CRA tax deadlines 2026: the one-page calendar for small business
T1, T2, HST, payroll, T4/T5, instalments: the dates that actually apply to your business, without the CRA-website scavenger hunt.
The short answer
Most individuals file their T1 by April 30, 2026. Self-employed filers (or their spouse) get until June 15, 2026 to file — but the balance owing is still due April 30. Corporations file T2 within six months of their year-end, with the balance due two or three months after year-end depending on structure. HST, payroll, and T4/T5 deadlines run on their own separate clocks below. None of these dates move for your convenience, so the table is worth bookmarking.
The 2026 deadline calendar
| Filing | Deadline | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| T1 personal return | April 30, 2026 | Most individuals, for the 2025 tax year. |
| T1, self-employed | Return: June 15, 2026 Balance: April 30, 2026 | Applies if you or your spouse/common-law partner is self-employed. Interest on any unpaid balance starts May 1, 2026. |
| T2 corporate return | 6 months after year-end | Filing deadline, regardless of balance owing. |
| T2 balance owing | 2 months after year-end (3 months for a CCPC claiming the small business deduction, if conditions are met) | Separate from the filing deadline above. |
| HST — monthly/quarterly filers | 1 month after the reporting period ends | Filing and payment deadline are the same date. |
| HST — annual filers (most) | 3 months after fiscal year-end | Filing and final payment deadline are the same date. |
| HST — annual, sole proprietor exception | Payment: April 30 Return: June 15 | Applies to a sole proprietor annual filer with a December 31 fiscal year-end and business income for the year. |
| Payroll remittances | Varies by remitter type | Quarterly, regular, or accelerated (Threshold 1/2) — see below. |
| T4 / T4A slips | Last day of February | Filed with CRA and given to recipients by the same date. |
| T5 slips | Last day of February | Same deadline as T4/T4A. |
| T1 instalments | March 15, June 15, September 15, December 15 | Only if net tax owing exceeds $3,000 (Quebec: $1,800) in the current year and either of the two preceding years. |
Rather than cross-reference your own situation against a static table, our tax deadline tool builds the calendar for you — pick your business type and it tells you which rows actually apply.
HST filing: it depends how you're assigned
The CRA assigns your GST/HST reporting period by annual taxable-supply revenue, not by preference: businesses at $1,500,000 or less default to annual (monthly or quarterly by choice), those between $1,500,000 and $6,000,000 default to quarterly (monthly by choice), and anything above $6,000,000 is monthly with no option to change it. Whatever period you land in, GST/HST returns for periods ending in 2024 or later must be filed electronically.
The one exception worth knowing by heart: if you're a sole proprietor on annual filing with a December 31 year-end and you had business income for the year, your payment is due April 30 but your return isn't due until June 15 — the same split that applies to your T1. Miss the distinction and you'll assume you have until June 15 for both, which is the version that generates interest.
Payroll remittances: frequency follows your withholding history
Your remitter type is set by your average monthly withholding amount (AMWA) from two calendar years prior, and it determines how often you send source deductions to the CRA:
- Quarterly: new small employers with MWA under $1,000, or existing small employers with AMWA under $3,000 — either way, only with a clean compliance record — due April 15, July 15, October 15, and January 15.
- Regular: AMWA under $25,000 — due the 15th of the month following the month deductions were made.
- Threshold 1 accelerated: AMWA $25,000 to $99,999.99 — twice monthly (the 25th for the 1st–15th period, the 10th of the next month for the 16th–end period).
- Threshold 2 accelerated: AMWA $100,000 or more — up to four times monthly, due the 3rd working day after each of the 7th, 14th, 21st, and last day of the month.
Get the remitter type wrong and you're either remitting more often than required (harmless, just annoying) or less often than required (not harmless — that's a penalty). If you're not sure which bucket you're in, your CRA business account states it, or your bookkeeper should already know.
Where this fits in the calendar year
T4, T4A, and T5 slips both fall on the last day of February — the earliest real deadline of the year, and the one most likely to catch a business off guard coming out of December payroll and year-end scramble. April 30 is the big one for individuals and most sole-proprietor HST. June 15 catches self-employed T1 filers and the annual-HST sole-proprietor exception — but remember, in both cases, money owed was already due April 30. Corporate deadlines run on the corporation's own fiscal calendar rather than the calendar year, so they need to be tracked separately per entity.
If any of this feels like a lot of separate clocks to track — it is, and that's the actual argument for outsourcing it. Year-end and tax returns at AccruBooks run alongside monthly bookkeeping (from $200/month, HST filings included), so the deadlines above become someone else's calendar instead of yours.
One caveat, seriously
These are the 2026 filing-season dates as published by the CRA at time of writing. Your specific situation — fiscal year-end, corporate structure, remitter history, provincial variations — changes which rows apply and sometimes the date itself. Treat this page as the map, not the final word: confirm anything time-sensitive against the CRA's own pages, or run it past us.
Questions
Quick answers
What is the deadline to file taxes in Canada for 2026?
For most individuals, the T1 personal tax return for the 2025 tax year is due April 30, 2026. If you or your spouse or common-law partner are self-employed, the return itself isn’t due until June 15, 2026 — but any balance owing is still due April 30, 2026, and interest starts accruing May 1, 2026 on whatever is unpaid.
When is a corporate (T2) tax return due?
A T2 corporate return must be filed within six months of the corporation’s tax year-end. The balance owing is due earlier: two months after year-end for most corporations, or three months after year-end for a Canadian-controlled private corporation claiming the small business deduction that meets the CRA’s conditions.
When are T4 and T5 slips due?
T4, T4A, and T5 information returns — slips and summaries — must be filed with the CRA, and copies given to recipients, by the last day of February following the calendar year they cover.
How often do I need to remit payroll deductions?
It depends on your remitter type, which the CRA sets based on your average monthly withholding amount from two years prior. Quarterly remitters pay four times a year; regular remitters pay by the 15th of the following month; accelerated remitters (higher withholding amounts) pay twice or up to four times a month. Check your CRA remitter type rather than assuming.
The fine print: this guide is general information for Canadian businesses, current as of August 15, 2026. Rates and rules change, and your situation has details a web page can't see — so before acting on anything here, confirm it against the CRA's own pages or ask us directly.
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