Secret Shopping and Taxation

Personal taxation on income earned is something that many new shoppers do not understand, since you will be working as an independent contractor it is very important that you understand all aspects of taxation and deductions. You will be considered to be an independent contractor, therefore it is your responsibility to keep track of all your earnings and expenses and report them to Revenue Canada. You will not have any taxes withheld from your payments for your assignments, for example if you are paid $40 for an assignment you will receive a full $40 with no tax withheld.

The best part of being self-employed is that there are many deductions available to you. Many shoppers get confused and think that they have to be a business or become incorporated to get deductions, this is not true!! In the eyes of Revenue Canada , as an independent contractor, you are a business so go ahead and enjoy the benefits. For example any expenses that you are not reimbursed for are deductible, here is a list of expenses that you can deduct:

• • Mileage or a percentage of your car’s use for your mystery shopping work (including car payment, repairs and maintenance).
• • Parking fees and tolls.
• • Business use of your home (a percentage of your rent or mortgage payment plus utilities and insurance.
• • Telephone (including a second line, long distance and voicemail charges).
• • Internet access fees.
• • Postage
• • Office equipment and supplies (including computer, fax machine, scanner, digital camera, printer, answering machine, office supplies)
• • Educational costs (including the cost of this manual).

Let me end this section by emphasizing that I am not a tax professional, the above information is a guideline only. If you are self employed it is highly recommended that you obtain professional tax advice from a certified accountant. Your accountant may even be able to find more deductions for you than the list above!

 

Interested in finding out more? Please read all about it in our "Pocket Guide to Secret Shopping" Over 200 Companies listed that actively seek out secret shoppers. These companies contact you for shopping jobs and you can pick and choose the ones you want to go on. It's that easy! Written by a person who DOES this for a living. The book reveals all you need to know about secret shopping and gives you details of where to and how to apply for best results. "I receive several emails per week to evaluate different places! It's really amazing and I even get to pick and choose which places I want to evaluate. There's no charge, no obligation, and I get paid to do what I would be doing anyway!"