Common Tax and Accounting Mistakes Moving Companies Make in Canada and How to Avoid Costly CRA Problems

Moving company tax mistakes in Canada: payroll bands, CCA classes, deposits and CRA compliance

Common moving company tax, accounting, and bookkeeping mistakes in Canada often result from mismanaged records and misunderstandings of CRA compliance rules. Gondaliya CPA provides practical advice to help moving companies correct accounting errors and meet all CRA requirements efficiently.

Quick Summary

Late corporate filing is penalised under subsection 162(1) at 5% of unpaid tax plus 1% per complete month — not a flat $250 or $500. Late payroll remittance penalties under subsection 227(9) start at 3% and reach 10% only after seven days. And heavy freight trucks in Class 16 depreciate at 40%, with the half-year rule suspended for eligible property acquired after 31 December 2024.

Reading time: 41 minutes.

The Numbers That Matter

Three Things You Have Been Told

Three figures circulate constantly in moving company tax guidance. All three are wrong, and two of them make the consequences sound worse than they are while hiding the ones that actually bite.

Late Filing Is a Percentage, Not a Flat Fee

Note also that section 162(7) — the $25 a day, $2,500 maximum penalty — is for failing to file an information return, not a late T2. There is no “$1,000 per day” records penalty anywhere in the Act.

Payroll Penalties Start at 3%, Not 10%

Subsection 227(8) is the penalty for failing to deduct, not the interest provision. Interest runs under section 161, and directors can be personally liable under section 227.1.

Class 16 Runs at 40%, and the Half-Year Rule Is Suspended

And the half-year rule is suspended for eligible property acquired after 31 December 2024 under Bill C-15, so the “only half the claim in year one” advice no longer describes a current purchase.

Understanding Moving Company Tax Obligations and Eligibility in Canada

Common Tax, Accounting and Bookkeeping Challenges

• Record-keeping errors: missing or inconsistent records produce lost deductions and income figures that will not reconcile.
• Payroll remittance delays: late remittance brings a graded penalty under subsection 227(9) plus interest.
• Accounting mistakes: misclassified expenses and absent job costing make the financial statements unusable for decisions and inconsistent with the return.

Who Is Subject to Moving Company Tax and CRA Compliance Rules

Size is irrelevant to whether the rules apply. It affects only the remittance band and the filing frequency.

Eligibility Criteria for Claiming Moving Expenses

• Business owners relocating themselves may claim under section 62 personally, where the 40 km test is met.
• Employees you relocate may claim under section 62, or receive a reimbursement from you that is not a taxable benefit where it covers actual eligible costs.
• Documentation supports both: receipts, proof of payment, and evidence of the distance.

Distinguishing Between Personal Income Tax and Corporate Tax Responsibilities

Overview of CRA Compliance Requirements Specific to Moving and Relocation Businesses

• T2 filing: six months after fiscal year-end, paragraph 150(1)(a). Late filing is penalised under 162(1), not 162(7).
• Payroll remittance: by band under Regulation 108, with penalties under 227(9) and interest under 161.
• Records: kept six years from the end of the taxation year to which they relate, paragraph 230(4)(b). Section 286 of the Excise Tax Act imposes the same for GST/HST.
• Electronic filing of the T2 is mandatory under subsection 150.1(2.1), with a $1,000 penalty for paper.

Identifying Common Tax and Accounting Mistakes in Moving Companies

Frequent Corporate Tax Filing Errors

Missed T2 deadlines and late payroll remittances lead the list. The T2 is due six months after fiscal year-end, with the balance of tax at two months — and the balance date is the one movers miss, because it produces no penalty notice, only interest.

Worked example. A Toronto mover with a 30 September year-end files the T2 two months late, owing $40,000. The penalty under 162(1) is 5% of $40,000 plus 1% for each of two complete months: $2,000 + $800 = $2,800, with daily compound interest running from the 30 November balance date. Figures changed for privacy.

