Register your farm as a business

There are a number of steps and options in registering your farm as a business at the provincial and federal level. The major ones are as follows:

Provincial:

• The Registered Professional Agricultural Producer (RPAP), which identifies the business as a bona fide farm, entitles the farm to certain financial discounts and allows membership into a general farm organization.
• Registration of a business unless it is a sole proprietorship. This is required of all businesses and links the business to other programs.

Federal:

• A Business Number.
  As required, including payroll deduction payments, Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) refunds, etc.

Producers can apply for a RPAP card at Service New Brunswick outlets anywhere in New Brunswick or online. Participation in this program is strictly voluntary, but participation provides access to the Fuel Tax Exemption Program and the purchase of farm vehicle licence plates commonly referred to as farm plates for farm vehicles.

For more information, visit GNB Forms by Department

The Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries administers the Agricultural Producers Registration and Farm Organizations Funding Act which also provides stable funding for general farm organizations (GFO) in New Brunswick. This funding allows organizations to provide services to their members. The RPAP registration fee is based on the farm business annual gross income for the year immediately preceding. The farmer designates to which GFO he or she wishes to belong.

Currently there are two GFOs in New Brunswick, the Agricultural Alliance of New Brunswick and the National Farmers Union in New Brunswick. Contact information is found in commodity groups and associations.

NOTE: Farm registration does not follow the government financial year (April-March). It runs from February 1 through January 31. First-time farmers can register before or after they have begun to earn income from their farm, (if prior to commencing farming, a business plan needs to be presented to the RPAP registrar). For more information, contact the Registrar of Farms at 506-444-2848.

While applying for your RPAP card, you may also request your Farmer Purchaser’s Permit, which allows you to buy tax free diesel fuel at the point of purchase. You must pay the fuel tax on gasoline at the point of purchase. An application to have this fuel tax refunded is possible if the gas was used on the farm or if gas or diesel was used in farm-plated vehicles used for farm production.

New Brunswick fuel tax laws administered by the Department of Finance allow for all farm production activities to be eligible for the exemption. This includes the fuel used in farm-plated vehicles if the activity is production related. Activities related to the delivery, or the marketing of agricultural products are not eligible for a refund.

The following link gives you the fuel tax refund application:

Farmer’s gasoline, motive fuel and carbon emitting product refund application (pdf – 183kb)

Businesses required to register:

Not all businesses are required to register in New Brunswick. A sole proprietorship business is not required to register, but partnerships and corporations are required to do so. Before registering for a business number there are some important decisions that you need to make about the business:

• Name of the business.
• Location of the business.
• Legal structure of the business (sole proprietorship, partnership or corporation).
• Fiscal year-end for the business; and
• Estimated sales for the business.

To learn more about the various options of the type of business structure to choose, and locations of the Service New Brunswick offices, visit:

• Corporate Registry of New Brunswick 

Registering the business name:

If you choose to operate a business under a specific business name, it is recommended that you register the name in order to protect that name for your use only. To learn more about registering a business name, visit the following link:

• BRS Online

Registering the business:

Forms and information to help with this can be obtained at any Service New Brunswick outlet or visit:

• GNB Forms by Department

All businesses are required by the Federal Government to register and obtain a Business Number (BN) regardless of the legal structure or ownership of the business. It is also important to note that if a business obtains a BN for a sole proprietorship this BN cannot be transferred should the legal structure change (i.e., becomes a partnership or corporation). A new BN will have to be applied for.

Once registered, a business can access whatever programs are required. Typical programs that are used by the farming community include:

• HST – which allows a business to apply for a refund on all HST paid;
• Payroll deduction remittance; and
• Excise tax

The following link will assist in obtaining a BN:

• How to register for a business number or Canada Revenue Agency program accounts (Canada.ca)

For more information on business registration, contact the Canada Revenue Agency at 1-800-670-4357 (toll-free) or visit:

• Open or manage an account – Register - (Canada.ca)

In Canada and New Brunswick, all individuals and businesses earning income are required to pay and file income tax returns on an annual basis. As a farmer, there may be some special tax considerations. It is important for new entrants to get advice from a professional, who can advise on tax matters.

Farm plates, sometimes referred to as F plates, may be purchased at any Service New Brunswick outlet. All you need to qualify is a valid RPAP card.

Farm plates cost about one-half of commercial vehicle plates; however, the registration of a farm plate must be for a full year, while commercial plates can be purchased by the month.

Farmers may haul their own products to and from market and also haul farm products for other farms. However, a farm-plated vehicle may not be used for commercial transportation.