Ontario, 2026
The actual rules your number is built from.
More rules from the tax research draft
These rules come from GigJar's tax research draft of October 15, 2026, written for a CPA to review. They are shown for your information; GigJar's number does not use them yet. Every line names its official source and the day it was checked.
These rules are pending CPA review.
Your 2026 return is due June 15, 2027, because you ran a business. Any balance owing is still due April 30, 2027.
You pay income tax by instalments when your net tax owing is over $3,000 in 2026 and was also over $3,000 in 2025 or 2024. The dates are March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15.
Source: CRA, who has to pay instalments. Checked October 15, 2026. Draft card F-06, page 6.
The federal basic personal amount is $16,452 for a net income up to $181,440. It falls gradually to $14,829 at $258,482 and above.
The Canada Workers Benefit is a refundable credit for people who work and earn a low income. For 2026 the most is $1,665 for a single person and $2,869 for a family, shrinking from $27,392 of income for a single person. GigJar does not estimate it yet.
Source: CRA, line 45300, Canada workers benefit. Checked October 15, 2026. Draft card F-10, page 7.
A second layer of CPP applies to earnings between $74,600 and $85,000, at 8% for the self employed, at most $832 in 2026. The first layer is 11.9% between $3,500 and $74,600, at most $8,460.90.
Part of the CPP you pay as a self employed person is a deduction and part is a credit. The usual split: the employer half of the base CPP plus all the additional contributions are deducted, and the employee half of the base CPP is a credit.
- Being checked
Being checked: the government announced a lower base CPP rate from January 1, 2027. The payroll formulas call it an intention, and the 2027 ceilings are not published yet.
Self employed people can choose to join EI for special benefits such as maternity, parental and sickness benefits. In 2026 the premium is 1.63% of earnings, at most $1,123.07, and you wait 12 months before a claim.
Registered businesses with taxable sales of $400,000 or less may use the Quick Method: a set share of tax included sales is remitted instead of tracking the tax on each purchase. For a service business in Ontario the share is 8.8%, with a 1% credit on the first $30,000 of sales each year.
If you file GST/HST once a year with a December 31 year end, the 2026 return is due June 15, 2027 and the payment April 30, 2027. If your net tax for the previous year was $3,000 or more, quarterly GST/HST instalments may be due.
Platforms such as Uber, DoorDash, Etsy and Airbnb report what they paid you to the CRA each year and give you a copy by January 31. The report shows the amount after the platform's fees, with the fees and taxes listed by quarter.
Keep a logbook for each vehicle: for every business trip the date, the destination, the purpose and the kilometres, plus the odometer reading at the start and the end of the year. Keep the receipts for every vehicle cost.
Source: CRA, motor vehicle records. Checked October 15, 2026. Draft card F-31, page 15.
After one full year of a complete logbook, you may keep a logbook for a sample of at least three months in a row in later years, as long as its business share stays within 10% of the full year's.
Source: CRA, motor vehicle records. Checked October 15, 2026. Draft card F-32, page 15.
For a passenger vehicle bought in 2026 the cost you can depreciate is capped at $39,000 plus taxes ($61,000 for a zero emission vehicle), loan interest at $350 a month and a lease at $1,100 a month before taxes.
Most cars go in class 10 (30% a year). A passenger vehicle over the cost limit goes in class 10.1 (30%), each in its own class. A zero emission passenger vehicle goes in class 54 (30%).
Source: CRA, guide T4002, chapter 4. Checked October 15, 2026. Draft card F-34, page 16.
- Being checked
Being checked: the guide lists bigger first year deductions as proposed, including a 100% first year for zero emission vehicles and for computers. Until a CPA says which are law for 2026, GigJar shows the first year rule as pending.
Source: CRA, guide T4002, chapter 4. Checked October 15, 2026. Draft card F-36, page 17.
Business meals and entertainment are 50% deductible. Whether the meals you eat during a shift count as business meals is a question for the CPA.
Source: CRA, guide T4002, chapter 3. Checked October 15, 2026. Draft card F-38, page 18.
The basic monthly rate of a home phone is not deductible; business long distance calls are. For a cellphone, the business share of the plan is.
Source: CRA, guide T4002, chapter 3. Checked October 15, 2026. Draft card F-39, page 18.
Keep your records for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to. Records for 2026 are kept until at least the end of 2032.
Source: CRA, RC188, Keeping Records. Checked October 15, 2026. Draft card F-44, page 20.
Ontario tax for 2026: 5.05% on the first $53,891, 9.15% to $107,785, 11.16% to $150,000, 12.16% to $220,000 and 13.16% above. Ontario credits use the lowest rate.
Ontario adds a surtax of 20% of basic Ontario tax over $5,818, plus 36% of basic Ontario tax over $7,446.
Ontario residents with taxable income over $20,000 pay a health premium through their tax return, from $0 up to $900 a year in steps that follow income. GigJar's set aside already includes it.
- Being checked
Being checked: the Ontario tax reduction for low incomes has a basic amount the draft reads as $300 for 2026, with $554 for each eligible dependant. GigJar keeps the 2025 amount until a CPA confirms the 2026 one.
The Ontario LIFT credit is based on employment income, so gig income alone likely gets nothing from it.
Rate table ON-2026.3, in effect from 2026-01-01 to 2027-01-01, sourced from canada.ca. This is the exact version that produced your number.
These are the published rules; your circumstances may differ, so ask an accountant.
A province appears here the day its rates are seeded and an accountant has checked every number. We'd rather say “not yet” than show you something wrong.