# Reference — Filing Canadian Business Taxes
# Contents
- Deadline master table (tax year 2026)
- Sales tax by province
- GST/HST worked example
- Payroll remittance table
- Corporate tax rate sketch
- Penalty table
- Gotchas
# Deadline master table (tax year 2026 — verify at canada.ca)
| Filing |
Who |
Due |
| T1 + T2125 |
Self-employed individuals |
File June 15; pay April 30 |
| T2 |
Corporations |
File 6 months after year-end; pay 2 months (3 for eligible CCPCs) |
| GST/HST return |
Registrants |
Annual: 3 months after year-end (self-employed: June 15/pay Apr 30); quarterly/monthly: 1 month after period |
| T4 slips + summary |
Employers |
Last day of February |
| T5 slips + summary |
Corporations paying dividends |
Last day of February |
| Payroll remittance |
New/small employers |
15th of the month following payday |
| T1 instalments |
Individuals owing >$3,000 |
Mar 15 / Jun 15 / Sep 15 / Dec 15 |
| RRSP deduction cutoff |
Individuals |
~60 days into the new year (Mar 2, 2026 for 2025) |
# Sales tax by province (2026 — verify)
| Province |
Regime |
Rate |
| ON |
HST |
13% |
| NB, NS, NL, PE |
HST |
15% |
| AB, NT, NU, YT |
GST only |
5% |
| BC |
GST + PST |
5% + 7% |
| SK |
GST + PST |
5% + 6% |
| MB |
GST + RST |
5% + 7% |
| QC |
GST + QST |
5% + 9.975% (file with Revenu Québec) |
# GST/HST worked example (Ontario, quarterly filer)
- Sales in quarter: $50,000 + 13% HST collected = $6,500
- Purchases: $12,000 + $1,560 HST paid (ITCs)
- Net remittance = $6,500 − $1,560 = $4,940, due one month after quarter-end.
Books: HST collected accumulates in Sales Tax Payable; ITCs in GST/HST Recoverable; the remittance clears both.
| Item |
Employee |
Employer |
| Income tax |
withheld per TD1 tables |
— |
| CPP |
withheld up to annual max |
matched 1.0× |
| EI |
withheld up to annual max |
1.4× employee premium |
Remit all of the above together by the 15th of the following month (accelerated schedules for larger remitters).
# Corporate tax rate sketch (2026 — verify exact provincial rates)
| Income |
Federal |
Combined typical |
| Active income ≤ $500k (CCPC, SBD) |
9% |
~11–12% with province |
| Active income > $500k |
15% |
~25–31% |
| Passive investment income |
~38.7% refundable regime |
refunds on dividend payout (RDTOH) |
# Penalty table (verify at canada.ca)
| Failure |
Penalty |
| Late T1/T2 filing |
5% of balance + 1%/month (max 12); doubles for repeat offenders |
| Late GST/HST |
1% of amount owing + 0.25%/month (max 12) |
| Late slips (T4/T5) |
Per-slip penalty scaled by count and days late |
| Missed payroll remittance |
3–10% of the amount, escalating |
# Gotchas
- Payment before filing: corporate balances are due months before the T2 itself; treating the filing date as the payment date accrues interest silently.
- The $30,000 GST/HST threshold is rolling (four consecutive quarters), not calendar-year — check every quarter.
- Place-of-supply rules: an Alberta business selling to Ontario customers generally charges 13% HST, not 5%.
- Director liability: unremitted payroll and GST/HST amounts are personal liabilities of directors — prioritize trust amounts over all other debts.
- GIFI codes: the T2 requires financial statements mapped to GIFI; keep the chart of accounts mappable.