You have been working as an employee for a very long time. Now, you have started a side-hustle to bring more financial freedom and flexibility to your life. It could be anything ranging from freelance work or your own physical or online business. Being self-employed is great as you are more independent. Your side-hustle could turn into a very profitable business. However, everyone has to pay taxes in Canada. When you are self-employed, you’d have to perform HR, Marketing, Social Media management, and other duties as most new business owners don’t have the capital to hire many people. Likewise, you also need to file and pay the taxes by yourself. It could be a daunting task but let me assure you that it’s not too difficult.There are certain essential things that you need to know when the tax season is close. This guide would provide all the details related to filing taxes when you are self-employed.Continue Reading to find out more.

Register GST/HST number

When you have to file the taxes, make sure that you comply with all the rules and regulations of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). You need to have all the relevant information and financial figures ready to fill out the details on the tax forms. Once you are done gathering up all the required information about your business, you have to go ahead and register for the GST/HST number. However, not everyone has to register for the GST/HST number. Individuals earning more than $30,000 will have to register for the GST/HST number. If your income hasn’t reached $30,000, you will fall under the category of a small supplier according to the Government of Canada, and they don’t need to register for the GST/HST number.Here are a few of the things which would be required if you are looking to register for the GST/HST number:

  • Date of Registration: It is usually the date when you have crossed the $30,000 earning threshold.
  • For GST/HST purposes, the fiscal year is generally the same as the tax year for income tax purposes.
  • Total Annual Revenue: Certain things count in the total annual revenue, like taxable sales, leases, and other supplies. However, if you just started the business, you can estimate the future income.
  • Basic Information: First, you need to provide your personal information like the social insurance number, date of birth, etc. Secondly, you also need to provide the business information, including the business name, business number, etc.

Fill out the tax forms

Once you are done with the registration of the GST/HST number and have the GST number with you, now you can go ahead and fill the required self-employed tax return form.These are the forms which you’d need to fill:

  • T4A form: You can get the T4 slip from your clients, known as the T4A form.
  • T2125 form: This is the form that will help identify the gross income. You can maximize the deductions for the self-employment expenses through this form.
  • T1 Return form: This is the personal income tax return form.

Conclusion

Filing HST and GST taxes for self-employed people shouldn’t be a very difficult task. However, if the person is not good with accounting or doesn’t want to deal with all the hassle of filing the taxes, they should always hire an accounting firm to get the job done perfectly. As you don’t want to waste your time doing all the paperwork for the taxes, you could rather spend it on seeing the operations of your business.Contact us now if you want to hire professional accountants or need any other tax advice.