Legal Pitfalls to Avoid as a Freelancer Doing Business in Canada
Starting a freelancing business looks as simple as publicly announcing that you are open for business. In a country like Canada, they are laws that must be followed in registering your business. Allreviews gives you reviews of freelancing platforms where you can offer your services.
The legal laws you have to adhere to depend on the structure of your freelancing business. If you are doing your freelance business under another firm, you will have to pay an annual fee. Here are some of the legal pitfalls you should avoid :
- Disobeying Business Registration Laws:
As a freelancer doing business in Canada, there is some business law you need to follow to avoid penalties such as the business registration law. In the different provinces of Canada, each province has laws every business including freelance business should abide in.
Even if as a freelancer you work under another business firm or freelance graphic designer websites (if you are a graphic designer), you will need to pay an annual fee to that business.
- Not Paying Service Taxes :
If you are a freelancer in Canada, you will have to pay service taxes if you earn more than $30,000 a year. It is advisable that you visit the Canadian revenue agency to know if you are supposed to pay this tax to avoid penalties that come from breaking this law.
Depending on the type of freelance service you render, you should also find out the taxes you will have to pay in a particular province in Canada.
- Ownership Clause :
As a freelancer offering a service in Canada, it is important that you specify in the course of your work if you retain the ownership of the work or your client has the ownership rights. If you are giving the ownership rights of work to a client, clearly specify the terms at which such ownership is transferred to avoid legal issues.
When you give the ownership of a work to a client, it is advised that you don’t make use or claim the ownership of the work without your client’s consent to avoid legal penalties.
- Not Been Clear on Your Service Clause :
You must be expressive and clear about your freelancing services so that there won’t be legal issues between you and your client. Make sure before commencement on any work, the person you want to offer your services to is aware of what you are in clear terms to avoid legal issues.
- Clear Timetable of What You Will Deliver :
In clear Terms state to your clients what you will deliver and when you will deliver the work. This is to avoid confusion when you are working on a project. You may have some legal disputes with some clients when you don’t deliver work on the agreed date.
Conclusion
Freelancing is one of the ways to make money by even offering your service remotely. If you’re a freelancer in Canada things may be quite different when it comes to legal laws, the following written above are among the legal pitfalls to avoid.