The Corporate Year-End Checklist for Canadian Firms
the firm-facing corporate year-end close checklist
A corporate year-end file runs on two dates: the T2 is due six months after the fiscal year-end and the tax balance is due two or three months after it. A workable checklist starts before the year-end itself — trigger the file at year-end minus one month, chase documents as a tracked stage, then prepare, review and file.
Start before the year-end, not after
Open the file one month before the client's fiscal year-end. That window is where the planning conversation lives — compensation mix, capital purchases, bonus accruals — and it closes the moment the year does.
The document list
Bank and credit-card statements to year-end, loan statements and amortization schedules, accounts receivable and payable listings, inventory count, capital asset additions and disposals with invoices, payroll records and remittance confirmations, sales-tax filings for the year, minute-book updates and any new agreements.
- Year-end bank, credit-card and loan statements
- AR and AP listings with aged balances
- Inventory count sheets where applicable
- Capital additions and disposals with supporting invoices
- Payroll register and remittance confirmations
- All GST/HST, PST, QST or RST returns filed for the year
- Minute book updates, dividend resolutions and new agreements
Close procedures
Reconcile every balance sheet account, not just cash. Review shareholder and related-party balances, confirm the capital asset continuity, and agree sales-tax accounts to the returns actually filed — the last of these catches more errors than any other single procedure.
Hold both deadlines separately
The filing date and the balance-due date are different obligations. Tracking only the six-month filing date means the payment deadline passes silently and interest starts running while the file still looks on schedule.
| Filing | Applies to | Filing deadline | Payment | If it is late |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T2 corporation income tax return | Every resident corporation, every tax year, even with no tax payable. | File within six months after the end of the corporation's tax year. Where the year-end is the last day of a month, the return is due the last day of the sixth following month; otherwise it is due the same day of the sixth month. | The balance of tax is due earlier than the return: generally two months after year-end, or three months for eligible Canadian-controlled private corporations claiming the small business deduction. Filing on time is not paying on time. | 5% of the unpaid tax plus 1% per complete month late, to a maximum of 12 months. Repeated failure raises it to 10% plus 2% per month for up to 20 months. |
The second corporate return, where one exists
Quebec corporations file a CO-17 with Revenu Québec alongside the federal T2. Alberta corporations with a permanent establishment in the province file an AT1 with Alberta Tax and Revenue Administration. Both belong on the checklist as separate obligations, not as sub-steps of the T2.
Frequently asked questions
When should a firm start a corporate year-end file?
One month before the client's fiscal year-end. That is the window where planning decisions — compensation mix, capital purchases, accruals — can still be made, and it closes permanently once the year-end passes.
What documents are needed for a corporate year-end?
Year-end bank, credit-card and loan statements; AR and AP listings; inventory counts where applicable; capital additions and disposals with invoices; payroll records and remittance confirmations; every sales-tax return filed during the year; and minute-book updates including dividend resolutions.
How long does a firm have to file the T2?
Six months after the corporation's fiscal year-end. The tax balance is due earlier — generally two months after year-end, or three months for eligible Canadian-controlled private corporations claiming the small business deduction — so the two dates must be tracked separately.
Does every province require a separate corporate return?
No. The CRA collects provincial corporate tax through the T2 everywhere except Quebec and Alberta. Quebec corporations also file a CO-17 with Revenu Québec, and Alberta corporations with a permanent establishment in the province also file an AT1 with Alberta Tax and Revenue Administration.
What is the most commonly missed year-end procedure?
Agreeing the sales-tax accounts on the balance sheet to the returns actually filed during the year. It routinely surfaces unfiled periods, misposted instalments and prior-year differences that would otherwise carry forward untouched.
Related guides
How firms run this
By province
Turn these dates into tickets.
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