When are Corporate Taxes Due To The CRA?

September 24, 2019

Tax Question:

When are corporate taxes due to be paid to Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)?

Facts:

The corporate tax due date is different than the corporate taxes filing deadline. The T2 corporate tax return deadline to file is six months from the end of the fiscal year. The corporate tax due deadline is generally two months after the end of the fiscal year. However, the deadline is extended to 3 months if certain conditions are met:

  1. The corporation is a Canadian-Controlled Private Corporation (CCPC) during the whole year;
  2. The corporation claimed the small business deduction for the current or previous tax year; and
  3. In the previous tax year, the taxable income of the corporation and any associated corporations does not exceed the group’s total business limit for that year.

Discussion:

If corporate taxes are not paid by the corporate taxes due deadline, then CRA will charge you interest until the full balance is paid. As the corporate tax filing deadline is six months after fiscal year-end, you may have to estimate the corporate taxes beforehand and make a tax payment if you wish to avoid payment of interest. Furthermore, if the corporation had taxable income in the previous tax year, it may be required to pay tax instalments for the current tax year. Your accountant can estimate and prepare an instalment schedule for the current year once the previous tax return has been prepared. The tax instalments are based on taxable income from the previous year. You can make lower tax instalments if you end up with lower taxable income for the current year. Please note that if the required instalments are not paid on time, then CRA will charge you interest. If you have overpaid your corporate taxes, then CRA will give you an option to refund the difference or you can transfer the balance to the next fiscal year. We generally prefer to file the corporate tax return for our clients within two to three months of the fiscal year-end. We encourage our clients to keep their books up to date. We also help with corporate tax planning.

If you would like more information on this topic, please contact a member of the Empire CPA team by filling out the contact form below.

Canadian and foreign tax laws are complex and have a tendency to change on a frequent basis. As such, the content published above is believed to be accurate as of the date of this post. Before implementing any tax planning, please seek professional advice from a qualified tax professional. Empire, Chartered Professional Accountants will not accept any liability for any tax ramifications that may result from acting based on the information contained above.

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