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I earned under $12k in 2019 and find I get a larger refund if I do not include the business expenses to make that income. Is it optional to include the expenses on my tax return? They usually reduce taxes but not this time. Also, can I then use those legitimate expenses on my HST return as an adjustment against the HST I collected?
That doesn't seem right to me. Your income tax bill should go down, as your business profit decreases. In any case, you are supposed to deduct expenses incurred in the year that are related to your business, in order to compute the profit. HST paid on business purchases can be claimed as 'input tax credits', which are refundable.