Looking for Canadian tax procedure and accounting advice

Hi everyone. We are opening our AirBnb here in Canada in the next month or so and am looking for some guidance from Cdn. hosts regarding tax implications. Specifically the GST. Do we need to list as a company with the CRA and get a GST number to pay it? Hate dealing with the CRA but if we must, we must. Also, is there a good accounting program to track all of this? Haven’t found one that wasn’t aimed at small business with deliverables and staff. Thank you in advance as I defer to your experience. Love this forum as I’ve picked up a lot of great tips!

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You need to speak to your accountant and your lawyer.

QuickBooks, TurboTax are both good software programs. Your accountant should help you set them up.

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Hey, @Wisky , what province are we talking? If you are in Ontario, you might want to get that GST/HST number, since that is part of the criteria for the new Ontario Staycation Tax Credit for your guests.
“Ontario residents can claim 20% of their eligible 2022 Ontario accommodation expenses.”
Airbnb stays are eligible, but only if the host charges HST. If your listing is eligible, you may get more business.
If you are elsewhere, look to see whether anything like that is happening.
You will need the number anyway if you will be netting over $30,000 a year. You’re going to have to deal with the CRA one way or another, since it’s all taxable.

That, too.

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Yes I will. Thank you for the tips.

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OH, sorry I forgot to mention that didn’t I. We just relocated to BC from Ontario. I operate another at home business so I’m familiar with house write-offs etc. but I’m not familiar with the BC laws so I’ll have to consult a legal beagle and an accountant. So I’ll be on a search here for good ones now. Appreciate the feedback folks.

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hello :slight_smile: I was wondering if you found a good accountant here in BC? I just finished my first full year of rentals in December and trying to find someone who is versed with Airbnb rules to do the taxes

I’m not from Canada, but I don’t see any reason why an accountant needs to know a thing about Airbnb. You provide the accountant with your Airbnb tax form (if they issued one for you) or your Airbnb income statement, and the accountant should know what to do from there.

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Hi,

Yes I’m dealing with Cross and Company here in Nanaimo. As was mentioned, it’s not really the Airbnb rules but rather the CRA rules regarding taxation on rentals and GST etc. I had a one on one conversation with a senior partner who was very knowledgeable and took the time to answer all of my questions. I will be keeping my own records to file with them next year. I would recommend a conversation with them if you want.

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Yes :slight_smile: -I should have been more clear in my post. I did mean request a CPA that may be more versed on the tax rules for Airbnb type accommodations. I will check out your recommendation. Much thanks !

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You’re welcome! No problem as I asked him specifically about Airbnb too but it didn’t matter. I did find our that gross income under $30000 doesn’t pay any GST. But since I have such unwavering trust in the CRA, I’ll keep it aside anyway. lol. Cheers!

At the minimum, they also need to know how many nights your average length of stay is, what specific services you provide to your guests, how much of the work you do as well as whether or not you have a management company, etc.

If anyone has a CPA that isn’t asking you about your average length of stay I recommend finding a new one that knows more about vacation rental businesses. I know that the average length of stay is not noted on a 1099 but am not sure about the document that is available for hosts who aren’t getting a 1099.

I’ll be keeping my own detailed spreadsheet for whatever they need that’s for sure. A 1099 is an IRS form for the US. We don’t have that here in Canada. Closest to it is a T4A for having employees or people you pay to do things. We’ll be doing everything.

Yes, I was replying to Rebecca who is in the US.