What are Taxes?

You need to learn the Canadian taxation system. Taxes are collected by all levels of our government to run programs and services such as our healthcare, education system, and garbage collection. By learning the basics of taxes you can start planning for your financial future.

The Canadian Revenue Agency has a Newcomers to Canada guide and an online course. The online course helps you learn the basics of the Canadian tax system and how to file a basic tax return.

If you want help with your taxes contact one of the newcomer assistance agencies or talk to a tax specialist.

Personal Taxes

Filing your personal income tax return is very important. The deadline to file your return is April 30th of each year. To learn more about your personal taxes visit Settlement.Org or file your first income tax return. When you file your tax return, you can qualify for tax credit programs.

You can learn more about tax credits by visiting CRA's tax credits you can claim.

You can file your tax return online, by mail, or by telephone. A tax professional can help you file your income tax return.

To view a listing of tax professionals and accounting services available in Chatham-Kent please go to the Chatham-Kent Business and Service Directory. Select the “Financial Services” directory; choose “Accounting Services” and select your choice of community.

Tips for Reducing Your Taxes

• Keep all your rental receipts, as they could be useful for tax purposes.

• Ask the education centre where you are taking courses to issue you a T2202 tax receipt. Note that not all education centres can issue tax receipts.

• Keep all medical receipts (dental, prescriptions etc)

• If you donate money for charity, keep all your receipts.

• Keep all childcare and any child fitness-related receipts.

• If you made political contributions, keep all your receipts for tax purposes.

Back to Top

Property Taxes

Your property taxes are paid to the Municipality of Chatham-Kent. The collected taxes cover the costs of municipal services such as garbage collection and road maintenance.

The amount of property tax that you pay is based upon your property assessment and current municipal tax rate.

Property assessment is determined by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation, who assesses the value of your property. Municipal tax rates are based upon the services you receive and the municipal budget.

Our community offers numerous tax programs to help with the cost of property taxes.

You can follow the links to learn how to pay for your property taxes, and what happens if you don't pay.

Back to Top

Business Taxes

Are you starting your own business? You will need to learn about corporate and sales taxes.

If you are a self-employed person, you must file your taxes by June 15th of each year. A corporation pays taxes six month after their fiscal year-end.

To learn more about business taxes and how to file your corporate taxes visit:

• Canada-Ontario Business Service Centre - Tax Introduction

• CRA - Information for new business

• CRA-Corporation Tax

• Corporation Income Tax T2 Returns

• Ontario-Provincial Corporate Tax

• CT23 Corporations Tax and Annual Return

• ONT-TAX Online- free and secure service to check, update and file business taxes

• What do I need to know about the single administration of Ontario corporate tax

• Ministry of Revenue

• Community of Chatham-Kent's financial incentives.

Keep records of all your transactions, including HST taxes collected from your customers.

Keep receipts of all payments you made for business purposes, such as rental of business premises, professional services, insurance, utilities, telephone, cell phone, meals, entertainment, supplies, etc.

To view a list of the financial services offered, or to find a tax professional in Chatham-Kent, please go to the Chatham-Kent Business and Service Directory. Select the “Financial Services” directory; choose your sub-directory and choice of community.

Back to Top