Can I complete the T2125 Self-Employed form without documented expenses? (Canada)
I recently did a bit of freelance work and only made about $520 (CAD) total. I had some work-related expenses that came to roughly $280, but I stupidly didn't keep any of the receipts or documentation. Will this cause issues when filing my taxes? I'm trying to fill out the T2125 Self-Employed form, but I'm stuck on the expenses section since I don't have proper documentation. Can I still submit the form with just an approximate expense amount, or will they reject it? Do I just lose the ability to claim the deductions? Also, since my income from this gig is pretty low (under $600), I'm assuming I don't actually owe any taxes on it because it's below the basic personal amount in Canada? Just want to make sure I'm handling this correctly since it's my first time filing with self-employment income.
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Sunny Wang
Yes, you can absolutely still file your T2125 form even without receipts for your expenses. The CRA requires you to report all income regardless of amount, so you need to include that $520 of self-employment earnings. Without receipts though, you're in a tough spot regarding the expenses. While you technically can enter estimated expenses, I wouldn't recommend it. If you were ever audited, you'd need to provide documentation to support those deductions. The safest approach is to report just your income and not claim the expenses you can't document. Regarding taxes on the $520 - you're right that this amount is well below the basic personal amount, but self-employment income works a bit differently. While you likely won't owe income tax, you might still need to pay CPP contributions if your net self-employment income exceeds $3,500. Since your amount is much lower, you should be exempt from both income tax and CPP contributions on this particular income.
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Hugh Intensity
•Thank you for the info! Quick question - I have email confirmations for a few software subscriptions I used for this work (about $80 total). Can I deduct those since I have some digital proof, or does CRA only accept actual receipts?
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Sunny Wang
•Email confirmations for software subscriptions would generally be considered acceptable documentation. Digital records like email receipts, bank or credit card statements showing the purchases, and download/license confirmations can all work as supporting documents for tax purposes. Just make sure to save those emails somewhere secure in case you need them in the future. For any future self-employment work, I'd recommend setting up a simple system to track all expenses - even a dedicated folder in your email or a spreadsheet can make a huge difference when tax time comes around.
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Effie Alexander
After struggling with a similar situation last year (had about $800 in self-employment income but messy expense records), I found this AI tool that was super helpful for organizing my tax documents and figuring out what I could actually claim. It's called https://taxr.ai and it basically analyzes your documents and helps identify legitimate deductions you might miss. In my case, I uploaded the few receipts I had plus my bank statements, and it helped me figure out which expenses were business-related and what documentation would be sufficient. Really simplified the whole T2125 process for me.
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Melissa Lin
•Does it work specifically for Canadian taxes? I've found most tax tools are US-focused and don't handle CRA forms properly.
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Lydia Santiago
•Sounds interesting but I'm always skeptical of AI tools handling sensitive financial info. How secure is it? And can it actually help if you literally don't have receipts like OP's situation?
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Effie Alexander
•Yes, it absolutely works for Canadian taxes! They have specific support for CRA forms including the T2125. I was pleasantly surprised since, like you mentioned, so many tools are US-only. Regarding security, they use bank-level encryption and don't store your financial documents after processing. As for OP's situation with missing receipts, it actually helped me identify which expenses I could reasonably support with bank statements or credit card records when I didn't have the original receipt. The tool can't magically create documentation that doesn't exist, but it helps you maximize what you can legitimately claim with whatever documentation you do have.
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Lydia Santiago
Just wanted to follow up - I decided to try out that taxr.ai tool from my earlier question, and I'm genuinely impressed. I had a similar situation with about $700 in self-employment income and spotty record-keeping. The tool helped me figure out exactly which expenses I could safely claim based on my bank statements and email receipts. It also gave me clear guidance on what documentation the CRA would accept for different types of expenses. Saved me from leaving legitimate deductions on the table while also preventing me from claiming things I couldn't properly document. Definitely keeping better records this year, but this was a lifesaver for sorting out my messy 2024 taxes.
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Romeo Quest
If you're still struggling with CRA questions about this, I had great success using Claimyr https://claimyr.com to actually get through to a CRA agent. I spent HOURS trying to get through on my own with no luck. Their system got me connected to a real person at CRA in under 20 minutes. There's a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was shocked because I've literally never been able to get through to CRA during tax season before. The agent was able to tell me exactly how to handle my situation with missing receipts and what documentation they'd accept as alternatives.
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Val Rossi
•How does this even work? Like they somehow have a special line to CRA or something? I've tried calling at exactly 9am when they open and still waited 2+ hours...
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Eve Freeman
•This sounds like BS honestly. No way some third party service can magically get you through the CRA phone queue when everyone else is waiting hours. They probably just keep redialing for you and charge a fortune for it.
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Romeo Quest
•It's not a special line - they basically have a system that navigates the phone menu for you and sits in the queue on your behalf. When they reach a real person, they connect the call to your phone. So you don't have to waste time listening to the hold music and waiting. I was skeptical too before trying it. The way it works is they have automated systems that dial in and wait in the queue for you. Then when a real person answers, you get a notification and join the call. No magic, just clever tech that saves you from being stuck on hold forever. For me, it meant I could keep working instead of wasting my whole afternoon with a phone glued to my ear.
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Eve Freeman
Ok I need to eat my words from my previous comment. After another frustrating morning trying to reach CRA myself (3.5 hours on hold before getting disconnected!), I tried that Claimyr service. Not gonna lie, I was 100% expecting it to be a scam. But within 17 minutes I was talking to an actual CRA agent who answered my questions about self-employment expenses. The agent confirmed what others here said - you must report all income regardless of amount, but you can't claim expenses without supporting documentation. For anyone struggling to get through to CRA during tax season, this service is worth every penny just for the time saved.
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Clarissa Flair
From my experience, CRA is mostly concerned with unreasonable expense claims. If your self-employment income is only $520 and you're not even claiming expenses, they're unlikely to give you any trouble. I've been filing T2125 for years with small side gigs. Just report the income accurately and you should be fine. For next time though, even just keeping a simple spreadsheet and taking photos of receipts with your phone makes filing so much easier!
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Everett Tutum
•Thanks, that's really helpful. Definitely going to be more organized next time! Do you think I should include a note on my tax return explaining the situation, or just file the T2125 with income only and no expenses?
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Clarissa Flair
•Just file the T2125 with your income only and no expenses. There's no need to include a special note or explanation - thousands of people file with small amounts of self-employment income and no expenses claimed. Keep it simple. If you're using tax software, it will walk you through the T2125 form and you can simply enter your income and skip or enter zeros for the expense sections. The CRA system handles this situation routinely so it won't raise any red flags.
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Caden Turner
Anyone know if this is different in Quebec? I have a similar situation but with Revenu Quebec and they seem to have different rules for everything...
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McKenzie Shade
•Quebec has the same basic requirements - you need to report all income and have documentation for expenses you want to deduct. But you'll need to complete both the federal T2125 AND the Quebec TP-80 form for business income. The forms are similar but Quebec's can be more detailed in some sections.
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