No employer means no automatic deductions
- Business form
- T2125
- Filing deadline
- June 15, 2026
- CPP threshold
- $3,500
Self-Employed
What you need to know first
Working for yourself changes the mechanics entirely. Nobody withholds tax, nobody remits CPP on your behalf, and the entire year's liability lands in one payment. The people who handle this well are simply the ones who claimed everything they were entitled to.
Deductions are trade-specific, and generic advice misses most of them. An IT consultant's return looks nothing like a realtor's, which looks nothing like a contractor's.
“I'll just claim the obvious stuff - laptop, phone, internet.”
That's typically half of what's available. Most first-year self-employed clients hand us a fraction of their legitimate expenses, because nobody told them their professional dues, home workspace, vehicle use or software subscriptions were claimable too.
What we claim for you
The credits and deductions that apply here
Specific to your situation, not a generic checklist.
8 claims we check for you
Home office
Workspace-in-the-home costs by floor area or room count, covering rent or mortgage interest, utilities and insurance.
Vehicle
Business-use portion of fuel, insurance, maintenance and depreciation or lease payments.
Equipment and software
Computers, tools and subscriptions, depreciated or expensed as appropriate.
Professional fees and dues
Licensing, association memberships, accounting and legal fees.
Marketing
Website, advertising, business cards, and for realtors, listing and staging costs.
Training
Courses and certifications that maintain or improve skills for your current work.
Insurance
Professional liability and errors-and-omissions coverage.
Bank and payment fees
Business account charges and payment processor fees.
Before you message us
Have these ready
Not all of it is essential. Send what you have and we'll tell you what's missing.
- Total business income for the year
- Expense records by category, however you keep them
- Home office square footage or room count, plus rent or mortgage interest
- Vehicle: total and business kilometres, plus running costs
- Equipment purchases with dates and amounts
- Your HST number, if registered
Questions
Self-Employed: common questions
Straight answers to what people ask us most.
What form do I file as a self-employed person?
How much CPP will I owe?
Can I claim a home office if I rent?
I have a full-time job and freelance on the side. What changes?
When do I need to register for HST?
Services
What you'll likely need
Let's get your taxes sorted
Message us on WhatsApp and one of our tax experts will walk you through exactly what we need. No obligation, no pressure.