Contractor tax checkup
Answer five quick questions about your truck, tools, home office, CRA interest and penalties, and how you pay yourself. The checkup lists the topics worth reviewing, with a plain-language next step for each. It runs in your browser, and nothing you choose is stored or sent.
The five questions
Answer the questions to see your topics
0 of 5 answered.
Each answer adds a topic here, with a plain-language next step. Your result updates as you go.
Want a second pair of eyes on these?
Book a free 15-minute callOr send us your checkup answers. They're filled in on our contact form for you to check before you send, and we'll reply with what we'd look at first.
This checkup points to topics to review. It doesn't look at your numbers, and it can't tell you what you owe or could claim.
General information, not tax advice. Rules have exceptions; what applies to you depends on your records and how your business is set up.
What each question is about
Five areas where contractors' records and returns most often need a second look.
1. Your truck or van
You can claim the business share of running and owning a vehicle you also use personally. CRA's preferred evidence is a logbook of business trips plus odometer readings. After one full year, a three-month sample can do, as long as use stays within 10%.
Tools and vehicles2. Tools and equipment
Tools under $500 each go in Class 12, and most can be deducted in full in the year you buy them. Tools and equipment of $500 or more go in Class 8, at 20% a year (see CRA's classes of depreciable property). Expensing everything as supplies can put a claim in the wrong year.
Deductions tradespeople miss3. Home office or shop
CRA has conditions for claiming part of your home costs, based on how the space is used. When they're met, you claim a share of costs such as utilities, insurance and rent or mortgage interest. We check the conditions against how you use the space.
Home office deductions4. CRA interest and penalties
Interest and penalties usually come from returns or payments that were late, or instalments that were missed or short. A one-off can happen to anyone. If it keeps happening, the fix is usually a filing calendar and someone watching the dates. With your permission, we can see your notices on CRA's systems and explain each one.
Add us on CRA5. How you pay yourself
A salary creates RRSP room and CPP and goes through payroll. Dividends don't need payroll but create no RRSP room. Money taken without either is usually recorded as a shareholder loan, which has its own rules.
Salary vs dividendThe tax checkup, answered
What does the contractor tax checkup do?
It asks five questions about your truck, your tools, your home office, any CRA interest or penalties, and how you pay yourself. From your answers, it lists the topics worth reviewing, with a plain-language next step for each. It doesn't look at your actual numbers or work out any tax.
Is what I choose stored anywhere?
No. The checkup runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you choose is stored or sent to us or anyone else, and it's gone when you close the page or press Start again.
Will the checkup tell me how much tax I can save?
No. Five multiple-choice answers can't show what you owe or what you could claim. The checkup only points to topics to look at. Whether anything changes depends on your records and your situation, which we can go through with you on a free call.
What records does CRA expect for a work truck?
A logbook showing the date, destination, purpose and kilometres of each business trip, and the odometer reading at the start and end of the year. After one full year, CRA accepts a three-month sample logbook in later years, as long as your business use stays within 10% of that base year.
How are tools claimed?
Through capital cost allowance. Tools that cost less than $500 each go in Class 12, and most can be deducted in full in the year you buy them. Tools and equipment that cost $500 or more go in Class 8, at 20% a year.
What should I do after the checkup?
Look at the topics it lists, starting with any CRA interest or penalties. If you'd like a second pair of eyes, book a free 15-minute call and bring your last tax return and any CRA letters. We'll tell you what we'd look at first.
Sources, checked 4 Nov 2026. Rules have exceptions and can change. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice for your situation.
- CRA, Motor vehicle expenses and Motor vehicle records, canada.ca: a logbook of business and total kilometres; after a full base year, a three-month sample logbook if use stays within 10%.
- CRA, Claiming capital cost allowance and Classes of depreciable property, canada.ca: Class 8 (20%), Class 10 and 10.1 (30%), Class 12 for tools under $500, Class 50 (55%).
- CRA, Business-use-of-home expenses, canada.ca: principal place of business, or used only for the business and regularly to meet clients; the claim can't create or increase a business loss.
- CRA, Required tax instalments for individuals: who has to pay, canada.ca: instalments when net tax owing is over $3,000 this year and in either of the two years before.
- CRA, Employers' Guide (T4001) and How contributions affect your RRSP deduction limit, canada.ca: salary goes through payroll with CPP and creates RRSP room; dividends don't.
Talk through your checkup topics
Book a free 15-minute call by video or phone. Bring your last tax return and any CRA letters, and we'll go through the topics your checkup listed and explain what we'd look at first.
Which office?
Book a free 15-minute call15-minute calls every weekday at 10 am and 2 pm Pacific (11 am and 3 pm Mountain), except holidays.
Typical next slots, confirmed when you book:
Call (236) 300-3322Email contact@finvo.caMon–Fri, 9 am – 5 pm PT/MT5.0 on Google · 92 reviews