Mixing Personal and Business Finances

Drawing company money for personal purposes without documentation creates a shareholder loan. Under subsection 15(2) the amount is included in the shareholder’s income unless repaid within one year after the end of the corporation’s taxation year under 15(2.6), and an imputed interest benefit arises under 80.4(2) while it is outstanding.

• A separate bank account and card used only for the business.
• Written loan agreements where draws are genuinely loans.
• Repayment within the 15(2.6) window, or conversion to salary or dividends with the tax consequences recognised.

Inaccurate Recording of Income and Expenses

Deposits taken before a move are included in income on receipt under paragraph 12(1)(a), because they are amounts received for services not yet rendered. The deferral comes from the reserve in paragraph 20(1)(m), which must be claimed on the return — booking the deposit as a liability in the accounts does not by itself defer the tax, and the reserve is added back into income the following year under 12(1)(e).

Expenses are deducted as incurred, with any portion covering a later period apportioned under subsection 18(9). A fuel card bill straddling a year-end is split, not pushed whole into whichever year suits.

Omitting Eligible Deductions and Credits

The half-year rule is suspended for eligible property acquired after 31 December 2024, and no claim arises before the available-for-use date in subsections 13(26) to (32). Input tax credits under section 169 need documents meeting 169(4): over $30 the supplier’s name and date, over $150 the registration number, your name, terms and a description.

Misinterpretation of the 40 km Rule and Its Impact on Expense Claims

Handling Employer Reimbursements Incorrectly: Common Pitfalls

A reimbursement of an employee’s actual eligible moving costs is generally not a taxable benefit. An allowance paid without accounting for actual costs generally is, and goes on the T4. Double counting — recording the reimbursement as revenue and the underlying cost as an expense — inflates both sides and will not reconcile to the bank.

Improper Use of Tax Forms or Codes

Worker classification is decided on the common-law factors from Wiebe Door, as refined in Sagaz and Connor Homes: control, ownership of tools, chance of profit, risk of loss, and integration. CRA Guide RC4110 sets them out, and a binding ruling is available on Form CPT1.

• T4 for employment income, with CPP, EI and income tax withheld.
• T4A for fees for services above $500, under Regulation 200(1).
• Both due the last day of February, Regulation 205(1).
• Misclassification produces assessed source deductions for both shares, plus the 227(9) penalty and director liability under 227.1.

Ignoring Quarterly Tax Instalments And Its Consequences

Corporate instalments are monthly under 157(1)(a), or quarterly for an eligible CCPC under 157(1.1), where taxes payable exceed $3,000. The 15 March, June, September and December dates are the individual instalment dates under 156(1). GST/HST filing frequency follows annual taxable supplies: annual to $1.5M, quarterly to $6M, monthly above.

Failure To Maintain Adequate Records And Supporting Documentation

Records are kept six years from the end of the taxation year under paragraph 230(4)(b). Failure to keep adequate books is an offence under section 238(1), carrying a fine of $1,000 to $25,000 on summary conviction — not a daily charge. Electronic records satisfy the requirement where they remain accessible and readable.

Establishing Clear Accounting Procedures Tailored to Moving Company Operations

Moving work is seasonal, deposit-heavy and crew-intensive, which is exactly the combination that breaks a generic bookkeeping setup. The procedures that matter are the ones that keep deposits, crew payments and fleet assets in their own lanes.

Recommended Bookkeeping Systems and Software

• QuickBooks Online or Xero with bank feeds reconciled monthly.
• Payroll through Wagepoint or ADP, integrated so remittances and slips come from the same data.
• Hubdoc or equivalent for receipt capture, since 169(4) documentation is what supports every input tax credit.
• Job costing assigning labour hours, truck time and fuel per move.
• A deposit liability account distinct from revenue, with the 20(1)(m) reserve calculated from it at year-end.

Tracking Eligible Versus Ineligible Expenses

Deductibility rests on paragraph 18(1)(a), with the capital restriction in 18(1)(b) and reasonableness in section 67. A logbook recording kilometres per job against total kilometres is what supports any apportioned vehicle claim.

