Avoid penalties and unnecessary interests by filling your tax returns early. Here are the 2021 Canada tax filing deadlines. 

2021 tax filing deadlines

In 2020, Canada Revenue Authority extended the deadline for filing and payment of business taxes. But this is likely not to be the case this year. Actually, CRA has been urging people, especially those who enrolled in Covid-19 programs, for their businesses to file their returns early.

Filing deadlines are serious, and to and ensure you don’t miss out on the important dates, here is a clear highlight of the crucial tax deadlines in 2021.

Personal tax quarterly instalment

If you pay your tax in instalments, below are the due dates for your quarterly instalments.

• March 15
• June 15
• September 15
• December 15

Instalment payments are for individuals whose income has no withheld taxes, e.g., investment, rental, or self-employment income, or who made a capital gain in the last year. It usually arises when your owed taxes for the previous year exceed $3000 prior to the current instalment payments. When you make quarterly payments, it means that you pay the whole year instead of paying a lump sum before the filing deadline.

Personal tax filing

The deadline is on:

• April 30

Personal tax filing for self-employed individuals (Sole Proprietors)

The deadline is on:

• June 15

Corporate tax filing

The due date for tax return if your financial year-end was December 31:

• June 30

The due dates for corporate returns are typically six months after the lapse of the fiscal year-end. For incorporated businesses that have a balance, they have to clear it by the end of two months after the lapse of your fiscal tax year. However, Canadian-run Private Corporations are exceptional to this rule if their annual income is below $500,000. If the corporations meet the eligibility criteria, they can have up to three months instead of two months.

Instalment payments (fishing and farming)

If fishing or farming is your primary source of income, and you pay in instalment, the deadline is on:

• December 31

Conversion of RRSP to RRIF

The deadline for converting RRSPs to RRIFs for individuals turning 71 in 2021:

• December 31

Need help? Contact us.

All matters involving returns pose challenges to many, and it’s always wise to seek expert assistance. Besides filing taxes, a professional will help create a strategy that overturns the rules to favour you.

E&E helps business and farms in filling accurate returns that saves money and time. We commit to understand your business and establish the next steps on saving resources. If you’re looking for an experienced accounting partner who will help take your business to the next level, contact us for more information.

Do you have more tax-related questions about your small business? Visit our Small Business Tax Planning Centre!