Youtube money - Do you have to pay taxes??

aviador wrote: ↑

Dec 7th, 2018 10:34 pm

RFD-thread "Youtube money - Do you have to pay taxes??" : http://forums.redflagdeals.com/youtube- ... s-1951587/

Yes. I do pay tax. I declare everything.

whats your channel?

You can't keep claiming losses. If you keep claiming losses year after year, I would wonder why a government official has not contacted you and ask why you are still in business, what can you do, what have you learned from a seemingly failing business?

HotYaris wrote: ↑

Mar 29th, 2016 9:59 am

Lying Ted has you fooled too.

While I don't agree with the OP on abolishing the CRA, I really think we need to re-think taxes and the roll of the federal government.

Poppwl wrote: ↑

Dec 8th, 2018 12:48 am

You can't keep claiming losses. If you keep claiming losses year after year, I would wonder why a government official has not contacted you and ask why you are still in business, what can you do, what have you learned from a seemingly failing business?

Amazon would like to have a word with you.

If Google is paying you from the USA you don't need to charge GST/HST.

It is my understanding that foreign "clients" outside of Canada are not subject to GST/HST.

Though you still need to declare even if it is $0 collected.

Fire your accountant.

CRA doesnt sign you up for an HST account, either your accountant did that, or you did inadvertantly.

The income is not subject to hst, you need to get the hst enrollment canceled or you will forever having to file $nil hst returns, which may result in a review later on.

I took the tax course at H&R Block and learned that, if CRA audits you, they legally can audit you all the way back till the day you were born. There's no such thing like "I'm safe since when I didn't report income from YouTube was 15 yrs ago, sooo long ago".

Everything is fine until they audit you. My Dad was audited recently and he's a retired guy without any businesses and only owns mutual funds and stocks.

rfdrfd wrote: ↑

Dec 8th, 2018 1:40 pm

I took the tax course at H&R Block and learned that, if CRA audits you, they legally can audit you all the way back till the day you were born. There's no such thing like "I'm safe since when I didn't report income from YouTube was 15 yrs ago, sooo long ago".

Everything is fine until they audit you. My Dad was audited recently and he's a retired guy without any businesses and only owns mutual funds and stocks.

on personalized tax there is a 'statute of limitations' for various things, audit, reassessment, collections etc

FWIW for information purposes only, do your own due-diligence

source: Farber tax

How Far Back Can The CRA Go?

"There are some cases where a person knows that they owe a tax debt for several years, but they ignore it, hoping that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) won’t find it. In other cases, a person files their taxes and thinks everything is fine, only to be hit with a CRA reassessment many years later.

Either scenario brings up the same question: How far back can the CRA go when looking at income taxes and tax debt?

The reality is that the CRA has been given very strong powers and this is especially true when it comes to assessing and collecting tax debt. However, there are limits. These limits are referred to as the CRA Statute of Limitations.

CRA Limitations When Conducting and Audit or Reassessment

In most cases, the CRA has four years from the date of your tax assessment to audit your returns and three years to reassess your tax return. This means that if you receive the assessment for your 2016 tax return in June 2017, the CRA has until June 2021 to review your return for an audit.

However, if the CRA believes that there is a suspicion of fraud, it can audit as far back as records allow. This is also true if the CRA believes that you misrepresented your situation on your tax return, either due to carelessness or wilful action. However, the agency must be able to prove fraud, neglect, or wilful fault.

CRA Limitations When Collecting a Tax Debt

There are certain parameters that the CRA must remain in when collecting tax debt, according to the CRA Statute of Limitations.
Subsection 221(3) of the Income Tax Act states that the CRA may not commence or continue to collect a tax debt after the end of the limitation period for the collection of the debt, which is 10 years.

This means that the CRA cannot take action to collect a tax debt if the debt is 10 years old or older.

However, this is only true for cases where no action has been taken during the 10-year period. Each collection action by the CRA “resets the clock” another ten years. For instance, a tax debt is assessed for 2007, the CRA would have until 2017 to take collection action. However, if the agency made attempts to collect (such as a Requirement to Pay Letter) steadily up until 2017, then it still has an additional 10 years to take collection action.

Essentially, you need to go 10 years without any CRA collection action in order for the CRA Statute of Limitations to apply."

What You Can Do

If you are worried about prior year tax returns and concerned that the CRA is going to reassess your taxes or audit you, contact you about your tax situation, commence collection action on outstanding debt, or if the CRA has already begun these processes, it’s important to 'seek professional help'

If you need to ask the question, you probably already know the answer.

Just so we are clear: YES anything that you make money on anywhere in the world as a Canadian resident you need to declare if it looks like a ongoing venture. But as a venture, you are allowed to deduct any reasonable expenses incurred to earn that income.

In Canada, we have a self-reporting income tax system and you may choose to play the "audit lottery" hoping that your number wouldn't come up by not reporting it and be subject to fines, arrears interest and have a permanent flag on your returns. You wouldn't get a CRA phone call saying that there is an arrest warrant for your unpaid taxes, except from some scammer with a foreign accent. So don't panic, if you get such a call from CRA demanding immediate payment with BitCoins, but on the other hand it might be the real thing if you lied about your taxes.

Thank you all for your responses. Okay, to tell you the truth I earn 6 digits annually on YouTube alone.

My accountant nor me didn't open my GST account. CRA did. They just informed me that I need to have one.

I know I have to declare everything, I even have a business number. Though, my concern is all about GST.

GST is the stuff that you pay whenever you buy something. It's fixed 5%.

I'm currently talking to one Canadian YouTuber that does YouTube full-time. He said that he has a GST-free account because Google is an American company, they already take the tax and he doesn't sell stuff.

So, this is all confusing as to why I have a GST account and need to pay. How come other Canadian YouTubers are zero-rated?

Best talk to accountant who knows the ins and out of GST as the tax applies to both "goods" and "services", of which YouTube is "a service". However, how this applies to YouTube views is more complicated as to what exactly are you earning and where you are earning this income. GST only applies to the consumption of goods and services in Canada.

dutchca wrote: ↑

Dec 8th, 2018 10:36 am

CRA doesnt sign you up for an HST account, either your accountant did that, or you did inadvertantly.

The CRA opened an HST/GST account for my Ontario corporation themselves. I'm guessing it's because my corporation earned more than $30k and I never submitted an HST/GST return in the past.

Since I don't deal with HST/GST, I just submitted a nil return through My Account online. It was pretty simple and just required a few clicks.

Its a source of income, and Youtube is a legit business, so whatever they pay you, rest assure, is declared as an expense on their behalf.

aznnorth wrote: ↑

Mar 28th, 2016 9:21 am

But who verifies you generated any income? Not like youtube sends tax receipts to CRA.... it's like doing cash jobs. No reporting. Money is direct deposit.

Your scenario is not at all like a "cash job". Your income goes into your bank account which means it's traceable.

As Jerry Seinfeld says, a tax audit is the financial equivalent of a rectal exam. Good luck!