Handling Transportation, Storage, and Travel Costs Correctly

• Trucks are capital, not a current expense: Class 10 generally, Class 16 only for heavy freight trucks over 11,788 kg hauling for others.
• Domestic freight and moving services are taxable supplies under section 165, with the rate set by the place of supply rules in Schedule IX, Part VI.
• International freight transportation can be zero-rated under Schedule VI, Part VII, with proof of export.
• Interlining relief applies where you subcontract part of a continuous freight movement to another carrier.
• Storage is a separate supply from the carriage and is generally taxable even where the freight leg is not.
• Lodging on the road is deductible on actual cost with receipts, excluding personal days.

Temporary Lodging, Meals and Incidental Costs

The simplified method uses a flat per-meal rate set by CRA rather than receipts, and the input tax credit on meals is recaptured to 50% to match 67.1. Parking and tolls on business trips are deductible with receipts; personal errands are not.

Documentation and Retention Periods

• Original supplier invoices showing vendor, date and amount.
• Customer deposits recorded against the move they relate to.
• Subcontractor invoices, with the classification analysis behind them.
• Fuel card statements reconciled to odometer logs.
• Asset invoices matched to available-for-use dates.
• All retained six years from the end of the taxation year, under 230(4)(b).

Bank statements alone are not sufficient support for an input tax credit. Subsection 169(4) and the Input Tax Credit Information Regulations require supplier-level detail that a statement line does not carry.

Reconciliation Practices To Avoid Discrepancies And Audit Triggers

1. Bank and credit card accounts reconciled monthly.
2. Fuel card charges matched against odometer logs per vehicle.
3. Crew pay slips agreed to the payroll register and the remittance.
4. Invoiced revenue agreed to declared revenue and to the GST/HST returns.
5. The deposit liability account aged, so the year-end 20(1)(m) reserve can be calculated.
6. Capital additions agreed to the CCA schedule by class.

Separating Moving Company Expenses From Personal Expenses

Separate accounts and cards, draws documented as loans or compensation, and any accidental personal spend reimbursed promptly with a note. The exposure is 15(2), and the clock is the 15(2.6) one-year window after the corporation’s year-end.

Understanding Eligible Moving Expenses Under CRA Guidelines

This section is about the section 62 deduction — the one claimed by an individual who relocates, including your own employees and you personally. It is not the deduction your company takes for operating costs, which runs through 18(1)(a).

Detailed Explanation of Transportation, Storage, and Temporary Living Costs

The 15-day limit applies to temporary board and lodging. There is no 30-day cap on storage in the statute; the storage must simply relate to the move.

Differentiating Deductible and Non-Deductible Expenses in Moving Operations

• Not deductible: house-hunting trips before the move, the cost of improving the old residence to sell it, losses on the sale, mail forwarding beyond the incidental allowance, and any cost reimbursed by an employer and not included in income.
• The deduction is limited to income earned at the new work location, so it cannot create a loss.
• Reimbursed amounts come out of the claim — you cannot deduct what someone else paid for.

Form T1-M and Corporate Tax Forms

Form T1-M supports the individual’s claim, filed with the T1. A corporation does not file T1-M and does not claim moving expenses under section 62 at all — its relocation costs for staff are ordinary business expenses under 18(1)(a), and its trucks are capital additions under Schedule II.

Simplified Versus Detailed Method

Simplified does not mean no records. CRA can still ask for the distance travelled and the dates, and a claim with neither fails on either method.

Employer Reimbursements and Moving Allowances

• A reimbursement of actual eligible costs, supported by receipts, is generally not a taxable benefit and is deductible to the company.
• An allowance paid without accounting for actual costs is generally a taxable benefit reported on the T4.
• Where an employee receives a reimbursement, those amounts cannot also be claimed on their T1-M.
• Non-accountable allowances attract CPP and, where applicable, EI.

Importance of Meeting the 40 km Distance Requirement

Under section 62, the new residence must be at least 40 kilometres closer to the new work location than the old residence was, measured by the shortest normal route open to the public rather than straight-line distance. The courts have applied it strictly; a shortfall denies the deduction rather than reducing it. Document the route and the distance at the time, not years later.

