Receiving a grant is usually considered a great event; an occasion to break out the champagne and reward yourself, a moment to reflect that a group of your peers deemed you worthy and part of the community. Grants keep art afloat in Canada, and should be a cause for celebration. Until it’s time to do your taxes, and then the world seems to fall apart and you curse the day you received that $7,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts.
There are many theories on how to deal with your grant when it comes to tax time, not all of which are helpful. The most important thing to remember is that grants awarded to individual artists are taxable income to the recipient. A T4A is issued to the recipient and reported to the Canada Revenue agency (CRA), who will expect that income to be reported.
Government Grants and Their Tax Treatments: A Guide to Preparing Your Taxes After Receiving a Grant was created by Tova Epp, with graphic design by Kinnon Elliott.