Budget 2026, tabled in Ottawa on November 5, 2026, confirms the Productivity Mega Deduction: eligible equipment acquired on or after September 15, 2026 could be written off in full in the year it becomes available for use. The budget's own examples for restaurants and food service are ranges, refrigerators, preparation tables, grills, food processors, mixers, dishwashing equipment, dining-room furniture and point-of-sale hardware. Ontario's Fall Statement of October 29 proposes the same treatment for Ontario tax. Anyone writing a coffee shop business plan this winter should look again at the equipment and tax lines.
A self-serve coffee point in Canada starts with a plan. Ask us for the station business plan: site, power and water, servicing and supply, with the terms in writing.
What Budget 2026 says for small food businesses
Legislative proposals for the Productivity Mega Deduction were released on September 15, 2026, and Budget 2026 confirms the government's intention to proceed with them. The budget says about two thirds of capital assets will qualify for immediate expensing, compared with about 15% before, and that the measure is permanent. Several smaller changes in the same document touch the owner of a café or coffee kiosk.
| Measure | What the documents say | Applies to · status |
|---|---|---|
| Productivity Mega Deduction (federal) | Full write-off of eligible capital assets in the year they become available for use | Property acquired on or after September 15, 2026. Proposed; confirmed in Budget 2026 |
| Ontario immediate write-offs | Immediate 100% write-offs on a permanent basis for most eligible depreciable property, in parallel with the federal measure | Property acquired on or after September 15, 2026. Proposed in the 2026 Fall Statement; takes effect after the federal legislation passes |
| Tax instalment threshold | Raised from $3,000 to $7,500 and indexed; self-employed owners could pay two thirds of net tax owing by December 31 | 2028 and later tax years. Proposed |
| One due date: May 15 | Single date for filing returns and paying taxes owing, including for self-employed individuals | 2027 and later tax years. Proposed |
| Canada Small Business Financing Program | Administration to move to the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) | Proposed; needs amendments to the Canada Small Business Financing Act and the Business Development Bank of Canada Act |
Sources: Budget 2026, Chapter 1; Budget 2026 in brief; Budget 2026, Chapter 6; Budget 2026, Annex 3; 2026 Ontario Fall Statement, Annex.
What changes in a coffee shop business plan
A coffee shop business plan usually spreads the cost of the espresso machine, grinders, fridges and counter over several years of capital cost allowance. Under the proposal, eligible items bought from September 15, 2026 could come off taxable income in the year they are put to work. That shifts the tax line of year one and the cash flow table that a lender reads.
- The list is illustrative. The budget names ranges, refrigerators, mixers, dishwashing equipment and point-of-sale hardware for food service. An espresso machine or a grinder is not named, and the budget states that once legislation is tabled the Canada Revenue Agency will decide whether specific assets qualify, case by case.
- Some assets stay out. The exclusions named in the budget are certain long-lived buildings and intangibles, certain passenger vehicles, regulated natural gas distribution pipelines and property subject to resource-depletion rules. Ask how your fit-out and leasehold improvements are treated.
- Timing matters. The deduction applies in the year an asset becomes available for use, so the install date belongs in the plan next to the purchase date.
- Financing. If the plan relies on a Canada Small Business Financing Program loan, check who administers it on the day you apply; Budget 2026 proposes moving it to BDC. Our page on financing routes describes how Fast Coffee partners prepare a loan application.
Checklist for the plan you hand to a lender
- Split the capital list. Equipment in one table, fit-out and leasehold improvements in another.
- Date every item twice: the purchase date (on or after September 15, 2026) and the date it is installed and ready to use.
- Keep the invoices with model and serial numbers, so each item can be classified once the CRA guidance is out.
- Run the tax line two ways: with the Mega Deduction and with the regular capital cost allowance, because the measure is still a proposal.
- Book an accountant review after the federal legislation is tabled, and before the 2026 return.
- Add the proposed filing dates to the calendar: May 15 from the 2027 tax year, and the $7,500 instalment threshold from 2028.
For the rest of the plan, our guides cover opening a coffee shop in Canada and the licences a café needs.
A second route: a coffee point with no equipment to buy
Some venues want coffee for visitors and skip the purchase altogether. Fast Coffee installs a bean-to-cup station, keeps it as our property and runs it: the venue pays $0, visitors pay $2.75–$3.85 per drink by card, and the venue receives 15% of the station's net monthly profit or a flat $150 a month. Details are on the coffee stations for venues page. If you plan to run self-serve stations yourself, the self-serve coffee franchise page lists what a station needs, and the business plan is sent on request.
FAQ
Can a coffee shop write off new equipment in full in 2026?
Budget 2026 proposes that eligible capital assets acquired on or after September 15, 2026 be written off in full in the year they become available for use. The measure still needs legislation, and the Canada Revenue Agency will decide whether specific assets qualify.
Which food service equipment does the budget list?
Ranges, refrigerators, preparation tables, grills, food processors, mixers, dishwashing equipment, dining-room furniture and point-of-sale hardware. The budget says the list is illustrative.
Does Ontario follow the federal write-off?
Ontario's 2026 Fall Statement, released October 29, 2026, proposes immediate 100% write-offs for most eligible depreciable property acquired on or after September 15, 2026, taking effect after the federal legislation passes.
Get the numbers for a self-serve coffee station. Tell us the city and the type of site; we send the station business plan with the site, power, water and service requirements.
This article summarises Budget 2026 and the 2026 Ontario Fall Statement as published. It is general information; your accountant confirms how each asset is treated.
