Personal Tax (T1)
- Filing deadline: April 30 (or June 15 if you or your spouse are self-employed)
- Balance owing deadline: April 30 regardless of self-employment status
- Late filing penalty: 5% of balance owing, plus 1% per month for up to 12 months
Note: If you have self-employment income, you get until June 15 to file — but any taxes owing are still due April 30. Filing late but paying on time avoids the late filing penalty, but interest accrues on the balance from May 1 regardless.
Corporate Tax (T2)
- Filing deadline: 6 months after your fiscal year-end
- Balance owing (CCPC): 3 months after fiscal year-end
- Balance owing (other corporations): 2 months after fiscal year-end
- Late filing penalty: 5% of unpaid tax, plus 1% per month for up to 12 months
Note the gap: your taxes are due months before your return is due. This is where instalments matter — if your tax owing exceeds $3,000 ($1,800 in Quebec), CRA expects you to make quarterly instalment payments throughout the year.
Payroll (T4 Slips)
- T4 slips to employees: February 28
- T4 Summary to CRA: February 28
- Monthly remittances: 15th of the following month (for most small businesses)
- Accelerated remitters: Within 3 or 10 days depending on average monthly withholding
Payroll remittance failures carry some of the harshest CRA penalties — a flat 10% penalty for the first failure, 20% for subsequent failures in the same year. Directors of corporations can be held personally liable for unremitted payroll deductions.
HST / GST
- Annual filers (under $1.5M revenue): 3 months after fiscal year-end
- Quarterly filers ($1.5M-$6M): 1 month after each quarter-end
- Monthly filers (over $6M): 1 month after each month-end
For corporations with a December 31 year-end that file HST annually, the deadline is March 31. For sole proprietors filing HST annually, the deadline is April 30 (or June 15 if self-employed, but balance due April 30).
T4A — Subcontractor Payments
- Deadline: February 28
- Required for payments of $500+ to subcontractors, professionals, or anyone who isn't an employee
T5 — Investment Income
- Deadline: February 28
- Required when a corporation pays dividends to shareholders
Corporate Instalment Payments
If your corporation's net tax owing exceeds $3,000 for the current or either of the two preceding years, you're required to make instalment payments. The instalment due dates depend on your fiscal year-end and payment method (prior year, current year, or annualized). Getting this wrong results in instalment interest — charged from the date each instalment was due.
The Penalty That Catches People Off Guard
CRA charges a failure to file penalty that compounds quickly. If you've been assessed a late filing penalty in any of the three preceding tax years, the penalty on a subsequent late filing doubles: 10% of balance owing plus 2% per month for up to 20 months. Serial late filers get hit hard.
This article is for general informational purposes. Tax rules change frequently and individual circumstances vary. Book a consultation for advice specific to your situation.