Written by Tosif Hanif, CPA, ACCA, ACFE, MSc — Director, Accounting and Finance, Wall Tax Pro, Mississauga.
The Canada Revenue Agency has been steadily shifting toward digital filing, faster data matching and more targeted review activity. For an owner-managed business in Mississauga, the practical impact is less about new rules and more about how quickly a discrepancy is noticed.
Electronic filing is now the default expectation
Paper filing thresholds have tightened across corporate returns, information returns and GST/HST. If your business still files anything on paper, confirm whether an electronic filing requirement now applies, because penalties for filing in the wrong format are avoidable and irritating.
Payroll remittances remain the fastest penalty
Source deduction penalties apply immediately and escalate for repeated lateness. Businesses that grow into a more frequent remittance schedule often miss the change in frequency, which is a common and entirely preventable source of penalties.
- Confirm your current remitter type each year
- Reconcile the payroll account to your books quarterly, not just at T4 time
- Keep TD1s and ROE records complete and current
HST review activity and input tax credits
Input tax credit claims continue to attract review, particularly where claims are large relative to sales or where supplier information is incomplete. Keep supplier HST numbers, full invoices rather than card slips, and a clean reconciliation between HST filed and HST recorded in the books.
Record keeping and data matching
The CRA cross-references slips, third-party data and prior filings automatically. Discrepancies that once took years to surface are now flagged in months. The defence is unglamorous: consistent bookkeeping, reconciled accounts, and documentation retained for the required period.
How to get ahead of it
Most CRA problems we see started as a bookkeeping shortcut. A monthly review cycle, correct remittance schedule and reconciled HST account remove the majority of the risk. Wall Tax Pro provides bookkeeping, payroll and corporate tax together for GTA businesses — book a consultation to review where you stand.
Need help with this in Mississauga?
Wall Tax Pro provides professional tax, accounting, bookkeeping and advisory support for clients in Mississauga, across Canada, and for US filers. Call 647-297-4793 or send us a message.
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