Accounting for optometrists in Ontario
Optometry practices combine exam revenue with retail eyewear sales, which means both service and product bookkeeping plus inventory.
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taxifi · Optometrists
This month
- Bookkeeping Current
- Payroll & source deductions Filed
- HST Filed
- Year-end tax (T2) On track
The problems we take off your plate
Exams and eyewear are two businesses
Service revenue and retail eyewear sales are tracked separately, with inventory kept current, so margin on each is clear.
Frame and lens inventory
Inventory and cost of goods are tracked so your retail margin is real, not a year-end guess.
Clinical and retail payroll
Staff on both sides are paid on schedule with source deductions remitted to CRA on time.
What’s included
Published prices for incorporated Ontario optometrists. Everything below is handled.
- Bookkeeping for exam revenue and retail eyewear sales
- Inventory tracked cleanly
- Payroll for clinical and retail staff
- HST returns prepared and filed
- Year-end corporate tax (T2), from $1,000 a year
| Area | A typical setup | With taxifi |
|---|---|---|
| Your books | Weeks or months behind | Current every day |
| Year-end (T2) | A spring scramble, billed extra | Included, no surprise invoice |
| Your accountant | Metered by the hour | Unlimited questions, flat monthly |
Exempt exams, zero-rated prescriptions, taxable sunglasses
An optometry practice can carry three different sales-tax treatments in one appointment. Optometric services are generally exempt, prescription eyewear is generally zero-rated, and non-prescription retail such as sunglasses and accessories is generally taxable. Each treatment has different consequences for what you charge and what you can recover.
That makes the practice a mixed supplier with an apportionment question attached to almost every overhead cost, because input tax credits generally follow taxable and zero-rated activity rather than exempt activity. Practices that grew a retail frame business alongside clinical work are the ones most likely to be filing on assumptions. This is worth getting right once with an accountant and then tracking monthly.
Common questions
Can you handle both exams and eyewear retail?
Yes. Service and product revenue are tracked separately, with inventory kept current.
Do you work with incorporated optometry practices?
Yes. Incorporated practices are a core fit.
Do optometrists charge HST in Ontario?
It depends on what is being supplied. Optometric services are generally exempt, prescription eyewear is generally zero-rated, and non-prescription retail is generally taxable. Because all three can occur in one visit, the practice is typically a mixed supplier and needs its point of sale and chart of accounts aligned to those categories.
Can I claim input tax credits on clinic overhead?
Generally only to the extent the costs relate to taxable or zero-rated activity rather than exempt services, which means an apportionment exercise for shared overhead. The right allocation depends on your actual revenue mix — a review worth doing once and revisiting as the retail side grows.
Books and taxes for your optometry practice, done
Bookkeeping from $99 a month, accountant-reviewed from $299, corporate T2 from $1,000 a year. Prices are published; a call confirms the fit.
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