You're late, you're late, for a very important date!

T4 (payroll) and T5 (dividend) returns for your business are due on February 29th. 

The late filing penalty for these returns is $25 per day (minimum of $100) to a maximum of $2,500. Late distribution of the slips are penalized at the same rate, $25 per day (minimum of $100) to a maximum of $2,500.

T1 Personal Tax Returns are due on April 30th.

T1 Personal Tax Returns are due on April 30th.  If you are self-employed, the filing deadline is June 15th, but the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA, formerly Revenue Canada) still wants your money by April 30th, or they will charge non-deductible interest.  The penalty for late filing is 5% of the amount owing, plus 1% of the amount owing for each complete month to a maximum of 12 months.  If you have been assessed a late filing penalty within the last three years, these rates double to 10% and 2% per month.  As well, CRA will charge non-deductible interest on the amount owing, at 7% per annum compounded daily, from January 1 until March 31, 2006.  This interest rate is posted by CRA quarterly.

Contractor Reporting Returns are due on June 30th, or Six Months After Your Fiscal Year-end.

Businesses whose income is more than 50% from the construction industry, who paid more than $500 to a subcontractor are required to send in a report within six months from the end of either their taxation or calendar year (once you choose either taxation of calendar, you cannot change it), listing the contractors they hired, their social insurance or business number, their address, and the amount they were paid.  There are penalties for filing, or late filing, this report, similar to those for late-filed T4 or T5 returns.

Federal Corporate Tax Installments

are payable monthly based on dividing the previous year's federal corporate taxes by 12 (10 in the second year of the corporation's life).  If your corporation owes corporate tax instalments and does not pay them each month, it will be charged instalment interest of 9% per annum, compounded daily, which works out to a pretty high rate of interest (the government may increase that rate quarterly), unless it turns out it doesn't owe tax for that year.  Many small business corporations send in estimated instalments of 13.12% (this federal tax rate is gradually supposed to be getting lower - see the corporate tax cuts page of this website) of their current year's profits, if they are less than the instalments calculated based on their previous years' corporate tax.  The Alberta government does not require instalments from small businesses with active income (they do require instalments if the corporation has passive income).

Prescribed Interest Rates:

The Canada Revenue Agency charges non-deductible interest on corporate, personal, GST, and payroll remittances paid late at 9% per annum compounded daily (this is the rate from October 1 to December 31, 2006 - they can change it every quarter) compounded daily.  On GST, up until December 31, 2006, they charge a 6% per annum penalty, compounded daily, on GST paid late.  The Alberta government charged interest on corporate tax paid late at 8.5% per annum compounded daily for the first quarter of 2007.

Information on this website is not intended to be a definitive analysis of tax laws or cases and should not be used in such a manner.  The information provided on this site should not be relied upon to replace professional advice specific to your situation.

Tax Deadlines