Unused Moving Expenses and Carry-Forward

Addressing GTA-Specific Considerations Including Land Transfer Taxes and Cross-GTA Moves

• Ontario land transfer tax applies on registration, and Toronto levies a municipal land transfer tax on top within the city boundary.
• For a company buying premises, land transfer tax is part of the capital cost of the property, not a current deduction.
• For an individual relocating, land transfer tax on the new residence is an eligible section 62 expense where the old residence was sold.
• A move crossing municipal boundaries within the GTA does not by itself create a new tax; what changes is the municipal land transfer tax on a Toronto purchase.

Responding to CRA Reviews, Audits, and Correcting Mistakes

Common Review Triggers

Steps When Facing an Audit or Review

1. Assemble contracts, invoices, bank statements, payroll records and slips, fuel logs, the asset register and the GST/HST returns.
2. Identify your own exposure first — unremitted source deductions, contractor status, deposits — before CRA does.
3. Respond within the time stated in the letter; late responses are assessed on CRA’s assumptions.
4. Engage a licensed CPA before answering substantively, and authorise them on Form AUT-01.
5. Expect reassessment with interest where errors are found, and check the normal reassessment period: three years from the original assessment for a CCPC under 152(3.1), four for others.

Correcting Errors and Voluntary Disclosures

A T2 error is corrected by filing an amended T2 through Corporation Internet Filing. Where something was not disclosed at all, the Voluntary Disclosures Program under Information Circular IC00-1R6 may limit penalties — but only where the disclosure is voluntary, meaning before CRA makes contact, and it must be complete, involve a penalty, and concern information at least one year overdue.

Relief from penalties and interest is a separate route under subsection 220(3.1), applied for on Form RC4288, within ten calendar years. Subsection 220(3) is the extension of time to file, not the relief provision.

Strategies for Handling Penalties, Interest, and Requests for Additional Information

• Pay the balance as soon as it is known; interest compounds daily under 161(1) and stops only on payment.
• Apply for relief under 220(3.1) where circumstances beyond your control caused the failure — illness, disaster, or CRA delay.
• Answer requests in full; partial responses extend the review and invite further assessment.
• Where an instalment shortfall produces more than $1,000 of instalment interest, a further penalty arises under section 163.1.

Record-Keeping During an Investigation

• Original receipts scanned and stored so they remain readable and accessible.
• Business accounts kept clear of personal spending, which is what keeps 15(2) out of the conversation.
• Odometer readings per trip, supporting both the vehicle apportionment and the CCA claim.
• The asset register agreed to the CCA schedule, class by class.

When to Consult Professional Advisors for Complex CRA Compliance Issues

Years of unfiled returns, a growing balance with penalties running, contractor status in doubt, a proposal letter already received, or a disposal of trucks producing recapture under 13(1) or a terminal loss under 20(16). Only a licensed CPA can represent you before CRA and issue a compilation engagement report under CSRS 4200, which provides no assurance.

Penalty Waivers and Taxpayer Relief

Relief is discretionary, applied for on Form RC4288 under 220(3.1), and limited to the preceding ten calendar years. Grounds are extraordinary circumstances, CRA actions, or inability to pay. It is not automatic, and the application has to evidence the circumstance rather than assert it.

Learning from Past Errors to Strengthen Future Tax and Accounting Practices

Monthly reconciliation, job costing by move, and a quarterly review of shareholder balances against the 15(2.6) window. The pattern that produces repeat assessments is almost always the same one: bookkeeping that stops during peak season and restarts in the spring.

Integrating Regular Internal Reviews to Ensure Ongoing CRA Compliance

Frequency and Scope

Quarterly is the workable cadence for most movers, with monthly bank reconciliation underneath it. Each review covers income and deposits, payroll and crew payments, GST/HST and fuel, and the asset register against the CCA schedule.

