2025 Tax Deadlines: What Canadians Should Know
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Being an individual or corporate taxpayer in Canada means filing taxes and tax-related documents with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) on specific dates to avoid costly penalties.
Tax deadlines differ depending on what needs to be filed, so you may have several deadlines you need to watch to have everything filed before their deadlines.
Let’s look at the tax deadlines that may affect you and the interest and penalties the CRA could charge you for missing those key dates.
Personal Tax Deadlines
Tax Deadlines for Individuals
If you are an individual taxpayer who doesn’t report business income on your income tax return, the deadline for filing your tax return and paying any taxes owed is April 30, 2025.
Tax Deadlines for Sole Proprietors
The deadline for filing your 2024 income tax return is June 15, 2025. However, as June 15 falls on a Sunday, you have until June 16, 2025, to file your income tax return if you or your spouse or common-law partner is a sole proprietor.
If you owe tax as a sole proprietor, the balance owed is still due by April 30, 2025.
You will likely not know how much tax you have to pay until your tax return is prepared, so if you pay your taxes after April 30, 2025, you will be charged interest on the balance owed but will not receive a late filing penalty as long as your tax return is filed by the June 16, 2025 deadline.
Interest And Penalties
If you don’t pay your taxes by the April 30, 2025 deadline, the CRA will charge you interest compounded daily. The current annual interest rate is 10% for late payment of taxes.
If you owe taxes and file your tax return after the April 30, 2025, deadline for individuals or the June 16, 2025, deadline for sole proprietors, the CRA will charge you a late filing penalty. The late filing penalty is 5% of your outstanding 2023 balance plus 1% for each full month your payment is late, to a maximum of 12 months.
T1 Checklist
Use our T1 checklist to gather all the tax documents needed for your return. Once you have everything, we can prepare your tax return accurately.
Corporate Tax Deadlines
If you own an incorporated business, you must file a tax return and pay any taxes owing by specific deadlines, just like individuals and sole proprietors.
Corporate tax returns must be filed within 6 months of your corporation’s year-end. For example, if your corporation has a June 30 year-end, its tax return must be filed by December 31.
If your corporation owes tax, the tax must be paid to the CRA within 2 months of the year-end date.
However, if your corporation meets the following criteria, any taxes owed are due within 3 months of the year-end date.
- Your corporation is a Canadian-controlled private corporation (CCPC) throughout the year.
- Your corporation claimed the small business deduction (SBD) for the current or prior tax year.
- Your corporation’s prior year taxable income does not exceed the $500,000 business limit.
Interest and Penalties
If you don’t pay your taxes by the deadline of either 2 or 3 months after your corporation’s year-end, the CRA will charge your corporation interest compounded daily. The current annual interest rate is 8% for late payment of taxes.
If you owe taxes and file your tax return after your corporation’s filing deadline, the CRA will charge a late filing penalty. The late filing penalty is 5% of your outstanding tax balance plus 1% for each full month your payment is late, to a maximum of 12 months.
GST/HST Tax Deadlines
Monthly GST/HST Filers
If you are a monthly GST/HST filer, the deadline for filing your GST/HST return and paying taxes owed is 1 month after the end of the reporting period. For example, if your GST/HST reporting period is January 1 to January 31, 2025, your deadline would be February 28, 2025.
Quarterly GST/HST Filers
If you are a quarterly GST/HST filer, the deadline for filing your GST/HST return and paying taxes owed is 1 month after the end of the reporting period1 month after the end of the reporting period. For example, if your GST/HST reporting period is January 1 to March 31, 2025, your deadline would be April 30, 2025.
Annual GST/HST Filers (Except for individuals with December 31 fiscal year-ends)
For corporations that are annual GST/HST filers, the deadline for filing your GST/HST return and paying taxes owed is 3 months after the corporation’s fiscal year-end. For example, if your corporation’s fiscal year-end is June 30, 2025, your deadline would be September 30, 2025.
Annual GST/HST Filers (Individuals with December 31 fiscal year-ends)
For sole proprietors who are annual GST/HST filers and have a December 31 year-end, the deadline for filing your GST/HST return is June 15. If you owe GST/HST, the balance owed is April 30.
Instalment Payments to the CRA
Instalments for Individuals
If your taxes owed are over $3,000 in either of the past two years, you are required to make quarterly instalments to the CRA.
Instalment payments are due by March 15, June 15, September 15, and December 15. Failure to make these instalments could result in the CRA charging you interest on payments you didn’t make during the year.
Instalments for Corporations
If your corporation’s taxes payable is over $3,000, you will need to make instalments to the CRA.
Corporations generally will have to make monthly instalment payments. However, if your corporation meets the following criteria, you can make quarterly instalment payments during the year.
The criteria to make quarterly instalment payments are:
- Your corporation has a perfect compliance history with the CRA.
- Your corporation has claimed the small business deduction for the current or previous year.
- For the current or previous tax year, your corporation’s taxable income is $500,000 or less, with $10 million or less of taxable capital employed in Canada.
Instalments for GST/HST Annual Filers
Note: Monthly and quarterly GST/HST filers do not need to make instalment payments for GST/HST.
If you are an annual filer and your net GST/HST owed for the previous fiscal year was $3,000 or more, you may need to make quarterly instalment payments for the current fiscal year.
If your business has a September 30, 2023 year-end and your net GST/HST for the year was $6,000, then you would need to make quarterly instalment payments of $1,500, with the first instalment due by January 31, 2024.
T4 Deadline and Penalty
February 28, 2025, is when T4 slips must be filed with the CRA and issued to the recipients.
If you pay yourself a salary or have employees, you must file your T4 slip(s) with the CRA and issue them to your employees by the deadline to avoid penalties from the CRA. T4 slips report income, CPP, EI, and source deductions for each of your employees, which they will need to complete their income tax returns.
Late filing T4 slips or failing to file them all together is a $100 penalty per slip up to a maximum of $7,500.
T5 Deadline and Penalty
February 28, 2025, is when T5 slips must be filed with the CRA and issued to the recipients.
Suppose your business paid you or another shareholder a dividend during 2024. In that case, a T5 slip must be filed with the CRA by the deadline to avoid penalties. The information on the T5 slip is used to prepare the shareholder’s personal tax returns.
Like T4 slips, the penalty for late filing a T5 slip is $100 per slip, up to a maximum penalty of $7,500.
RRSP Contribution Deadline
March 1, 2025, is the deadline for RRSP contributions for your 2023 income tax.
We Can Help
Feeling swamped with endless tax deadlines looming over you? Don’t let the stress of personal or corporate tax filings weigh you down. Reach out to us via call or email, and we’ll make sure all your tax obligations are met promptly and accurately. Say goodbye to the worry of late fees and penalties, and hello to peace of mind with our expert tax handling.
