Dark Ops Management · 2025 Tax Year

Personal & Sole Proprietor
Tax Prep Checklist

Check off what you have. Corporate details are at the bottom of the page.
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First things first
How to name your files when uploading

Include your full name and the document type in every filename. Consistent naming means nothing gets lost:

Smith, Jane   T4 Studio Name 25.pdf
Smith, Jane   Charitable Donations 25.pdf
Smith, Jane   Business Income 25.xlsx

We recommend creating a Google Drive or Dropbox folder for your tax documents and uploading everything there. Once it's ready, share the folder with us. It's the easiest way to keep everything organized and in one place.

Check off everything that applies to you
01 Slips & Receipts
All T4 slips — if you had a regular job, we genuinely cannot do a thing without these
T4A slips — all of them
A T4A covers income that isn't employment income: freelance or contract payments, scholarships, pension income, CERB/COVID benefits, and payments from corporations you own. If someone paid you without deducting taxes at source, there's probably a T4A.
T4E (employment insurance) and / or T4RSP (RRSP cashed out)
T3 / T5 slips — interest and dividends
Old Age Security and CPP benefits — T4A-OAS, T4A-P
RL-1 Employment and other incomeQC ONLY
Bring receipts for these — your preparer needs to verify them
Union dues
Charitable donations
Political contributions
Other things you may need
Notice of Assessment from last year's return (your CRA letter)
RRSP slips — official tax slips only, covering both the March–Dec and Jan–Feb contribution periods
FHSA contribution slips
A copy of last year's return, if we didn't prepare it
Rent or property taxes paid — address, landlord name, and amount for each property
Digital news subscription expenses
CRA allows a credit of up to $500/year for subscriptions to Canadian digital news outlets (think Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, The Logic, etc.). If you pay for online news, it's worth claiming.
Total instalment payments made to the CRA during the yearSOLE PROP
T2200 signed by your employer, if claiming employment expenses↓ Download Template (coming soon)
02Medical Expenses
Medical expense summary — use our Medical Expense Sheet, not individual receipts↓ Download Sheet (coming soon)
Pick any 365-day window that ends in 2025 — not necessarily the calendar year. Choose the period where you spent the most. Not sure if something qualifies? CRA's list of eligible medical expenses →
Disability tax credit certificate for yourself or a dependent
Personal attendant or facility care expenses
03Your Business Income & Expenses
Complete revenue listing for the year↓ Download Template (coming soon)SOLE PROP
Full expense breakdown. Your Income Statement (also called a Profit & Loss or P&L) from last year is the reference.↓ Sample P&L (coming soon)SOLE PROP
Meals are only 50% deductible — keep them separate from promotion and travel.
Interest expenses on business loans or your mortgage — the interest portion only, not the full payment
Any reimbursements you received for business expenses
T777 — Work From Home expenses↓ Download Template (coming soon)
Other income not on any slip — tips, cash payments, side work
Summary of Home Accessibility renovation expenses
Exams for professional certification
Financial statements from any other businesses or partnerships you own
04Investment Income
Capital Gains and Losses statement — your broker can generate this for you
T3, T5, T5008, and T5013 slips — only if already issued. If your T5 hasn't been issued yet, just let us know the total dividends you paid yourself.
Rental property income and expenses↓ Download Template (coming soon)
This applies if you are a landlord — meaning you own a property and rent it out to tenants. You need to report rent collected as income, but you can also deduct related expenses like mortgage interest, property taxes, insurance, repairs, and utilities you pay.
Crypto — calculate your realized gains and losses, or use an app to pull the report
Foreign income and taxes paid abroad
Foreign property with a cost base over $100K
Sale of principal residence
RRSP deduction limit and any unused contribution room
05Childcare Expenses
Completed Childcare Expense Sheet↓ Download Sheet (coming soon)
06Personal Information
Social Insurance Number
Date of birth
Major life changes this year — marital status, new child, address change, anything significant
07Partners, Kids & Other People
Your spouse or partner's net and taxable income amounts
Know which credits your partner has claimed — GST credit, Ontario tax credit, Disability Tax Credit, home office, dependents, etc.
New to us? We'll need your partner's SIN and date of birth
Date of birth for each child
Tuition transfer amount from spouse or child, and who's claiming it
Decide who's claiming the Equivalent to Spouse (formerly "Equivalent to Married") deduction, if applicable→ What is this?
This is a credit you can claim if you're single, separated, or divorced and support a dependent (like a child or parent) who lives with you. Only one person in a household can claim it.
Support payments paid or received — include your separation agreement if applicable
Moving expense receipts
Moving expenses are only deductible if you moved for work or school, and your new home is at least 40km closer to your new job or school than your old one. Keep your receipts for movers, travel, and temporary accommodation.
08Carry Forward Amounts
Carry forward amounts are deductions or credits you didn't fully use in a previous year that can be applied to this year's return to reduce what you owe. Check your previous Notice of Assessment from CRA — it will list any amounts available to carry forward.
Tuition carry forward — unused tuition credits from previous years of school
Loss carry forward — business or capital losses from previous years that can offset this year's income
Other carry forwards — charitable donations, RRSP over-contributions, etc.
Also running a corporation?
Personal + Corporate clients

The sections above cover your personal tax return and sole proprietor income. If you also operate through a corporation, the items below apply to your corporate return — which we prepare in partnership with a CPA. Check off what applies and bring it all together.

C1Corporate Slips & Filings
T4 slips issued to all employees, including yourself
T4 Summary — the CRA summary of all T4s filed for the year
T5 slips — dividends paid to shareholders (including yourself). Only if already issued. If not yet issued, just let us know the total dividend amount.
T5 Summary — CRA summary of all T5s filed for the year
T4A slips — if the corporation paid contractors or freelancers $500 or more
ROE (Record of Employment) for any employees who left during the year
Prior year T2 corporate tax return (if we didn't file it)
Notice of Assessment for the corporation's last filed return
Corporate tax instalments paid to the CRA during the year
C2Financial Statements & Records
Year-end financial statements — Income Statement (also called a Profit & Loss or P&L) and Balance Sheet
General ledger or access to your accounting software (QuickBooks, Xero, Wave, etc.) — we can pull what we need directly if you share access
Bank and credit card statements for the fiscal year (if not already in your bookkeeping software)
Shareholder loan account balance at year-end
Details of any assets purchased or disposed of during the year (for capital cost allowance)
Any outstanding loans to or from the corporation
Payroll remittance records — confirmation that source deductions were remitted to CRA on time
C3HST / GST
HST / GST returns filed for the year, with confirmation numbers
Total HST / GST collected and input tax credits (ITCs) claimed
Confirmation of any HST / GST payments made to CRA or refunds received
C4Shareholder & Owner Info
Names, SINs, and percentage ownership for all shareholders
Total salary and / or dividends paid to each shareholder during the year
Any personal expenses run through the corporation (these need to be identified and accounted for)
Minutes of any shareholder or director meetings held during the year (if applicable)
Corporate bank account details and signing authority records
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