Year-End Tax Deadlines 2026–2027 for Ontario Business Owners

Reviewed by Bader A. Chowdry, CPA, CA, LPA on November 2, 2026

If you own an Ontario business through a corporation, the six months after December 31, 2026 hold roughly a dozen separate CRA deadlines, and several of them land on weekends in 2027. The short version: lock in your 2026 moves by Thursday, December 31, 2026; remit December payroll by Friday, January 15, 2027; file slips and make RRSP contributions by Monday, March 1, 2027; pay your personal balance by Friday, April 30, 2027; and file a December-year-end T2 by Wednesday, June 30, 2027.

What is the full 2026–2027 year-end tax calendar for Ontario owner-managers?

This table assumes a December 31 corporate year end, a regular monthly payroll remitter and a calendar-year individual. Where a statutory date falls on a Saturday or Sunday, CRA treats a return or payment as on time if it is received (or, for returns, postmarked) by the next business day; the table shows the rolled date.

Date (2026–2027)	Deadline	Who it applies to
Thu, Dec 31, 2026	Last day for 2026 donations, salary or bonus paid in 2026, FHSA contributions for 2026, and investment sales you want reported in 2026	Individuals and owner-managers
Fri, Jan 15, 2027	December 2026 payroll remittance (regular remitters); October–December quarter (quarterly remitters)	Employers
Sat, Jan 30, 2027 (pay by Fri, Jan 29)	2026 interest on a prescribed-rate family loan must be paid within 30 days after year end	Lenders in income-splitting loans
Mon, Feb 1, 2027 (rolled from Sun, Jan 31)	GST/HST return and payment for December 2026 (monthly) or October–December 2026 (quarterly)	Monthly and quarterly GST/HST filers
Mon, Mar 1, 2027	RRSP contribution deadline for 2026 (60th day of 2027)	Individuals
Mon, Mar 1, 2027 (rolled from Sun, Feb 28)	T4, T4A and T5 information returns for 2026	Employers; corporations that paid dividends
Mon, Mar 1, 2027 (rolled from Sun, Feb 28)	T2 balance due under the general 2-month rule	Corporations not meeting the 3-month conditions
Mon, Mar 15, 2027	First 2027 personal tax instalment	Individuals required to pay instalments
Wed, Mar 31, 2027	T2 balance due under the CCPC 3-month rule; T3 return and payment (90 days after Dec 31); NR4 return; annual GST/HST return and payment for a corporation with a Dec 31 year end	Qualifying CCPCs; trusts; payers to non-residents; annual GST/HST filers
Fri, Apr 30, 2027	2026 T1 filing (most people) and payment of any 2026 personal balance (everyone); GST/HST payment for self-employed annual filers with a Dec 31 year end	All individuals
Tue, Jun 15, 2027	2026 T1 filing for self-employed individuals and their spouses; annual GST/HST return for self-employed individuals; second 2027 instalment	Sole proprietors and partners
Wed, Jun 30, 2027	T2 return for a Dec 31, 2026 year end (last day of the sixth month)	Corporations

Which moves must be finished by December 31, 2026?

December 31, 2026 is a Thursday. Anything you want counted in 2026 has to actually happen by then, not just be planned.

• Charitable donations. CRA counts gifts in the calendar year they are made. A gift mailed to a charity is generally treated as made on the postmark date, so do not leave it to the last afternoon. Whether to give personally or through the corporation is covered in our guide to donating personally or through your corporation.
• Salary and bonuses taxed in 2026. Employment income is taxed in the year it is paid, so a bonus paid in 2027 is 2027 income to you. Accruing a bonus at a corporate year end and paying it later has its own timing rule; see our bonus-accrual guide. For the salary-versus-dividend decision itself, see salary vs dividend for a 2026 year end. The salary you pay in 2026 also sets your 2027 RRSP room; see the official RRSP numbers.
• Paying family members. Salary to a spouse or child must be paid in 2026 for real work at a reasonable rate. Dividends to family members raise the tax on split income rules; read paying family members at year end before you act.
• Tax-loss selling. A sale counts in 2026 only if the trade settles in 2026, so the last trading day for a 2026 loss is earlier than December 31. Confirm your broker’s cut-off. Details are in our tax-loss selling guide.
• Registered accounts. FHSA contributions must be made by December 31 to be deducted for 2026. TFSA room for 2027 opens on January 1. RRSPs work differently: you have until March 1, 2027. See TFSA, RRSP and FHSA for owner-managers.
• Business expenses and equipment. Timing purchases before a December 31 year end affects which year you claim them in; see buying equipment before year end. Our year-end expense checklist covers vehicles, home office and meals.

When are January and February 2027 payroll and loan deadlines?

December payroll: Friday, January 15, 2027. Regular remitters must get December 2026 source deductions to CRA by the 15th of the following month. Quarterly remitters pay the October–December quarter on the same date. Accelerated remitters have earlier dates. CRA warns that paying December deductions with the T4 return in late February counts as late if it is after January 15. The 3% late-remitting penalty applies when a payment is 1 to 3 days late. See our payroll remittance due-dates guide and the payroll calculator.

Prescribed-rate loan interest: by January 30, 2027. Income-splitting loans to a spouse or family trust avoid the attribution rules only if the interest for each year is paid no later than 30 days after that year ends (Income Tax Act s. 74.5(2)). For 2026 interest, day 30 is Saturday, January 30, 2027. This is a statutory deadline rather than a CRA filing date, so do not count on a weekend extension: pay by Friday, January 29. Missing it once breaks the exemption for that year and every later year. The CRA prescribed rate is 3% for loans made in the fourth quarter of 2026.

