When does Ontario's HST come into effect?
"It looks like the HST will be in effect in Ontario on July 1st, 2010.   As to whether it will replace GST with HST for all services, it looks like some sectors may get special treatment: Ontario may exempt mutual funds from HST (National Post).  But it doesn't look final yet. However, I would suggest that most service-based businesses in Ontario need to prepare to start charging 13% HST instead of 5% GST.  It will be the law. On the ""goods"" side of the new harmonized tax, it looks like certain goods will still be exempt from the provincial portion.  Here's a quote from the Ontario Budget 2009 News Release: ""Books, diapers, children's clothing   and footwear, children's car seats and   car booster seats, and feminine   hygiene products would be exempt from   the provincial portion of the single   sales tax."" Here's some additional information on the introduction of the HST, from the province: General Transitional Rules for Ontario HST. And finally, another interesting article from the Ottawa Business Journal: Preparing For Ontario Sales Tax Harmonization – It's Not Too Early  UPDATE: I just received an insert from Canada Revenue Agency included with my quarterly GST statement.  Titled ""Harmonization of the Sales Tax in Ontario and British Columbia"", it contains a section titled ""What this means for you"" (as in, you the business owner).  Here's an excerpt: [...] All Ontario and B.C. registrants would need to update their accounting   and point-of-sale systems to   accomodate the change in rate and new   point-of-sale rebates for the   implementation date of July 1, 2010. The harmonization of the sales tax in Ontario and B.C. may affect the   filing requirements of registrants   outside of these two provinces. Registrants will report their HST according to their current GST filing   frequency. As a result of the harmonization, there will be changes to the rebates   for housing and public service bodies. More information will be released as   it becomes available. Visit the CRA   web site often, at   www.cra.gc.ca/harmonization, for   the most up-to-date information on the   harmonization of the sales tax and how   it may affect you. [...] Last, I found some very detailed information on the HST here: NOTICE247 - Harmonized Sales Tax for Ontario and British Columbia - Questions and Answers on General Transitional Rules for Personal Property and Services.  Chances are anything you want to know is in there." In general you must charge HST on and after July 1, 2010. However, in the case of delivered sales, you must charge HST if the transfer of goods will happen on or after July 1,2010. Example:  A person comes into my hypothetical store on June 29, 2010 and buys a couch.  They opt to have it delivered by my truck on July 2, 2010.  I should charge HST on this purchase, not GST/PST. References: (community wiki) Ontario special HST sales tax transition rebate cheques: When and how much? What will happen to quarterly GST cheques when HST starts in Ontario? Ontario HST rebate: When would I qualify? Ontario gas prices & HST: What will happen to prices at the pump on July 1, 2010? How will Ontario’s HST apply to books / textbooks, which were PST exempt before? How can I minimize the impact of the HST? How does the HST affect a condominium purchase? Will I need to pay HST on condo maintenance fees? My Ontario small business collects only PST (beneath GST threshold). How will HST affect me?
"IMO it's usually not worth it and here's why. There's a statistical distribution of how likely a unit may fail depending on its age. Probability is high for a short period after the unit comes into use because there are parts that were not thoroughly tested and manufacturing defects. Then all those defective parts fail and get replaces and the unit likely functions without faults for years. Then it reaches it lifetime end and again probability becomes much higher - parts wear out and start failing one by one. Every unit comes with a manufacturer warranty of one to two years already and that warranty will likely cover any defect causes by materials and manufacturing defects - the period when fault probability is initially high. ""Extended warranty"" only covers the unit for two-to-five years and most units have lifetime of about ten years. This means that the ""extended warranty"" is in effect when it is least useful." You would report the overall income on your T1 general income tax return, and use form T2125 to report income and expenses for your business.  Form T2125 is like a mini income-statement where you report your gross revenue and subtract off expenses.  Being able to claim legitimate expenses as a deduction is an important tax benefit for businesses big and small. In terms of your second question, you generally need to register for a business number at least once you cross the threshold for GST / HST. If you earn $30,000/year (or spread over four consecutive quarters) then charging GST / HST is mandatory; see GST/HST Mandatory registration.  There are other conditions as well, but the threshold is the principal one. You can also register voluntarily for GST / HST even if you're below that threshold; see GST/HST Voluntary registration.  The advantage of registering voluntarily is that you can claim input tax credits (ITC) on any GST that your business pays, and remit only the difference.  That saves your business money, especially if you have a lot of expenses early on. Finally, in terms of Ontario specifically (saw that on your profile), you might want to check out Ontario Sole Proprietorship.  There are specific cases in which you need to register a business: e.g. specific types of businesses, or if you plan on doing business under a name other than your own. Finally, you may want to consider whether incorporating might be better for you.  Here's an interesting article that compares Sole Proprietorship Versus Incorporation.  Here's another article, Choosing a business structure, from the feds. @BlackJack does a good answer of addressing the gains and when you are taxed on them and at what kind of rate. Money held in a brokerage account will usually be in a money-market fund, so you would own taxes on the interest it earned.   There is one important consideration that must be understood for capitol Losses.  This is called the Wash Sale Rule.  This rule comes into affect if you sell a stock at a LOSS, and buy shares of the same stock within 30 days (before or after) the sale.  A common tactic used to minimize taxes paid is to 'capture losses' when they occur, since these can be used to offset gains and lower your taxes.  This is normally done by selling a stock in which you have a LOSS, and then either buying another similar stock, or waiting and buying back the stock you sold.   However, if you are intending to buy back the same stock, you must not 'trigger' the Wash Sale Rule or you are forbidden to take the loss. Examples.  