Self-Audit Checklist

• Are advance deposits recorded as a liability, and is the 20(1)(m) reserve calculated for the return?
• Is each crew member classified on the Wiebe Door factors, with the analysis written down?
• Have source deductions been remitted on the correct Regulation 108 band?
• Does every input tax credit have documentation meeting 169(4)?
• Are mileage logs complete and agreed to fuel receipts?
• Are shareholder balances inside the 15(2.6) window?

Timely and Accurate Corporate Tax Filing

The late filing penalty is 5% plus 1% per complete month to twelve under subsection 162(1). Reconciling monthly rather than annually is what removes the last-minute errors.

Training Staff and Management

• How crew classification is decided, and why the decision is documented.
• Which remittance band applies and when it changes.
• That a credit card slip is not sufficient for an input tax credit — 169(4) needs supplier-level detail.
• That deposits are a liability until the move is performed, and a reserve claimed at year-end.
• That dividends are not a deductible expense.

Using Technology and Automation to Minimize Human Errors in Accounting

QuickBooks Online, Xero and Wagepoint handle the recurring work; Hubdoc captures the documentation; GPS-linked mileage apps produce odometer records that stand up better than a handwritten sheet. Useful safeguards: alerts on deposits recorded directly to revenue, approval before revenue is recognised on an unperformed move, and a monthly exception report on fuel per kilometre by vehicle.

Streamlining Processes for Expense Tracking, Reimbursement Handling, and Tax Reporting

Job costing by move — labour hours, truck time, subcontractor fees, fuel, materials — is what turns a set of books into a management tool. It also answers the audit question of why margin moved, which is otherwise answered with a guess.

Key Takeaways for Reducing Risk

• Deposits in on receipt under 12(1)(a), deferred only by claiming the 20(1)(m) reserve.
• Crew classification decided on the common-law factors and documented.
• Disposals run through the class pool, with recapture and terminal loss recognised.
• Receipts meeting 169(4) captured at the point of spend.
• The corporate balance paid at two months, not with the return.

Encouraging Proactive Communication with CRA and Professional Support from Gondaliya CPA

Unanswered CRA letters lead to arbitrary assessment under subsection 152(7), where CRA assesses on its own estimate and the burden of displacing it falls on you. Authorise your representative on Form AUT-01 before you need them, and consider the Voluntary Disclosures Program while it is still available — it closes the moment CRA makes contact.

Final Recommendations to Sustain Reliable and Compliant Financial Management in Moving Businesses

Separate accounts, documented draws, receipts kept six years from the taxation year-end, and a quarterly review that actually happens. None of it is sophisticated. It is the absence of it that produces every assessment in this article.

FAQs for Moving Company Tax Mistakes Canada and CRA Compliance

Key Controls to Prevent Moving Company Tax Mistakes Canada

• Separate bank accounts for business and personal funds.
• Crew status decided on the Wiebe Door factors, with contracts supporting the conclusion.
• Payroll remittances reconciled monthly against the Regulation 108 band.
• Deposits recorded as a liability, with the 20(1)(m) reserve claimed on the return.
• Mileage logs kept per vehicle, supporting both expenses and CCA.
• Capital cost allowance applied by the correct Schedule II class, with Class 16 reserved for its narrow case.
• GST/HST on freight checked against Schedule IX for place of supply and Schedule VI Part VII for zero-rating.
• Receipts organised to the 169(4) standard, since bank statements will not do.
• Job costing tracking labour, fuel and subcontractors per move.
• Quarterly internal review covering deadlines and document completeness.

What Gondaliya CPA Provides

• Shareholder loan cleanup against the 15(2.6) window before an inclusion arises.
• Worker classification analysis, with CPT1 rulings where the answer is genuinely unclear.
• Amended T2 returns including CCA class corrections, recapture and terminal loss on disposals.
• GST/HST treatment for domestic, interlined and international freight, and for storage.
• Bookkeeping set up with job costing and a deposit liability account that feeds the reserve.
• Voluntary disclosures under IC00-1R6 and relief applications under 220(3.1).

Warning Signs

Choosing a CPA Firm in Toronto or Ontario

Look for transportation experience specifically, verification on the CPA Ontario public firm directory, a flat fee quoted before work begins, and the ability to represent you before CRA. Only a licensed firm can issue a compilation engagement report under CSRS 4200, which provides no assurance.

