THE FUTURE MARKETACADEMY
Your classroomRoom 05 · Money House
School of Money (education only)

Self-Employed Tax Concepts: records, deductions and instalments

What you'll be able to do
  • Build a record-keeping system that matches what your tax agency says to keep (the CRA in Canada, as the worked example), in what format, and for how long.
  • Sort business costs into current expenses, capital items and mixed-use costs, and explain Canada's CRA rules for each as a worked example.
  • Work out a business-use share for a vehicle and describe the logbook idea.
  • Explain capital cost allowance (CCA) in plain words and name a few common classes and rates.
  • Explain who must pay tax instalments, the three calculation options and the 2026 due dates (Canada), and find your own country's advance-payment dates.
  • Describe how instalment interest and penalties work, and plan a yearly tax calendar to discuss with a CPA.

This course is education only and explains Canadian federal rules from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Lessons with an "In your country" box also show the matching rule for other countries. It is not tax or legal advice, and it does not tell you what to claim or how much to pay. Rules, rates and limits change, and your province may add its own. For your own situation, consult a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) or another qualified tax professional.

Words in this course 37Open the Vocabulary Hall
01

Records that stand up to a review

In simple words

Think of your records as a trail of breadcrumbs. If someone asks "how did you get this number?", you can walk back along the crumbs from the final number to the receipt, one step at a time. No crumbs, no proof.

Before this course: Taxes for Side Hustlers in Canada (course 5.8). You should already know Form T2125, the "reasonable expense to earn income" rule, the six-year record rule, the $30,000 GST/HST small supplier rule, CPP and the April 30 and June 15 dates. This course goes deeper on records, deductions and instalments.

Key facts
  • In Canada, under the Income Tax Act, business records must be kept for a minimum of six years from the end of the latest tax year they relate to (CRA). Other countries set different periods (see In your country below).
  • The CRA's list of source documents includes sales invoices, purchase invoices, cash register receipts, formal written contracts, credit card receipts, delivery slips, deposit slips, work orders, cheques and bank statements. The CRA says that if you are unsure whether an item matters, keep it.
  • Records must show an audit trail: a path from the source document (paper or electronic) to the summary numbers you report.
  • Records can be paper, electronic or both. A scanned copy is acceptable if it is readable by the CRA. Electronic records must stay in an electronically readable format even if you also keep a paper copy.
  • Records must be kept in English or French (or translated), and generally in Canada. Records kept outside Canada can be accepted if a readable copy is available in Canada.
  • Hiring a bookkeeper or accountant does not shift your responsibility. You remain accountable for your records.
  • If the CRA audits you, it can ask for business records (ledgers, invoices, receipts, contracts, bank statements), and sometimes personal records such as bank and credit card statements. You have 30 days to agree or disagree with a proposed reassessment, and you can appeal a reassessment you disagree with.
In your country
  • The agency is the National Tax Agency (NTA). Under the blue return system, keeping proper books and filing a blue return gives a special deduction of up to 650,000 yen (e-Tax or electronic books), 550,000 yen (paper books) or 100,000 yen (simple books).
  • The application is due 15 March of the year you start using the blue return. Blue-return sole proprietors keep books and documents in principle for 7 years (some documents 5 years).
  • Source: NTA, Blue return system: www.nta.go.jp/english/taxes/individual/12010.htm
Example (an audit trail for one sale)
StepDocument
1. Client agreesEmail or written contract
2. You deliverWork order or delivery record
3. You billInvoice #12
4. Client paysDeposit shown on bank statement
5. You reportLine in your income sheet, then the total on Form T2125
Step by step
  1. Make one folder (paper or digital) per tax year, with sub-folders: Sales, Expenses, Bank statements, Contracts, Vehicle.
  2. Choose a naming rule for digital files, for example 2026-03-05_software_25.00.pdf.
  3. Scan or photograph paper receipts the same week, and check that the text is readable.
  4. Back up the folder in a second place, and keep it labelled and secure.
  5. For one real sale, write the five steps of the audit trail from the example table.
  6. Once a month, match your income sheet to your bank statement and note any difference.
  7. Set a reminder to keep each year's folder for six years after the end of that tax year.
  8. Check: you can pick any number on your T2125 and find the source document in under two minutes.
Watch on YouTube
How long to keep records for the CRAFix My Books · YouTube · youtube.com
Basic record keeping for the self-employedAnnette Ferguson - Accountant + Profit Specialist · YouTube · youtube.com

Videos by other creators on YouTube, for reference. They are not made by or affiliated with The Future Market.