GST/HST for December: Monday, February 1, 2027. Monthly and quarterly filers file and pay one month after the period ends. January 31, 2027 is a Sunday, so the date rolls to Monday. Our HST year-end checklist covers the input tax credit and filing-frequency questions.

Why do March 1, 2027 deadlines matter for RRSPs and tax slips?

Three separate deadlines land on Monday, March 1, 2027.

RRSP deadline. Contributions made in the first 60 days of 2027 can be deducted on your 2026 return. Because 2027 is not a leap year, day 60 is March 1. CRA had not yet posted the 2026-year date when we checked on November 2, 2026; the 2025-year deadline it lists is March 2, 2026, which follows the same 60-day rule.

T4, T4A and T5 slips. These returns are due on the last day of February. February 28, 2027 is a Sunday, so under CRA’s rule the return is due on the next business day: Monday, March 1, 2027. CRA applied the same rule to the 2025 slips, which were due March 2, 2026. Recipients’ copies are also tied to the end of February, so aim to hand out slips by Friday, February 26. Dividends your corporation paid you in 2026 go on a T5.

T2 balance under the 2-month rule. Covered in the next section.

When does a December 31 corporation file and pay its T2?

The T2 return is due six months after year end. When the year ends on the last day of a month, it is due on the last day of the sixth month. For a December 31, 2026 year end, that is Wednesday, June 30, 2027.

Payment is due earlier, and the date depends on whether the corporation qualifies for CRA’s 3-month rule:

Corporation with a Dec 31, 2026 year end	Balance due	T2 filing
CCPC throughout the year, claimed the small business deduction for 2026 or 2025, and prior-year taxable income (combined with any associated corporations) within the business limit	Wed, Mar 31, 2027 (3 months)	Wed, Jun 30, 2027
Any other corporation, including a holding company that does not claim the small business deduction	Mon, Mar 1, 2027 (2 months, rolled from Sun, Feb 28)	Wed, Jun 30, 2027

Worked example (hypothetical). Maple Fabrication Inc. is a CCPC with a December 31 year end. It claimed the small business deduction for 2025, is not associated with another corporation, and had 2025 taxable income under the $500,000 business limit. Its 2026 balance is due Wednesday, March 31, 2027, and its T2 is due Wednesday, June 30, 2027. Its sister holding company, which does not claim the small business deduction, must pay by Monday, March 1, 2027, a month earlier, though both file by June 30. Interest runs from the balance-due day, not the filing date.

For 2027 instalments, a corporation with a calendar year generally pays on the last day of each month. An eligible small CCPC with a perfect compliance history can pay quarterly instead: March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31. Our corporate instalments guide explains the eligibility tests. Holding companies with investment income face extra questions at year end; see holding company year-end planning. To estimate the bill, try the corporate tax calculator.

What are the personal T1 and instalment dates for 2027?

April 30, 2027 (Friday) is the filing deadline for most individuals and the payment deadline for everyone. June 15, 2027 (Tuesday) is the filing deadline if you or your spouse or common-law partner carried on a business in 2026 (unless the business expenses were mainly tax-shelter investments). Interest still starts on any unpaid balance after April 30. Incorporated owners who only draw salary and dividends are not self-employed for this purpose; their deadline is April 30 unless a spouse runs an unincorporated business.

If CRA sends you instalment reminders, the 2027 dates are March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15; none falls on a weekend.

Frequently asked questions

What is the RRSP deadline for the 2026 tax year?

Monday, March 1, 2027. Contributions made in the first 60 days of 2027 can be deducted on your 2026 return, and because 2027 is not a leap year, the 60th day is March 1.

When are 2026 T4 and T5 slips due, given that February 28, 2027 is a Sunday?

Under CRA’s rule, when the last day of February falls on a weekend, the return is due on the next business day: Monday, March 1, 2027. Aim to give recipients their copies by Friday, February 26, 2027.

When does my corporation have to pay its 2026 tax if its year ends December 31, 2026?

Wednesday, March 31, 2027 if it is a CCPC that meets CRA’s small business deduction conditions for the 3-month rule. Otherwise, Monday, March 1, 2027, because the 2-month date of February 28 is a Sunday. The T2 return itself is due June 30, 2027.

If I am self-employed, can I wait until June 15, 2027 to pay?

No. June 15, 2027 is only the filing deadline. Any 2026 balance must be paid by April 30, 2027, or interest starts.

When is the December 2026 payroll remittance due?

Regular monthly remitters must have it to CRA by Friday, January 15, 2027. Quarterly remitters pay the October to December quarter on the same date. Accelerated remitters have earlier dates.

Official sources

• CRA: 2027 Tax deadlines for Canadian businesses and self-employed individuals
• CRA: Corporate income tax payment due dates and balance-due day
• CRA: RC4120 Employers’ Guide – Filing the T4 Slip and Summary
• CRA: When to remit payroll deductions
• CRA: Filing due dates for individuals
• CRA: Instalment payment due dates for individuals
• CRA: When to pay a balance on a T3 return
• Income Tax Act, section 74.5 (Justice Laws)

General information only, not tax or legal advice. Figures are current as of November 2, 2026 and can change; confirm your situation with a qualified advisor before acting. Insight Accounting CPA Professional Corporation, Mississauga, Ontario.