave RRSP room uncalculated and tuition credits unclaimed, so a person who is owed money is often the one losing the most.
How We Catch You Up
We pull the slips the CRA holds for each missing year, rebuild what is not on file from your records and prepare the returns oldest first. If the gap is large or the CRA has already asked for returns, our CRA audit and late-filing support covers penalty relief requests and voluntary disclosures.
Two or three years behind? You are not alone.
Call us to map out which returns to file first and what benefits you can restart.
Pricing
Personal Tax Preparation Fees
Across London, tax returns for a straightforward personal situation typically cost about $100 to $250. Fees rise with each added schedule, because a T776 rental statement or a capital gains reconciliation simply takes more time to get right than a single T4.
- Number of slips and income sources
- Rental, self-employment or capital gains schedules
- Disability, medical or moving expense claims that need supporting work
- Prior years to file or adjust
- Couples and families filed together
We give you a fixed quote after a short call about your situation, so the price is settled before we start. Our accounting and tax fees for London clients explain how each service is priced.
Why us
Why File Your Personal Taxes With A&P Accounting & Tax Experts
You could file with software or a seasonal storefront. People choose us because they want to understand their return and know who to call when the CRA writes in August.
Reviewed With You First
Every return gets a plain-language walk-through before the T183 is signed.
Downtown or Online
Meet us on Wellington Street, drop off a folder on a Saturday or work fully online.
Year-Round CRA Help
Review letters, reassessments and receipt requests are answered after April, not just during it.
Five-Star Reviews
A 5.0 rating from 11 Google reviews, every one five stars.
Personal Tax Return FAQs
When is the personal tax deadline in Canada?
For the 2026 tax year, most people must file and pay by April 30, 2027. If you or your spouse or common-law partner earned self-employment income, the filing deadline moves to June 15, 2027, but any balance owing is still due April 30.
The CRA keeps the full list on its important dates for individuals page, including instalment dates and the March 1, 2027 RRSP contribution deadline.
Do I need an accountant if I only have a T4?
Often you do not. A single T4 with no dependants, rental income or investments is a return many people file themselves with certified software, and lower-income filers may qualify for a free clinic through the CRA Community Volunteer Income Tax Program.
An accountant earns their fee when there is more going on: a home office claim on a T2200, a separated household sharing the Canada Child Benefit, a disability claim, a first year in Canada or a CRA letter you do not understand.
Can you get my tax slips from the CRA?
Yes. Once you authorize us through the CRA Represent a Client service, we can download the slips the CRA has on file for you, including T4, T5, T3, T4A and RRSP receipts, straight into your return.
That download is a cross-check, not a substitute for your own records. Slips issued late or amended after February sometimes arrive after the data is first available, so we still ask what you received.
Can you fix a return I already filed?
Yes. A missed slip or credit on a return that has been assessed can be corrected electronically through ReFILE, or on paper with Form T1-ADJ, for the most recent years.
Wait for your Notice of Assessment before requesting the change. For claims older than the normal reassessment window, a request may still be possible through the CRA Taxpayer Relief provisions for refunds going back ten calendar years.
How long does a tax refund take after e-filing?
The CRA aims to process electronically filed returns, and send any refund, within about two weeks when the return arrives by the filing deadline. Paper returns take considerably longer, often around eight weeks.
Refunds slow down when the CRA selects a return for review, when direct deposit is not set up in My Account, or when you owe an older balance that the refund is applied against.
Keep exploring
Related Services and Areas We Serve
Personal returns often connect to other work. A side business, an estate or a big life change can call for a different kind of help, and many of our personal tax clients live outside the city.
Self-Employed Tax Returns
Freelance or side-gig income adds Form T2125 to your return. Our self-employed tax returns cover business expenses, CPP and HST.
Personal Tax Planning
Plan RRSP, FHSA and pension splitting decisions before December 31 with year-round personal tax planning.
Estate and Final Returns
Executors handling a parent’s final T1 and T3 estate return can lean on our estate and trust tax return help.
Personal Tax Help for St. Thomas Residents
Elgin County families file with us online or make the short drive up Highway 4.
Tax Returns for Strathroy Families
Strathroy-Caradoc households, farm families and commuters along Highway 402.
Komoka and Middlesex Centre Tax Filers
Personal returns for Komoka, Kilworth and Delaware residents just west of London.
Get Your Personal Tax Return Started
Call to book a drop-off, ask what to bring or get a fixed quote for this year’s return. The earlier you call, the sooner your refund can be on its way.