LESSON 01Records that stand up to a review
LESSON 01 / ANIMATED LESSON / AI VOICE00:00 / 01:00
Read the video script
[Host] "Records are your proof. Here is what the CRA expects."
[Text on screen: keep records 6 years] "Keep business records for at least six years from the end of the latest year they relate to."
[Text on screen: invoices, receipts, contracts, bank statements] "Keep sales and purchase invoices, receipts, contracts and bank statements. Not sure it matters? Keep it."
[Text on screen: audit trail = source document to final number] "Your records should let someone follow a trail from the receipt to the number on your return."
[Host] "And a bookkeeper helps, but you are still the one responsible."
Try it now

Pick one sale and one expense from last month. For each, write the full trail from source document to the line on your tracking sheet. Note any missing piece and how you will fix it.

ClaudeStuck? Copy a ready-made prompt for Claude

Copy this, open Claude, paste it, and Claude will walk you through the lesson step by step.

For a grown-up: Claude is for adults (18+). Copy this, paste it into Claude, and use the answer to explain the lesson to your child.

I'm learning "Self-Employed Tax Concepts: records, deductions and instalments" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "Records that stand up to a review".

What the lesson teaches:
- In Canada, under the Income Tax Act, business records must be kept for a minimum of six years from the end of the latest tax year they relate to (CRA). Other countries set different periods (see In your country below).
- The CRA's list of source documents includes sales invoices, purchase invoices, cash register receipts, formal written contracts, credit card receipts, delivery slips, deposit slips, work orders, cheques and bank statements. The CRA says that if you are unsure whether an item matters, keep it.
- Records must show an audit trail: a path from the source document (paper or electronic) to the summary numbers you report.
- Records can be paper, electronic or both. A scanned copy is acceptable if it is readable by the CRA. Electronic records must stay in an electronically readable format even if you also keep a paper copy.
- Records must be kept in English or French (or translated), and generally in Canada. Records kept outside Canada can be accepted if a readable copy is available in Canada.
- Hiring a bookkeeper or accountant does not shift your responsibility. You remain accountable for your records.
- If the CRA audits you, it can ask for business records (ledgers, invoices, receipts, contracts, bank statements), and sometimes personal records such as bank and credit card statements. You have 30 days to agree or disagree with a proposed reassessment, and you can appeal a reassessment you disagree with.

The exercise I'm working on:
Pick one sale and one expense from last month. For each, write the full trail from source document to the line on your tracking sheet. Note any missing piece and how you will fix it.

I'm stuck. Please:
1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example.
2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step.
3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.
4. This is for learning only. Remind me to check with a licensed professional before I make a real decision about my own money, health or legal situation.
I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "Records that stand up to a review" from the course "Self-Employed Tax Concepts: records, deductions and instalments".

Here's what the lesson says:
Think of your records as a trail of breadcrumbs. If someone asks "how did you get this number?", you can walk back along the crumbs from the final number to the receipt, one step at a time. No crumbs, no proof.

The activity:
Pick one sale and one expense from last month. For each, write the full trail from source document to the line on your tracking sheet. Note any missing piece and how you will fix it.

Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words.
Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.
Keep it general and educational. This is not advice for a real situation.
Open Claude
Sources
My notes
02

Current expenses in depth

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

03

Capital items and depreciation (Canada's capital cost allowance)

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

04

Vehicles and mixed-use costs

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

05

Tax instalments: who, when and how

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

06

Instalment interest, penalties and cash planning

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

07

Your yearly tax routine and working with a CPA

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

++

Final project

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??

Quiz

  1. How can you find out how long business records must be kept?

  2. Does hiring a bookkeeper or accountant move the responsibility for records away from you?

  3. What is an audit trail?

  4. Why check your own country's rule before deducting a business meal?

  5. On a business loan, which part is deductible: interest or principal?

  6. What is capital cost allowance?

  7. Where do you find the claim rate for a class of business asset?

  8. What is the usual vehicle business-use formula?

  9. Why might a self-employed person pay tax in instalments?

  10. Where do you find your country's instalment due dates?

  11. Name the three ways to calculate instalments.

  12. What can happen if an instalment is late or too small?

EX

Final exam

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

CE

Certificate

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.