Accountant for contractors and independent contractors.
A specialist accountant for contractors, not a generalist who treats your file like a regular small business. We handle tax, bookkeeping and HST for independent contractors and trades the way they actually run, from solo electricians, plumbers and HVAC techs in Whitby, Oshawa and Ajax to incorporated contractors across the GTA, all from a chartered professional accountant (CPA, CA) with 20+ years working with contractor and trade clients.
Accounting for contractors is its own animal.
Most general accountants treat a contractor like any other small business. An independent contractor is not. Your income is project-based and lumpy. Material costs change weekly. Vehicle, tool and home-office deductions are a CRA target. The HST rules turn on a $30,000 threshold most contractors cross without noticing. And if you have incorporated and work mostly for one client, you can be reclassified as a personal services business and lose almost every deduction you count on.
So yes, contractors genuinely need an accountant for contractors, not a generalist learning on your file. We have handled tax, accounting and bookkeeping for independent contractors, trades and small construction businesses across Durham Region and the GTA for over 20 years. The patterns are familiar, the mistakes are predictable, and the planning that protects your profitability is real.
Accounting services for contractors, the full picture.
One firm for tax, bookkeeping, payroll and advisory. One point of contact, one consistent set of advice, and nothing falls between your accountant and your bookkeeper because they are the same person, so you can focus on the work.
Independent contractor tax filing
Your self-employment income on a T2125 with your personal T1, or a corporate T2 if you have incorporated, filed on time with planning built around lumpy contractor income.
HST registration and filing
We tell you when you cross the $30,000 small-supplier threshold, register you, and check whether the HST quick method puts more money in your pocket than the regular method.
Contractor deductions, done right
Vehicle, tools, home office, materials and sub-contractor costs categorized correctly to maximize what you legitimately claim and keep it defensible if the CRA asks.
Monthly bookkeeping and job costing
Materials, sub-contractor invoices and crew wages reconciled to your bank monthly, with simple job costing so you can see which work is actually profitable.
Payroll for your crew
Source deductions, T4s and ROEs handled correctly, plus clear advice on whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor before you put them on.
Incorporation and tax planning
Whether to incorporate, when, and how to pay yourself once you do, modelled with your real numbers, including a hard look at personal-services-business risk first.
Four things most accountants miss.
These are the questions that come up almost every time a contractor changes accountants. Worth knowing whether or not we end up working together.
The personal services business trap
This is the big one for incorporated contractors. If you provide services through your corporation, you are a shareholder, and you would reasonably be considered an employee of your client if the corporation did not exist, the CRA can call your company a personal services business. The cost is brutal: no small business deduction, and almost no deductions at all beyond salary, so the income is taxed at the full corporate rate plus an extra 5% federal PSB tax. In Ontario the combined rate lands well over 40%. The biggest risk is an incorporated contractor working mostly for one client, on their schedule, with their tools. We assess this before you incorporate and structure the work to stay onside.
Employee versus independent contractor
Whether a worker is an employee or a genuine independent contractor is not your choice to label, it is a test the CRA applies. It looks at control over how and when the work is done, who owns the tools and equipment, the chance of profit and risk of loss, and how integrated the worker is into the payer's business. Get it wrong and you are either over-remitting source deductions or facing a reassessment with interest and penalties. We review the arrangement and document it so the answer holds up.
HST kicks in at $30,000
Once your worldwide taxable supplies pass $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over four consecutive calendar quarters, you are no longer a small supplier and you must register for HST and start charging it. Most independent contractors cross that line on revenue and never realize it, then get caught owing HST they never collected. Once you are registered, the HST quick method can save real money if you are service-heavy with low input costs. We track the threshold and run the quick-method numbers for you.
Vehicle, tools and home office have rules
These are the deductions contractors lean on, and the ones the CRA examines hardest. A vehicle is deductible on the business-use portion, but only with a kilometre logbook to back it up. Hand tools under a threshold are expensed; power tools and major equipment go through CCA. A home office is deductible on a reasonable square-footage basis, but it cannot create a loss. We set up the categorization and the records once so the deductions are both maximized and defensible.
Three kinds of contractor clients.
Solo independent contractors
One person, one truck, sometimes a helper. We handle the T2125 and personal tax, register and file HST, sort out deductions, and advise on whether incorporating makes sense yet.
Incorporated contractors
Working through a corporation, often for a small number of clients. We file the corporate T2, set your salary and dividend mix, and keep you clear of personal-services-business reclassification.
Trades with a crew
Owner plus a few employees or sub-contractors. We run payroll, file T5018 slips when construction is your main business, and keep the bookkeeping and job costing consistent.
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 contractors ask first.
Do independent contractors really need an accountant?
Most do. An independent contractor has lumpy income, HST that switches on at $30,000, deductions the CRA scrutinizes, and, once incorporated, real personal-services-business risk. A general accountant can miss all of it. A tax accountant who works with contractors has seen the patterns before, which usually means cleaner books, lower tax and fewer surprises. For most contractors the fees pay for themselves in deductions captured and mistakes avoided. That is the whole reason accounting for contractors exists as its own thing.
How much does an accountant for a contractor cost?
We bill fixed-fee, quoted up front, so it depends on what you need rather than hours on a clock. A solo independent contractor with a personal return, HST and simple bookkeeping sits at the lower end. An incorporated contractor with a corporate T2, payroll and monthly bookkeeping costs more because there is more to do. You get the number before we start, and for most contractors the cost is less than the tax and penalties a generalist leaves on the table.
Should I incorporate as a contractor?
Usually once your contractor income clears what you need to live on, because the small business deduction gives a much lower tax rate on retained earnings. But there is a catch for contractors: if you incorporate and work mostly for one client like an employee, the CRA can treat the company as a personal services business and strip away the benefit. We model both options with your real numbers and check the PSB risk before you decide.
What tax deductions can contractors claim?
Vehicle on the business-use portion (with a logbook), tools, equipment through CCA, materials, work clothing, insurance, licence fees, advertising, sub-contractor costs, a portion of cell and internet, and a home office on a reasonable square-footage basis. The categorization matters as much as the list. We go through it in the first meeting and tell you what holds up with the CRA so you maximize the claim without inviting a review.
Do I need to file T5018 slips?
Only if construction is your main business. If more than half your income comes from construction activities and you pay Canadian sub-contractors more than $500 in the year for construction services, you have to file T5018 slips reporting those payments. Plenty of contractors who are not primarily in construction do not need them at all. We confirm whether the rule applies to you and file the slips on time if it does.
How do you bill?
Fixed-fee, quoted up front. You will know the cost of your year-end, your tax filing and your monthly bookkeeping before we start. No surprise invoices, no hourly billing.