CRA Tax Deadlines in Canada: The Complete Firm Calendar
the master CRA deadline calendar for T1, T2, GST/HST, payroll and slips
Canadian accounting firms anchor the year on a handful of CRA dates: T4 and T5 slips by the last day of February, T1 returns by April 30 (June 15 for the self-employed, with any balance still due April 30), T2 corporation returns six months after each fiscal year-end, and GST/HST returns on each client's assigned reporting cadence.
What are the main CRA deadlines for Canadian businesses?
The core set is small: slips at the end of February, personal returns April 30, corporate returns six months after each year-end, GST/HST one month or three months after each reporting period, and payroll remittances on a schedule set by the employer's remitter type.
The table below states each rule as the CRA states it. Where a due date falls on a weekend or public holiday, the CRA treats the next business day as on time — so a firm should compute the shifted date each year rather than carrying last year's calendar forward.
| Filing | Applies to | Filing deadline | Payment | If it is late |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T4, T4A and T5 information returns | Every employer (T4), payers of pensions, annuities and fees for services (T4A), and payers of investment income (T5). | File the slips and summary with the CRA and distribute copies to recipients by the last day of February following the calendar year. Where that date falls on a weekend or public holiday, the next business day applies — compute the shifted date rather than assuming it. | Not applicable | A graduated late-filing penalty based on the number of slips and days late: a minimum of $100 and a maximum of $7,500, on a per-day scale that rises by tier. It is not a flat per-slip amount. |
| T1 personal income tax return | Most individuals. | File and pay by April 30 of the following year. Where April 30 falls on a weekend or public holiday, the CRA treats the next business day as on time. | Any balance owing is due April 30. | Late filing costs 5% of the balance owing plus 1% for each full month late, to a maximum of 12 months. Where a late-filing penalty applied in any of the three prior years and the CRA issued a demand to file, the penalty rises to 10% plus 2% per month for up to 20 months. Compound daily interest runs on unpaid balances from May 1. |
| T1 for self-employed individuals | Individuals with self-employment income and their spouses or common-law partners. | File by June 15. The extended filing date applies to the return only. | Any balance owing is still due April 30. Interest accrues from May 1 regardless of the June filing window — this is the single most-missed rule in Canadian personal tax. | The same 5% plus 1% per month structure applies, computed from the June 15 filing date; interest runs from the April 30 payment date. |
| 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. |
| GST/HST returns — monthly and quarterly filers | Registrants with monthly or quarterly reporting periods. | File and pay one month after the end of each reporting period. | Payment is due on the same date as the return. | The late-filing penalty is A + (B × C), where A is 1% of the amount owing, B is 25% of A, and C is the number of complete months the return is late, to a maximum of 12 — so 1% plus 0.25% per month, capped at 4%. A further $250 applies where the return is filed after a demand to file. Compound daily interest runs on late amounts. |
| GST/HST returns — annual filers | Registrants with an annual reporting period. | File and pay three months after the fiscal year-end. Annual filers who are individuals with business income and a December 31 year-end instead file by June 15 and pay by April 30. | Annual filers with $3,000 or more of net tax generally must also pay quarterly GST/HST instalments. | The same A + (B × C) late-filing formula applies. |
| Payroll source deduction remittances | All employers. Frequency is set by the average monthly withholding amount (AMWA) from two years prior. | Quarterly remitters (AMWA under $3,000 with a clean compliance record, and eligible new small employers) remit by the 15th of the month after each calendar quarter. Regular remitters (AMWA under $25,000) remit by the 15th of the month following the month deductions were made. Accelerated Threshold 1 remitters (AMWA $25,000 to $99,999.99) remit by the 25th for pay periods ending the 1st to 15th, and by the 10th of the following month for periods ending the 16th to month-end. Accelerated Threshold 2 remitters (AMWA $100,000 or more) remit within three working days after each of four weekly periods, through a Canadian financial institution. | Not applicable | 3% for amounts one to three days late, 5% for four to five days, 7% for six to seven days, and 10% where more than seven days late or not remitted. A second or subsequent failure in the same calendar year, made knowingly or through gross negligence, carries a 20% penalty. |
Why filing on time is not the same as paying on time
Several CRA obligations run two clocks. A corporation files its T2 six months after year-end but must pay its balance two months after year-end — three months for eligible CCPCs claiming the small business deduction. A self-employed individual files by June 15 but owes any balance on April 30.
