I am moving from UK, where I am registered as self employed under my own name, to Ontario, Canada. In Canada I will be both employed in a full time job and self employed, making a small amount of side income.
I have read that I only need to register my self employed business if I want to trade under any other business name than my own name. And then, any income I make through self employment is simply declared on my end of year tax return. Is this true?
If your business name is your name, you are automatically considered a sole-proprietorship and any income you generate and expenses you incur can be calculated on your personal tax return. You can use QuickTax Home & Business tax software to lead you through the steps; you don't even need an accountant.
One drawback of a sole-proprietorship in your name is liability. You are personally responsible for the business because you are the business. If you get sued, you can lose everything. To limit that liability you can look into opening a corporation. If the corporation gets sued you are insulated from that; the corporation goes bankrupt, not you. A lawyer and an accountant will be required to give you solid advice on this direction.
