What are the key tax reporting deadlines I should be aware of?
Across the various Federal and Provincial Tax programs, there are several reporting due dates to keep in mind. We have outlined some of the more frequent reporting due dates and penalty information below:
Type of Filing & Filing Due Date
- Monthly Return – Last day of month following Month to report
- Quarterly Return – Last day of month following Quarter to report
- Annual Return including year-end Adjustments – Last day of month following fiscal year-end
Penalty Information
- Failure to File: 1% of balance owing + (25% of 1% owing x number of months return is overdue, to a max. of 12 months)
- Failure to Accurately Report: 5% of incorrect amount + 1%/month of the discrepancy, until amount corrected, to a max. of 10 months1
Type of Filing & Filing Due Date
- Monthly/Quarterly Filing – File Form GST34 return within 1 month after the end of your reporting period, with payment
- Annual – File Form GST494 within 6 months after your fiscal year-end
Penalty Information
- Failure to File: 1% of balance owing + (25% of 1% owing x number of months return is overdue, to a max. of 12 months)2
Type of Filing & Filing Due Date
- Balance Due – CCPC3 – 3 months after the end of the tax year
- Balance Due – Non-CCPC – 2 months after the end of the tax year
Penalty Information
- Penalty equals the difference between Instalment Interest and the greater of $1000 or 25% of instalment interest, if no payment made in the year.
Type of Filing & Filing Due Date
- Tax Return – 6 months after the end of the tax year
Penalty Information
- 5% of the unpaid tax that is due, plus 1% of unpaid tax for each complete month that the return is late, to a maximum of 12 months (Penalties increase for a demand to file)
- Large Corporations incur an additional penalty/month:
0.0005% of Tax. Capital in Canada + 0.25% Part VI Tax Payable 4
Type of Filing & Filing Due Date
- T3 Slips, T3 Summary, T3 Tax Return, NR4 slips & summary – 90 days after the Trust’s year-end
Penalty Information
- The penalty for filing a T3 late is 5% of the unpaid tax plus 1% of the unpaid tax for each full month that the T3 return is late, to a maximum of 12 months. Where no balance due exists, the penalty is $25 a day for each day the return is late, with a minimum penalty of $100 and maximum penalty of $2500
Type of Filing & Filing Due Date
- Withholding Tax, where amounts have been paid to a non-resident entity for such items including, but not limited to rent, royalties, franchise payments, interest, dividends and management fees – Withholding Tax is due the 15th day of the month following the month the amount was paid or credited to the non-resident.
- NR4 Slips & Summary, even if Withholding Tax on payment is nil – Due March 31 after the calendar that payments were made to non-residents
Penalty Information
- Penalty for failing to distribute NR4 slips is $25/day for each failure, with a min. penalty of $100, and max. $2500
- A late withholding tax remittance will be assessed a penalty, per the following schedule:
- 3% if the amount is 1 to 3 days late
- 5% if the amount is 4 to 5 days late
- 7% if the amount is 6 to 7 days late
- 10% if the amount is more than 7 days late, or no amount is remitted5
Type of Filing & Filing Due Date
- Withholding Tax on payments to Non-residents for services provided in Canada – Withholding Tax is due the 15th day of the month following the month the amount was paid or credited to the non-resident.
- T4A-NR Slips & Summary – You must give the recipient their T4A-NR slip and file your T4A-NR information return with the Canada Revenue Agency on or before the last day of February after the calendar year the information return applies to.
Penalty Information
- Penalty for failing to distribute T4A-NR slips is $25/day for each failure, with a min. penalty of $100, and max. $2500
- Each slip is an information return with a min. late filing penalty of $100, to a max. of $7,500
- A late withholding tax remittance will be assessed a penalty, per the following schedule:
- 3% if the amount is 1 to 3 days late
- 5% if the amount is 4 to 5 days late
- 7% if the amount is 6 to 7 days late
- 10% if the amount is more than 7 days late, or no amount is remitted6
Type of Filing & Filing Due Date
- Ontario Premium Tax Balance Due – 3 months after tax year-end (CCPC). 2 months after tax year-end (non-CCPC).
- Ontario Premium Tax Return– 6 months after the end of the tax year
- Federal Excise Tax Return and Balance Due – April 30 following year payment made
Penalty Information
- 5% of the unpaid tax that is due, plus 1% of unpaid tax for each complete month that the return is late, to a maximum of 12 months. Penalty doubles for two late filed returns
- Failure to File: 1% of balance owing + (25% of 1% owing x number of months return is overdue, to a max. of 12 months),sup>8
Type of Filing & Filing Due Date
- T4 or T4A – On or before the last day of February of the following calendar year that the information return applies to
Penalty Information
- A late withholding tax remittance will be assessed a penalty, per the following schedule:
- 3% if the amount is 1 to 3 days late
- 5% if the amount is 4 to 5 days late
- 7% if the amount is 6 to 7 days late
- 10% if the amount is more than 7 days late, or no amount is remitted9
Need help? Contact us to ensure you get expert Tax advice.
Resources:
1 – CRA: GST/HST – Penalty and Interest
2 – GST/HST Information for SLFI
3 – Canadian Controlled Private Corporation (“CCPC”)
4 – Avoiding Penalties – Penalty and Interest
5 – NR4 – Non-Resident Tax Withholding
6 – T4A-NR – Payments to Non-residents
7 – CT Insurance Premium Tax Return
8 – Excise Taxes and Special Levies
9 – Employer’s Guide – Payroll Deductions