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Chapter 1, 2, 3Chapter 3 - Payroll Records
Payroll Records
GST-HST Record keeping requirements
Invoice requirements
Requirements to support a claim for an input tax credit (ITC)
Payroll Records
The requirements in Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 also apply to payroll records.
In addition, if you are an employer or payer who has to withhold or deduct CPP contributions, EI premiums, and income tax from remuneration or other amounts you pay, you must keep records that:
show the time worked by each employee; and support the CPP contributions, EI premiums, and taxes that you withheld. You also have to keep the following records:
Form TD1, Personal Tax Credits Return, which all employees have to complete; Form TD1 is used to determine the amount of federal and provincial or territorial tax to be deducted from an individual's income or other income such as pension income.
If your employees work in the province of Quebec, they also have to complete Form TP1015.3-V, Source Deductions Return, which is available from Revenu Québec .
CRA letters of authority that allow you to reduce the tax deductions for certain employees for a specific year;
all information slips issued and all returns filed; and
registered pension information.
You must keep all these payroll records so that CRA officials can audit or examine them, on request.
Businesses using third parties to handle the payroll functions are still responsible for maintaining records for the time period specified in Chapter 1, generally six years. Payroll records may be kept in either paper or electronic format. We recommend that electronic copies of your records be maintained at your business location.
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GST- HST Record keeping requirements
All the requirements in Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 also apply to GST/HST records.
You have to keep adequate records if you are:
carrying on a business or engaged in a commercial activity in Canada;
required to file a GST/HST return; and
making an application for a rebate or refund.
In addition, if you are required to file a GST/HST return, you must ensure that your records describe the goods and services being traded in sufficient detail to determine whether they are subject to GST/HST.
Your records also have to allow you to calculate:
the amount of tax you have to pay or collect; or
the amount of tax to be refunded, rebated, or deducted from your net tax.
As stated in Chapter 1, you must keep your records for a period of six years from the end of the last year to which they relate.
You must keep all your records, including both paper documents and electronically stored documents, in Canada or make them available to CRA officials in Canada on request. If you wish to maintain your records at a specific location outside Canada or if you are a non-resident, you should contact your tax services office in writing to request permission. See Chapter 1 for more information.
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Invoice requirements
GST/HST registrants who make taxable supplies must disclose to purchasers that the tax has been charged:
by showing on receipts and invoices the price for the goods and services and the tax payable in a manner that clearly gives the amount of the tax;
by stating on receipts and invoices that the amount paid includes the tax; or
by giving clearly visible notice in the store that the amount paid includes the tax.
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Requirements to support a claim for an input tax credit (ITC)
If you are a GST/HST registrant, you must get and keep with your records the documentation to support your claim for an ITC. The documents include invoices, receipts, or contracts, which must contain specific information depending on the amount of the purchase. You also have to provide the same information to your customers who are GST/HST registrants to support their claims for an ITC.
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