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Accountant for Real Estate Agents in Ottawa
As an accountant for real estate agents and brokers in Ottawa, BBA Tax handles the tax side of commission income. Your brokerage may report your commissions on a T4A slip, and you pay for your own car, marketing, desk fees and RECO renewals. We keep those records straight, handle your HST, plan your instalments and help you decide whether a Personal Real Estate Corporation (PREC) is worth setting up, so you know what you owe well before April 30.
How We Help Ottawa Realtors
We match each commission deposit to the deal it came from and to any T4A slip from your brokerage. Box 020 reports commissions paid to an independent agent without the HST, so we reconcile the slip to your HST-inclusive deposits before you file, since the CRA matches slips to returns.
Commission income is reported as business income on Form T2125, and the CRA lets self-employed commission agents use the cash or accrual method. You file by June 15 but owe any balance by April 30. We also calculate your CPP as both employee and employer, up to $8,460.90 plus $832 of CPP2 for 2026.
Commissions are taxable at 13% HST. Once your taxable sales top $30,000 in one calendar quarter, or across the last four quarters, you must register. We register you, track the HST you collect and the input tax credits you can claim, and check whether the Quick Method’s 8.8% remittance rate would leave you ahead.
We incorporate your PREC under Ontario’s Business Corporations Act, with you owning all voting shares and serving as president and sole director; family members can hold non-voting shares. You also need a three-way agreement with your brokerage, and RECO must have the PREC’s name and address for service before any remuneration is paid.
Commissions earned through a PREC can qualify for the small business rate, a combined 11.2% federal and Ontario from July 1, 2026, on up to $500,000 of active business income. We prepare the T2, plan your salary and dividends, and test dividends to family shareholders against the tax on split income rules.
Built for Commission Income
Commission income arrives unevenly, and unless you set money aside, the tax on a busy spring market can land all at once. We set up a simple routine: a separate account for the HST you collect, a set share of each deal held back for income tax and CPP, and a running estimate of what you owe.
Instalments and HST deadlines arrive whether or not you closed a deal that month. We put every payment date on one calendar, estimate each instalment from your actual commissions rather than guesswork, and revisit the numbers when the market slows or picks up, so your payments track the year you are actually having.
A Year-Round Accountant for Real Estate Agents
We cover the whole year, not just April. That means QuickBooks bookkeeping, quarterly or annual HST returns, instalment planning and your T1 return with Form T2125, plus the PREC’s T2, payroll and T5 slips if you incorporate. If the CRA sends a review letter about your vehicle or home office claims, we help you answer it with the logbook and receipts in your records. It is the same year-round approach we take with other self-employed professionals in Ottawa.
Why Realtors Need More Than a Basic Tax Return
To the CRA, a self-employed real estate agent is a business owner. You earn through a brokerage but pay your own costs, collect HST once you register, and pay both the employee and employer shares of CPP. Anyone can enter a T4A on a return; the value is in planning the year around your deals and claiming what you are entitled to.
Vehicle Costs Need a Logbook
Your car may be your second office, but only the business share of fuel, insurance, repairs, lease payments or capital cost allowance is deductible, with dollar limits on some passenger vehicle costs. Record the date, destination, purpose and kilometres of each business trip. After a full base year, a three-month sample logbook can support later years, under CRA conditions.
Marketing and Fees Add Up
Listing photos, staging, signs, online ads, brokerage or desk fees, RECO registration renewals and real estate board dues are deductible costs of earning commission income. Meals and entertainment with clients are limited to 50%, and club dues are not deductible when the club’s main purpose is dining, recreation or sport.
Home Offices Have Conditions
If you work from home between showings, you can deduct part of your home costs only when that space is your principal place of business, or you use it only for business and meet clients there on a regular and continuous basis. The claim cannot create or increase a business loss.
PRECs Come With Strict Rules
Ontario has allowed Personal Real Estate Corporations since October 1, 2020. A PREC receives the remuneration your brokerage pays for your work, but it cannot trade in real estate itself, and its name cannot appear in your advertising. If something changes that affects its eligibility, you must tell RECO within five days.
Tax Preparation & Filing for Real Estate Agents
As a sole proprietor, you file your 2026 return by June 15, 2027 but pay any balance by April 30, 2027. If you file HST annually with a December 31 year-end, the same two dates apply to your HST return and payment. A PREC follows corporate deadlines instead. We help with:
T1 returns with Form T2125 for your commission income
Annual or quarterly GST/HST returns and Quick Method elections
PREC corporate returns, payroll and T4 or T5 slips
Working With BBA Tax as a Realtor
We are based in Westboro at 203-307C Richmond Road and meet Ottawa agents in person, while agents elsewhere in Canada can work with us remotely. Karim Bitar, our Lead Accountant and an ELITE Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, leads a team that includes bookkeepers, so your commission records stay current through the busy season.
Personal returns for self-employed agents start from $150, and GST/HST filing is $500 a year. Bundles save 10% to 25%. Get a price with our five-minute instant quote, or book a free intro call if you are weighing a PREC and want the numbers first.
What We Handle for Agents
All of this can sit with one team, from your first T4A slip to your PREC’s corporate return.
Commission and expense bookkeeping
T1 returns with Form T2125
GST/HST registration and returns
Quarterly instalment planning
PREC incorporation and T2 returns
Real Estate Agent Tax FAQ
Do real estate agents have to charge HST in Ontario?
Yes, once you stop being a small supplier. If your commissions and other taxable sales pass $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over the last four consecutive quarters, you must register and charge 13% HST. If you cross the line in one quarter, you must register within 29 days. You can also register voluntarily before then to claim input tax credits on your costs, but you must stay registered for at least one year.
What is a PREC in Ontario?
A Personal Real Estate Corporation (PREC) is an Ontario corporation that receives the remuneration your brokerage pays for your work as a registered salesperson or broker. PRECs have been allowed since October 1, 2020. You must own all the voting shares and be the president and sole director, and only you or your family members can hold non-voting shares. Profits left in the PREC are taxed at corporate rates until you pay them out as salary or dividends.
What expenses can real estate agents deduct?
You can deduct reasonable costs of earning commission income, including advertising, listing photos and staging, brokerage or desk fees, RECO renewals, board dues, the business share of your phone, and the business share of vehicle and home office costs. Meals and entertainment are limited to 50%, and equipment such as a computer is claimed through capital cost allowance. Keep receipts and your kilometre logbook for six years after the tax year they relate to.
Do real estate agents need to pay tax instalments?
You do if your net tax owing is more than $3,000 for 2026 and was also more than $3,000 in 2025 or 2024. Instalments are due March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15. Late or short payments are charged instalment interest, compounded daily at the CRA’s prescribed rate (7% from October to December 2026), and a penalty can be added if that interest is more than $1,000 for the year.
Guides for Real Estate Agents
Go deeper with these guides from the BBA Tax blog:
- Vehicle Tax Deductions for Canadian Small Business: 2026 CRA Rules
- CRA Tax Instalments in 2026: Who Has to Pay and How to Avoid Interest
- 2026 Guide to GST/HST Registration: When You Must Register & How to File
- GST/HST Quick Method in Canada: Could Your Business Save Thousands?
- Home Office Expenses in Canada: What You Can Deduct for 2026
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