Points Worth Carrying

• Late filing is 5% plus 1% a month under 162(1), not a flat fee.
• Payroll penalties start at 3% under 227(9), not 10%.
• Class 16 is 40% and narrow; Class 10 at 30% covers most moving trucks.
• The half-year rule is suspended after 31 December 2024.
• The corporate balance is due at two months, the return at six.
• Deposits come in under 12(1)(a); the reserve is 20(1)(m) and must be claimed.
• The 40 km rule is section 62 and belongs to the person who moved.
• Temporary lodging under section 62 is capped at 15 days.
• Meals are 50% under 67.1, or 80% for long-haul drivers under 67.1(1.1).
• Records run six years from the taxation year-end under 230(4)(b).

Movers sit inside a wider transportation practice, and the same questions surface across every sector we act for. Here are eleven and the form the issue usually takes.

• Transportation, logistics & trucking: The nearest neighbour. Fleet classes, the Class 16 weight threshold and interlining relief on subcontracted legs of a continuous freight movement all apply the same way.
• Construction, general contractors & skilled trades: Crews engaged job to job raise the identical classification question, decided on control, tools, chance of profit and risk of loss.
• Property developers & builders: Commercial moves tied to completion dates, where a deposit taken months before the move is still income on receipt under 12(1)(a).
• Real estate investors, landlords & holding companies: Warehouse and yard premises are frequently held separately, which raises association under section 256 and one business limit shared under 125(3).
• E-commerce & online retailers: Storage billed alongside carriage is a separate supply for GST/HST, and treating the two as one invoice line is where the reporting goes wrong.
• Restaurants & food and beverage: Equipment moves run in tight closure windows, with overtime and accessorial charges that are income when the service is performed.
• Technology startups & SaaS: Office relocations bring the employee reimbursement question, where an accountable reimbursement is not a benefit and a flat allowance is.
• Medical doctors & physician professional corporations: Clinic moves involve regulated equipment and insurance requirements that change the quote but not the tax treatment of the fee.
• Dentists & dental practices: Operatory relocations sit beside leasehold improvements, which are Class 13 and straight-line over the lease plus the first renewal.
• Daycare, childcare & CWELCC services: Funded premises moves carry reporting of their own, which runs alongside the corporate filings rather than replacing any of them.
• Consulting firms: Most single-truck movers are owner-managed businesses in substance, with the same salary-versus-dividend and shareholder loan questions on their own file.

Professional Guidance: How Gondaliya CPA Handles Your Moving Company

Moving companies get into difficulty in a predictable set of ways: budgeting for a $250 or $500 late filing fine, when subsection 162(1) charges 5% plus 1% per month; believing payroll penalties start at 10%, when 227(9) starts at 3% and reaches 10% only past seven days; putting trucks in Class 16 at 30%, when Class 16 is 40% and confined to heavy trucks over 11,788 kg hauling freight for others while most moving vans sit in Class 10; halving the first-year CCA claim, when the half-year rule is suspended after 31 December 2024; recording deposits as deferred revenue without claiming the 20(1)(m) reserve, when 12(1)(a) has already included them; applying the 40 km rule to company vehicle claims, when it governs an individual’s section 62 deduction; capping meals at a notional $17, when section 67.1 allows 50% of actual cost and 67.1(1.1) allows 80% for long-haul drivers; remitting payroll three days or 15 days after the pay period, when Regulation 108 sets four bands; and paying the corporate balance with the return, when it was due at two months under 157(1)(b). Gondaliya CPA handles moving company accounting on a flat annual fee.

We handle what decides the outcome: separating deposits from earned revenue and claiming the reserve that actually defers the tax, documenting crew classification before CRA asks, setting the remittance band correctly, classifying each truck and trailer by its Schedule II class from the available-for-use date, running disposals through the pool so recapture and terminal loss land where they should, applying the freight GST/HST rules to domestic, interlined and international legs separately, keeping shareholder balances inside the 15(2.6) window, diarising the balance date apart from the filing date, and preparing compiled statements under CSRS 4200 that state plainly that no assurance is provided.