Lets presume you own 1000 shares of a stock and it's trading 25% below where you bought it, and you want to capture the loss to use on your taxes. This can be a very important consideration if trading index ETF's  if you have a loss in something like a S&P500 ETF, you would likely incur a wash sale if you sold it and bought a different S&P500 ETF from another company since they are effectively the same thing.  OTOH, if you sold an S&P500 ETF and bought something like a 'viper''total stock market' ETF it should be different enough to not trigger the wash sale rule.  If you are trying to minimize the taxes you pay on stocks, there are basically two rules to follow.  1) When a gain is involved, hold things at least a year before selling, if at all possible.  2) Capture losses when they occur and use to offset gains, but be sure not to trigger the wash sale rule when doing so. The Canada Revenue Agency describes in detail here what information businesses must generally include on their invoices so that GST/HST registrants can claim Input Tax Credits (ITCs) for the expenses. Quote: Sales invoices for GST/HST registrants You have to give customers who are GST/HST registrants specific   information on the invoices, receipts, contracts, or other business   papers that you use when you provide taxable goods and services. This   information lets them support their claims for input tax credits   (ITCs) or rebates for the GST/HST you charged. [...] The page quoted continues with a table describing what, specifically, needs to be on a sales invoice based on the total amount of the invoice; the requirements differ for: total sale under $30, total sale between $30 to $149.99, and total sale $150 or more. For the total sale under $30 category, the only things a sales invoice must contain to support an ITC claim are (1) the provider's business name, (2) the invoice date, and (3) the total amount paid/payable. i.e. When the total sale is under $30, there is no requirement for any GST/HST amount to be indicated separately, nor for a business number to be present on the invoice. Hence, IMHO (and I am neither an accountant nor a lawyer), if your Uber rides are for $30 or less, then you shouldn't expect a GST/HST number anyway, and a simple invoice as described should be enough for you to claim your ITCs. Whether or not the provider is registered in fact for GST/HST is beside the point. For amounts over $30, you need a bit more. While the page above specifies that the provider's business number should be included beginning with the next level of total sales,  there are exceptions to those rules described at another page mentioned, Exceptions to invoice requirements, that specifically apply to the taxi/limousine case. Quote: Exceptions to invoice requirements GST/HST registrants are required to keep the necessary documentation   to support their claim for ITCs and rebates. In certain circumstances   the documentation requirements have been reduced. [...] For taxi or limousine fares your books and records must show: So at a minimum, for fare in excess of $30 total, you should ask the driver to note either (a) the amount of GST/HST charged, or (b) a statement that the fare includes GST/HST. The driver's business number need not be specified. Consequently, if your receipt for a ride in excess of $30 does not contain any such additional information with respect to GST/HST, then I would expect the receipt does not satisfy the CRA's requirements for supporting your ITC claim. i.e. Keep your individual rides under $30 each, or else get a better receipt from the driver when it is above that amount. p.s. It should go without saying, but your rides, of course, must be considered reasonable business expenses in order to qualify for GST/HST ITCs for your business. Receipts for rides of a personal nature are not eligible, so be sure to maintain proper records as to the business purpose and destination for each ride receipt so claimed. Your $400/month contributions are still tax deductible in the current tax year. However, each subsequent tax year, you will be required to repay at least 1/15 of the total amount you withdrew. In your example, let's say you used $25,000 for the home buyer's plan in the 2015 tax year. Throughout 2015, you contribute $400/month toward your RRSP. For the 2015 tax year, you are able to claim $4800 in RRSP contributions. For the 2016 tax year, you continue to contribute $400/month toward your RRSP. However, you are only able to claim $3133.33 in RRSP contributions, and must put at least $1666.67 toward repayment of your HBP. This will continue until you have entirely repaid the HBP. You are free to repay it early. This CRA page has the details. "I remember I saw a study that said minimum wage increases have minimum affects on how ""expensive"" everything gets. It has an affect on inflation in that sense but not to the dramatic levels conservatives put it at.   Ontario will be putting it's min wage to $15 in two years, $14 in the coming January. It's almost $13 now. It's chugging a long nicely and inflation has been lower than it should be." In Ontario, common law marriage requires 3 years of cohabitation, and doesn't give rights to property (which remains separate). I'd say in your situation you can still file as single, but I'd suggest asking your tax accountant to be sure. "FWIW, I've got a printed Amazon.ca invoice that was included in a shipment of books that I received in July, 2013. In the right-side side panel, at the bottom and in fine print, it reads:  Amazon.com.ca, Inc.   410 Terry Avenue   North Seattle, WA 98109-5210   GST Registration Number/No enregistrement TPS 85730 5932 RT0001   [etc.] If I view the same order online at Amazon.ca, the on-screen version does not have that detail.  Interestingly, at the bottom of the online invoice page it says: ""Please note: This is not a VAT invoice."" That probably should've said ""GST/HST"", for Canada, and not ""VAT"", which is presumably for the United Kingdom.  So, it would appear that Amazon may only print their GST/HST details on the shipped invoice printout. Which made me wonder: Did you purchase something that was fulfilled electronically, i.e. no physical shipment to you? e.g. a Kindle book, an app, or a service like Cloud Drive? If no physical invoice shipped means one doesn't get the required GST details, then there's still a Canadian tax requirement Amazon isn't fulfilling on such invoices, though not as broad an issue as you suspected. On the other hand, if you did get a physical invoice [and your comment confirmed you did], then what you were seeking was most likely printed on that version, just as mine was. At the moment, I'm not sure why Amazon wouldn't also include the GST number on electronic versions of invoices (whether received by email, or viewed on the web site) but if I find out more, I'll update my answer later."