Interest starts from the payment date, not the filing date, which is why a firm that tracks only one date per client is exposed on every file where the two differ.
| 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. |
| T1 for self-employed individuals | Individuals with self-employment income and their spouses or common-law partners. | File by June 15. The extended filing date applies to the return only. | Any balance owing is still due April 30. Interest accrues from May 1 regardless of the June filing window — this is the single most-missed rule in Canadian personal tax. | The same 5% plus 1% per month structure applies, computed from the June 15 filing date; interest runs from the April 30 payment date. |
Which clients owe instalments, and when?
Individuals owe personal instalments when net tax owing exceeds $3,000 — $1,800 for Quebec residents — in the current year and either of the two preceding years, due March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15. Corporations owing more than $3,000 of total tax pay monthly, or quarterly if they are eligible small CCPCs.
| Filing | Applies to | Filing deadline | Payment | If it is late |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal tax instalments | Individuals whose net tax owing exceeds $3,000 — $1,800 for Quebec residents — in the current year and in either of the two preceding years. | Instalments are due March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15, with the next business day applying on weekends and holidays. | Not applicable | Instalment interest compounds daily at the prescribed rate on late or deficient instalments. An additional instalment penalty applies where instalment interest exceeds $1,000. |
| Corporate tax instalments | Corporations whose total tax payable exceeds $3,000 in the current or previous year. | Monthly instalments are due the last day of each month. Eligible small CCPCs — claiming the small business deduction, with a perfect compliance history and within the taxable-income and taxable-capital limits — may instead pay quarterly, on the last day of each quarter of the tax year. | Not applicable | Instalment interest applies, with an additional penalty where instalment interest exceeds $1,000. |
What about partnership and non-resident returns?
T5013 partnership returns are due March 31 where all partners are individuals, five months after year-end where all partners are corporations, and the earlier of the two where the partnership has both. NR4 returns for amounts paid to non-residents are due the last day of March, with Part XIII tax remitted by the 15th of the month after payment.
| Filing | Applies to | Filing deadline | Payment | If it is late |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T5013 partnership information return | Partnerships that meet the CRA's filing criteria. | Where all partners are individuals, file by March 31 following the calendar year in which the fiscal period ended. Where all partners are corporations, file within five months of the fiscal period end. Where the partnership has both, file by the earlier of March 31 and five months after year-end. | Not applicable | The greater of $100 and $25 per day, to a maximum of 100 days — up to $2,500 per failure. |
| NR4 return — amounts paid to non-residents | Payers of dividends, rents, royalties, management fees and similar amounts to non-residents. | File the NR4 return and distribute slips by the last day of March following the calendar year. Estates and trusts file within 90 days of the estate or trust year-end. | Part XIII withholding tax must be remitted by the 15th of the month following the month of payment. | The graduated information-return penalty applies (minimum $100, maximum $7,500 by slip count and days late). Failure to distribute slips to recipients carries $25 per day per failure, minimum $100, maximum $2,500. |
How firms keep every date on one board
None of these dates are hard to look up. The difficulty is holding them per client, at scale, when every client has a different year-end, a different GST cadence and a different remitter type. Encode the rule rather than the date — the cadence generates the dates — and give every deadline a named owner.
Frequently asked questions
When are personal taxes due in Canada?
Most individuals must file and pay by April 30 of the following year. Self-employed individuals and their spouses or common-law partners have until June 15 to file, but any balance owing is still due April 30. If the deadline falls on a weekend or public holiday, the CRA treats the next business day as on time.
When is the T2 corporate return due?
A T2 is due six months after the corporation's fiscal year-end. The balance of tax is due earlier — generally two months after year-end, or three months for eligible Canadian-controlled private corporations claiming the small business deduction. Filing on time and paying on time are separate obligations with separate dates.
When are T4 slips due?
T4, T4A and T5 slips and their summaries must be filed with the CRA and distributed to recipients by the last day of February following the calendar year they cover. Where that date falls on a weekend or public holiday, the next business day applies.
How often are GST/HST returns filed?
It depends on the registrant's assigned reporting period. Monthly and quarterly filers file and pay one month after each period ends. Annual filers generally file and pay three months after their fiscal year-end, except individuals with business income and a December 31 year-end, who file by June 15 and pay by April 30.
What happens if a return is filed late?
For T1 and T2 returns, the CRA charges 5% of the balance owing plus 1% for each full month late, to a maximum of 12 months. Repeated failure can double that to 10% plus 2% per month for up to 20 months. Compound daily interest accrues on unpaid balances on top of the penalty.
Related guides
How firms run this
By province
Turn these dates into tickets.
SpidNums generates the work from each client's cadence and year-end, then ranks it by proximity.