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Toronto's Key Industries and the Tax Issues We Handle for Them

Toronto is Canada's largest business centre, and each of its main sectors has its own credits, filings and CRA audit risks. These are the industries we work with most in the city.

Bay Street & Financial District

Financial Services & Finance Contractors

  • Toronto is home to the TSX and the head offices of Canada's largest banks, so many finance, risk and IT professionals work through their own corporations on bank contracts.
  • We review contracts for personal services business (PSB) risk, where a corporation that looks like an employee loses the small business deduction.
  • We plan salary versus dividends and holding-company structures for high-income incorporated professionals.
Tech & AI

Technology Startups & Software

  • Toronto has one of North America's largest tech workforces, and its software and AI companies rely heavily on SR&ED and the Ontario Innovation Tax Credit.
  • We protect Canadian-controlled private corporation (CCPC) status when founders take foreign investment, because losing it reduces the refundable SR&ED credit.
  • We handle stock-option reporting, HST on digital services sold abroad, and investor-ready financial statements. See our startup accounting services.
Film, TV & Digital Media

Film, Television & Creative Production

  • Toronto is one of North America's biggest screen-production centres. Productions claim Ontario credits certified through Ontario Creates, such as the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit (OFTTC), the Ontario Production Services Tax Credit (OPSTC) and the Ontario Computer Animation and Special Effects credit (OCASE).
  • Game and interactive studios may qualify for the Ontario Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit (OIDMTC).
  • We keep labour-cost records and single-purpose production companies organized so credit claims hold up under review.
Condo & Infrastructure Boom

Construction, Trades & Development

  • Contractors file annual T5018 contract payment reports, track holdbacks under Ontario's Construction Act, and collect WSIB clearance certificates from subcontractors.
  • We handle HST on new residential construction, including self-supply rules and new housing rebates for builders.
  • We use job costing so each Toronto project shows its real margin before the next bid.
Landlords & Investors

Real Estate & Rental Property

  • Toronto property owners deal with taxes most Canadians don't: the Vacant Home Tax declaration, the Municipal Land Transfer Tax, and short-term rental registration plus MAT.
  • We separate current repairs from capital improvements, apply the CRA's residential property flipping rule, and plan holding corporations for rental portfolios.
  • Short-term hosts: see our Airbnb host accounting.
Hospitals & Professional Firms

Healthcare & Professional Corporations

  • The Discovery District hospitals and clinics across the city employ thousands of physicians, dentists and allied health professionals, many working through professional corporations.
  • In Ontario, physicians and dentists can have family members hold non-voting shares in their professional corporation, so we plan dividends around the tax on split income (TOSI) rules.
  • Most medical services are HST-exempt, so we check which revenue (such as cosmetic services) is taxable. See also our dentist and law firm services.
Food & Hospitality

Restaurants, Cafés & Bars

  • Toronto restaurants need a City eating-establishment licence, pass DineSafe inspections and often hold an AGCO liquor licence.
  • We handle the payroll treatment of tips and gratuities, HST on food and alcohol, and inventory counts that tie to the general ledger.
  • We reconcile POS and delivery-app payouts to the bank so revenue is complete before the CRA compares it.
Pearson & Highway 401 Corridor

Trucking, Logistics & Warehousing

  • The GTA is Canada's largest distribution hub. Carriers handle IFTA fuel tax, IRP registration and CVOR compliance alongside their regular tax filings.
  • We deal with owner-operator versus employee driver classification, which is a frequent CRA payroll audit issue.
  • We match CCA classes to trucks and trailers so you get the maximum depreciation claim.
Retail, E-commerce & Trade

E-commerce, Retail & Import/Export

  • Online sellers based in Toronto charge HST according to where the customer is, not where the business is, so a sale shipped outside Ontario may carry anywhere from 5% GST to 15% HST.
  • Importers now account for duties and GST through the CBSA's CARM Client Portal, and we reconcile those import GST amounts as input tax credits.
  • We cover marketplace-facilitator rules for Amazon and Shopify sellers. See also our import/export accounting.
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