Our team starts with one month of job sheets, your payroll register and your last return. Whatever you move, you get clear advice and a fixed price before we start.

• Late T2 filing: 5% + 1%/month, ITA 162(1)
• Late payroll: 3% to 10% by lateness, ITA 227(9)
• Corporate balance: two months; three for an eligible CCPC
• Corporate instalments: monthly, ITA 157(1)(a)
• Moving trucks: Class 10 at 30%
• Class 16 at 40%: over 11,788 kg, freight for others
• Half-year rule: suspended after 31 Dec 2024
• Deposits: in under 12(1)(a), reserve under 20(1)(m)
• Meals: 50% under 67.1; 80% long-haul under 67.1(1.1)
• Section 62: 40 km test, 15-day lodging cap
• T4A: above $500, last day of February
• Records: six years from the taxation year-end

• For: Canadian moving companies — incorporated movers, single-truck owner-operators, and firms running crews across the GTA and beyond — dealing with deposits, crew payroll, fleet assets and GST/HST on freight.
• Not For: Individuals looking only to claim their own moving expenses under section 62, who need a personal tax return rather than business accounting, and businesses requiring a review or audit engagement, which we refer out.

• Subsection 162(1): The late filing penalty, 5% plus 1% per month.
• Subsection 227(9): The graded late payroll remittance penalty, 3% to 10%.
• Regulation 108: The four payroll remittance bands.
• Class 16: 40%, heavy freight trucks over 11,788 kg hauling for others.
• Class 10: 30%, general motor vehicles including most moving trucks.
• Available-for-use rule: Subsections 13(26) to (32), gating the first CCA claim.
• Recapture: Subsection 13(1), where a disposal drives the class pool negative.
• Terminal loss: Subsection 20(16), where a class empties with a balance remaining.
• Paragraph 12(1)(a): Includes amounts received for services not yet rendered.
• Paragraph 20(1)(m): The reserve that defers those amounts, claimed on the return.
• Section 62: The individual’s moving expense deduction, with the 40 km test.
• Subsection 67.1(1.1): The 80% meal rate for long-haul truck drivers.
• Subsection 15(2.6): The one-year shareholder loan repayment window.
• Schedule VI, Part VII: Zero-rating for international freight transportation.
• CSRS 4200: The compilation engagement standard, providing no assurance.

Moving Company Tax Check

This quick self-check indicates where your books most likely need attention. Please answer the five questions below.

Want a checklist to work from? You can download our free moving company tax checklist before your consultation.

Moving Company Tax Mistakes Canada: How Gondaliya CPA Can Help

Next Steps

Please book a free consultation with Gondaliya CPA and bring one month of job sheets, your payroll register, and your last filed return. Those three settle the deposit question, the crew classification question and the fleet class question, which is where almost all of the exposure sits for a moving company. You will get a flat annual fee including HST before any work begins. We serve Toronto, Mississauga, Vaughan, Brampton, Etobicoke, Scarborough, Ottawa and the rest of Ontario, and work with movers across Canada. If our content helps, please add gondaliyacpa.ca as a preferred source on Google.

Published: October 7, 2026  ·  Last updated: October 7, 2026

Editorial policy: We research against CRA, CPA Canada and CPA Ontario sources, fact-check the figures, and Sharad Gondaliya, CPA, reviews the content, which we update as the rules change.

Disclaimer: This article is educational information only and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Figures marked illustrative are examples rather than quotes or guarantees. It reflects rules current to 2026, including the late filing penalty in subsection 162(1), the graded payroll remittance penalty in subsection 227(9), the capital cost allowance classes in Schedule II, the advance payment inclusion in paragraph 12(1)(a) with the reserve in paragraph 20(1)(m), the individual moving expense deduction in section 62 and the six-year retention requirement in paragraph 230(4)(b). Rates and limits change and outcomes depend on your specific facts. Please consult a licensed CPA before acting.