Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
Choosing accounting and tax services comes down to matching the job to the person and getting the price in writing before work starts. We can’t say anything about any one firm, including Canam Accounting & Tax Services Ltd or any other name you searched for, because we couldn’t verify claims about named firms. What we can do is show you what a corporate tax bill looks like, so you know what you’re paying someone to handle.
What do accounting and tax services cover?
Three separate jobs get lumped together. Bookkeeping records your sales and expenses. Accounting turns those records into statements. Tax work prepares the returns, and for a corporation that means a T2 every year. Some firms do all three, some only one, so ask exactly which ones your quote includes.
A sole proprietor with a modest business may only need help once a year. A corporation with employees needs monthly attention, since payroll deductions have to be sent to the CRA on a schedule. The payroll remittance calculator gives you an idea of the amounts involved.
How do you choose a firm you can trust?
Ask who will actually do your file, and what their credentials are. In Canada, professional accountants belong to provincial bodies, and you can look a person up on the register of the body in your province. Ask for the fee as a fixed number or a range in writing. We couldn’t confirm typical fees, so we won’t quote one.
Then ask what happens if the CRA writes to you, whether they’ll answer it for you, and whether that’s already in the price. Ask how they store your documents. And ask what they need from you and by when, because late paperwork from clients is the usual reason returns get rushed.
If a firm promises to cut your tax to nothing, walk. Our guide to choosing a tax preparer has a longer list of warning signs.
What should a first meeting look like?
Imagine Raj, who just incorporated his landscaping business in Surrey. He books two short calls with different firms before deciding. In each he asks the same five things: who does the work, what’s in the price, what’s extra, how fast they reply, and what they need from him. Then he compares the answers side by side, and he’s usually clear within the hour.
Notice what he doesn’t do. He doesn’t pick the cheapest quote by a few bucks, and he doesn’t sign anything on the first call.
What does a corporate tax bill look like?
Take a Canadian-controlled private corporation in Ontario with $120,000 of taxable income from an active business. The federal small business rate is 9% on the first $500,000, so federal tax is $10,800. Ontario’s small business rate is being cut on July 1, 2026, and the calculator here uses a blend for a calendar 2026 year. That blend, about 2.7%, is our own derived figure, not a published one, and it gives $3,235.20.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Taxable income | $120,000 |
| Federal tax (9%) | $10,800.00 |
| Ontario tax (derived blend) | $3,235.20 |
| Total corporate tax | $14,035.20 |
| Average rate | 11.7% |
The corporate tax calculator reproduces this. It ignores taxable capital, passive income and associated companies that share one limit, so a real return can differ. Your accountant should spot those.
Do you need a firm if you’re self-employed?
Maybe not. The self-employed tax calculator shows income tax and CPP on your profit, though it leaves out EI and deductions there lower income tax but not CPP. If your bill is large enough that you’d have to pay in advance, see the tax instalments calculator first. Plenty of sole proprietors keep tidy books and file with software.
Hire help when you have staff, a corporation, GST/HST to sort out, or a CRA letter that you’ve read twice and still can’t follow.
What mistakes do owners make?
Handing over a shoebox of receipts in April and expecting a tidy result. Mixing personal and business spending in one account. Assuming the firm keeps your records for you, when the CRA says you should keep yours for at least six years. And signing a return without reading the summary page.
The CRA’s page on keeping records says paper, electronic or both are fine, so a shared folder of scans is a perfectly good way to hand things over.
How we checked the figures
The federal corporate rates are from the CRA T2 guide as of 2026, and the Ontario figure is our derived blend for a calendar year. Corporations with another year end will differ. The record-keeping rule is from CRA guidance. This site has no link with the CRA or any accounting firm.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between bookkeeping and accounting?
Bookkeeping records your transactions. Accounting turns them into statements and often includes the tax return. Ask a firm which parts its quote covers.
How much do accounting and tax services cost?
We couldn't confirm typical fees. Ask for a fixed price or range in writing and compare a few quotes.
Does a small corporation pay less tax?
The federal rate on the first $500,000 of active business income for a Canadian-controlled private corporation is 9%, against 15% for the general rate. Provincial rates add to that.
Is the Ontario 2026 corporate rate exact?
No. Ontario cut its small business rate on July 1, 2026, so the figure here for a calendar year is a derived blend of the two rates, not a published number.
How long should I keep business records?
The CRA says to keep tax records for at least six years. Keep your own copies even if a firm holds them too.
- How to choose a tax preparer in Canada
How to decide if you need a tax preparer, what a preparer does, the questions to ask before you hire one and where to find free help in Canada