Accountant for content creators and influencers.
A specialist accountant for content creators, not a generalist who has never seen an AdSense payout or a brand-deal invoice. We handle tax, GST/HST, bookkeeping and incorporation for YouTubers, streamers, influencers and affiliate marketers, based in Whitby and working with creators across Canada remotely, from a chartered professional accountant (CPA, CA) who understands how platform income actually works.
Creator income breaks the normal tax assumptions.
Most accountants treat a creator like a freelancer with a webcam. The income does not behave that way. Your money arrives from several platforms at once, often in US dollars, net of fees you never see on your bank statement. Some of it, like a Canadian brand deal, is HST-taxable. Some of it, like your AdSense and Twitch payouts, is a zero-rated export that still counts toward the $30,000 GST/HST line. Google withholds US tax on your US-viewer earnings unless you file the right form. Gifted products and comped trips are taxable income, not freebies. And the gear, the home studio and the software all have their own rules.
So a creator genuinely needs an accountant who has seen this before, not a generalist learning on your return. We handle tax, GST/HST, bookkeeping and incorporation for content creators across Canada, and we work entirely remotely, so it does not matter whether you are in Whitby, Vancouver or on the road. The patterns are familiar, the planning windows are clear, and your information stays private.
Accounting and tax services built for creators.
One firm for tax, GST/HST, bookkeeping and advisory. One point of contact who understands platform payouts, foreign income and brand deals, so nothing falls between your accountant and your bookkeeper, and you can get back to creating.
Personal and corporate tax
Your personal T1 and your self-employment T2125, or your corporation's T2 if you have incorporated, filed and planned together, with creator income reported correctly from the first dollar.
GST/HST registration and filing
We track the $30,000 worldwide-sales threshold, register you at the right time, and file the returns, including the zero-rated treatment on your foreign-platform income (which still counts toward the threshold).
Foreign income and US withholding
AdSense, Twitch, Patreon and US brand income converted to Canadian dollars at the right rate, with the W-8BEN and the foreign tax credit handled so you are not taxed twice.
Bookkeeping for multi-platform income
YouTube, Twitch, Patreon, Stripe, PayPal and brand payouts reconciled to your bank each month, gross-to-net, so your revenue is right and your deductions are clean.
Incorporation and tax planning
Whether incorporating saves you tax, when, and how to pay yourself, modelled on your real numbers, including the personal services business trap that catches single-sponsor creators.
Catching up and CRA support
Behind on past years of creator income? We fix it through the Voluntary Disclosures Program before the CRA comes looking, and we handle it discreetly.
Four things most accountants miss.
These come up almost every time a creator changes accountants. Worth knowing whether or not we end up working together.
Foreign platform income still counts toward the $30,000 HST line
Your AdSense, Twitch and Patreon payouts are generally a zero-rated export, so you charge 0% GST/HST on them. But zero-rated sales are still taxable supplies, so they count toward the $30,000 small-supplier threshold. A creator earning $50,000 a year entirely from foreign platforms has to register and file GST/HST, even while remitting nothing on that income. Most assume foreign income is invisible to the HST system. It is not.
Why Google takes up to 30%, and how to get it back
The US treats your US-viewer ad revenue as a royalty and withholds tax on it. Without a W-8BEN on file, Google can hold back up to 24% of your worldwide earnings until you provide your tax information. With it, you pay a reduced treaty rate on US earnings only, and you recover that US tax in Canada through the foreign tax credit on Form T2209, not as a deduction. Most creators either never file the form or never claim the credit.
Gifted products and trips are taxable income
A PR package or a comped trip you receive in exchange for promotion is a barter transaction, taxable at its fair market value. There is no $100 free-gift rule in Canada. That is a US idea that does not apply here. Skipping it is unreported income waiting for a reassessment.
The one-sponsor trap if you incorporate
A creator who incorporates but earns almost everything from a single sponsor or platform can be treated as a personal services business. That strips the small business deduction, pushes the corporate rate to roughly 44.5% in Ontario, and removes most deductions. We check for this before you incorporate, not after.
Three kinds of creators we work with.
YouTubers and streamers
Channels earning from AdSense, memberships, Super Chat and sponsorships. We handle the foreign income, the W-8BEN and the multi-platform bookkeeping so the US withholding stops being a mystery.
Influencers and affiliate marketers
Instagram, TikTok and blog creators earning from brand deals and affiliate commissions. We sort the HST on Canadian versus foreign payers and keep the deductions defensible.
Subscription and membership creators
Patreon, Substack and channel-membership creators earning recurring income, often through foreign platforms. We handle GST/HST registration where required, and help catch up on past years if you have fallen behind.
You'll work directly with Elena.
EK CPA Pro is owner-operated. When you call, you're talking to the CPA, CA who's actually doing the work, not a junior who hands the file off at year-end. Elena has been working with owner-operated businesses across Durham Region since 2009, and is a graduate of CPA Canada's In-Depth Tax Program.
Questions creators ask first.
Do I have to report income from YouTube, Twitch or brand deals?
Yes, from the first dollar. The CRA treats a monetized channel or account as a business, so all of it, cash and the fair market value of gifts, is business income reported on Form T2125. There is no hobby threshold that lets you skip small amounts, and foreign platform income counts the same as Canadian income.
Do I need to charge HST as a creator?
Only once your worldwide taxable sales pass $30,000 over four rolling quarters. After that you charge HST on Canadian brand work, charge 0% on foreign-platform and foreign-brand income (a zero-rated export), and file returns. The catch is that the foreign income still counts toward the $30,000 that triggers registration in the first place.
Why is Google or YouTube withholding tax, and can I get it back?
The US withholds tax on your US-viewer ad revenue. File a W-8BEN to claim the Canada-US treaty rate, which is far below the 30% default, and recover any US tax withheld through the foreign tax credit on your Canadian return. Done right, you are taxed once, not twice.
Should I incorporate my creator business?
Usually only once your profit is consistently well above what you need to live on, because a corporation defers tax on the money you leave inside it. If almost all your income comes from a single sponsor, incorporating can backfire as a personal services business. We model it on your real numbers before you decide.
I have not reported my creator income. What now?
The Voluntary Disclosures Program lets you correct past years and often reduces or removes penalties, but only if you come forward before the CRA contacts you. We handle the filing discreetly and get you current. The longer you wait, the fewer options you have.
How do you bill?
Fixed-fee, quoted up front. You will know the cost of your year-end, your tax filings, your GST/HST and your monthly bookkeeping before we start. No surprise invoices, no hourly billing.