2021 Tax Due Dates for Canadians
The new year has arrived, and as diligent accountants, we’re already making plans for 2021. To get things started, we’ll go through the most important tax deadlines that Canadian taxpayers will face this year. We will look at:
Personal Tax Deadlines in 2021
Corporate Tax Deadlines in 2021, and
GST / HST Deadlines in 2021
Personal Tax Deadlines 2021
SELF-EMPLOYED
Your tax return is due on June 15, 2021, whether you or your spouse received business income in 2021.
Taxes owing are still due on April 30, 2021, even if the actual filing of the return isn’t due until June.
NOT SELF-EMPLOYED
If neither you nor your spouse earns self-employment income, your tax return and any owing taxes are due on April 30, 2021. For taxpayers, this is the most common situation.
TAX INSTALLMENTS
If you are required to pay tax installments in 2021, they are due:
March 15th
June 15th
September 15th
December 15th
RRSP CONTRIBUTION DEADLINE
You have until Monday, March 1, 2021 to contribute to your RRSP and have it reduce your 2020 tax owing.
Corporate Tax Deadlines
Corporate tax deadlines vary from personal tax deadlines in a few ways. Corporations may have year-ends other than December 31st for tax purposes. We can, however, easily determine when your corporate tax returns and owed amounts are due.
CORPORATE TAX RETURNS
Corporate tax returns are due six months after the end of the fiscal year. Let’s look at a couple of examples:
When the corporation’s tax year end is on the last day of a month, the return is due by the last day of the 6th month after the year-end. For example, a December 31, 2020 year end would have a June 30, 2021 due date.
When the last day of the tax year is not the last day of a month, the return is due the same day of the 6th month after the year-end. For example, a September 15, 2020 year end would have a March 15, 2021 year end.
CORPORATE TAXES OWING
The deadlines for paying outstanding balances are set earlier than the deadlines for filing tax returns. The short version is that taxes owing are due 2 months after the year-end.
However, there is an exception that is very common. Corporate taxes are due 3 months after the year-end if the following criteria apply:
The corporation is a Canadian Controlled Private Corporation.
The corporation claimed the small business deduction for the current or previous year.
The corporation and all associated corporations (if applicable) had taxable income less than $500,000 in the previous year.
Since the above exemption is so common, there’s a fair chance your corporate taxes will be due three months after the end of the year. Because it’s a bit trickier, we recommend asking your accountant or sending us a message to make sure you’ve got the right date.
GST / HST Deadlines
There are a few common scenarios for GST/HST return due dates.
MONTHLY FILERS
When GST returns are filed on a monthly basis, the return and any outstanding amounts are due one month after the reporting period ends. A filing period of June 1-30, for example, means the return is due on July 31st.
QUARTERLY FILERS
When filing quarterly GST returns, the return and any outstanding amounts are due one month after the reporting period ends. For example, a filing period of July 1 to September 30 means the return is due on October 31st.
ANNUAL FILERS (EXCEPT INDIVIDUALS WITH DECEMBER 31 YEAR-ENDS)
When a business that is not an individual files an annual GST return, the return and any owed sums are due three months after the reporting period ends. For example, if the filing period is July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021, the return is due September 30, 2021.
ANNUAL FILERS (INDIVIDUALS WITH DECEMBER 31 YEAR-ENDS)
Individuals who file GST on a yearly basis and have December 31, 2020 as their fiscal and tax year-end have slightly different deadlines. They correspond to the tax deadlines for self-employed people. The following are the deadlines for 2021:
GST owing is due April 30, 2021
Filing of the GST returns is due June 15, 2021
If you have any questions or need clarification about when something is due, reach out to your accounting firm in Toronto or message us.
We truly enjoy helping and we take pride in being organized and making sure that we don’t miss deadlines!
