Starting a business isn't always easy. There are several things to think about to make sure your choices do not negatively impact your business in the long run. However, sometimes the pressure can force you to make a poor decision that can hurt your potential for success, or at least set you back.

At Prudent Tax Services, we’re proud of the work that we do. But, instead of telling you why our customers love us, we’ll let them do the talking! Here’s what some of our customers are saying about us lately:

For many people, filing taxes can create anxiety or concern. Whether they find filing taxes complicated and time-consuming or that they lack the knowledge to do it properly, some of us can feel a sense of dread at tax time. If the thought of taxes causes you any stress, you may benefit from hiring a filing service to help you complete and submit your return.

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Income tax installments are periodic income tax payments that the individual tax payer has to pay to cover the taxes that they otherwise have to on April 30th of the following year.

You may have to pay your taxes in installments if not enough income tax was withheld from your income.

Self-employment leads to so many advantages, so many expenses you can claim against your earnings, as long as those expenses contributed to your business. Some of these are the following:

Please refer to the CRA websirte for the most up to date Personal and Corporate Tax Rates: www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/llrts/menu-eng.html

How Long You Should Keep Your Records: According to the CRA, you should keep your tax documents and supporting records for at least six years after the end of your tax year, we recommend that you keep everything for seven years, just in case you need it. This time period applies to both business and individual taxpayers.

Who has to file income taxes?

• You have a balance owing on your tax return.
• You received a request to file a return.
• You and your spouse or common-law partner elected to split pension income.
• You sold property or realized a taxable capital tax gain.
• You are required to repay Old Age Security (OAS) or Employment Insurance (EI).
• You have not repaid all of the amounts you withdrew from your Registered Savings Plan (RRSP) for a Home Buyers Plan or...

You may file your tax return with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) by Internet or by mail.

• By Internet options: NETFILE or EFILE. The NETFILE option is for a taxpayer who wants to prepare his/her own tax return and send it electronically directly to the CRA. The EFILE option is for a taxpayer who has his/her tax return prepared by a registered electronic filing service provider who then sends the completed tax return to the CRA electronically on behalf of the taxpayer. Both options require that the tax return be prepared using one of the commercial tax preparation software packages or Web applications certified by the CRA to meet system requirements.

Interest

• If you have a balance owing for the year, you are charged compound daily interest starting May 1 on any unpaid amounts owing. This includes any balance owing if your return is reassessed. In addition, you will be charged interest on the penalties starting the day after your return is due.
• The rate of interest you are charged can change every three months. If you have amounts owing from previous years, they will continue to charge compound daily interest on those amounts. Payments you make are first applied to amounts owing from previous years.

For Return Follow up wait at least 6 weeks after the return was submitted before following up.

If you owe tax for the current tax year and do not file your return on or before April 30, then the CRA may impose penalties and interest. They will charge you a late-filing penalty.

1. If you change only your first name or last name, call 1-800-959-8281 to advise us of your name change.
2. If you change your first name and last name, send the following by mail or fax to your tax centre one of the following documents:

When completing your tax return, tick the box that applied to your marital status on December 31, 2016, and if applicable, provide the requested information about your spouse or common-law partner.

If you changed your name, let the CRA know as soon as possible.

If you recently got married, divorced, became widowed, or entered into a common-law partnership, you must tell the CRA about the change in marital status by...

You can tell the CRA about your new marital status and the date of the change by using one of the four options:

We list the service enhancements and major changes below, including announced income tax changes that were not law. If they become law as proposed, they will be effective for 2016 or as of the dates given.