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Get startedTax Deadlines for Self-Employed and Small Businesses in Canada
Whether you’re self-employed or running a small business, staying on top of your taxes is crucial to avoid penalties. Different tax types, including income tax, payroll tax, and goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax (GST/HST), have separate filing and payment deadlines.
If your due date is on a weekend or a public holiday, you need to file or pay (or remit) your taxes on or before the next business day.
This article covers the essential small business and self-employed tax dates you should keep handy when completing your tax return in 2025 and beyond.
Self-employed tax filing deadlines
The filing and payment deadlines you need to know for your next tax return are outlined below.
GST/HST reporting period depends on annual revenue
If you collect taxes on products and services offered to your customers, you need to file a tax return and remit taxes to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) based on your reporting period.
Your reporting period depends on your revenue from selling taxable supplies.
Annual revenue up to $1.5 million
You’re required to report annually. However, you can opt to report your taxes monthly or quarterly.
Annual revenue between $1.5 million and $6 million
This means a quarterly filing period, although you can select a monthly reporting period.
Annual revenue over $6 million
You have to file your GST/HST monthly – there’s no option in this case to switch to quarterly or annual reporting.
Filing and payment deadlines
Your reporting period affects your GST payment schedule. Here are the relevant due dates based on your reporting period:
Monthly or quarterly
Your filing and payment deadlines are one month after your reporting period ends. For example, if your reporting period ends on September 30, your due date to file and pay GST/HST will be October 31.
Quarterly
You must make GST/HST quarterly instalments if you meet all of the following conditions:
File taxes annually
Your net tax for the last fiscal year was at least $3,000.00
Your estimated net tax for the current fiscal year is at least $3,000.00
In such cases, the deadline for paying GST/HST will be one month from your fiscal quarter end. For example, if your fiscal quarter is from April 1 to June 30, 2024, your due date will be July 31, 2024.
Annually
If your fiscal year-end is December 31, 2024, you must pay due taxes by April 30 and complete filing by June 15. For 2025, your payment and filing deadlines will be April 30, 2025, and June 16, 2025 (as June 15, 2025 falls on a Sunday).
However, if your fiscal year ends on a different date, your deadline is three months later. For example, if your fiscal year ends on September 30, 2024, your filing and payment deadline will be December 31, 2024.
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The self-employed and small business owners have separate deadlines to remit and file income taxes. You must pay your balance due by April 30 at the latest and your filing deadline is on June 15.
While your 2025 self-employed tax filing deadline will be April 30, 2025, you must pay your taxes by June 16, 2025 (as June 15, 2025, falls on a Sunday).
Payroll remittance deadlines for small business owners
If you’ve hired employees and made payroll deductions from their paycheques, it’s important to remit those withheld amounts according to your remitter type. The CRA calculates the average monthly withholding amount (AMWA) using the following formula to determine how frequently you should remit your taxes:
Total payroll deduction remittances in a calendar year / number of months in a year in which payroll deduction remittance was made
The following table describes remitting periods and their associated due dates.
| Remitter type | Conditions | Remitting frequency | Remitting periods and due dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | a) For new small employers with a payroll account open for less than 12 months and a perfect compliance record, AMWA is less than $1,000.00. b) For small employers with a payroll account open for over 12 months and a perfect compliance record, AMWA is less than $3,000.00. |
Quarterly |
Your remittance due date is 15 days from the end of your remitting period. For example, if your remitting period is from January 1 to March 31, your deadline is April 15. |
| Regular | If your AMWA is less than $25,000.00 | Monthly |
Your remittance due date is 15 days from the end of the calendar month. For example, if your calendar month ends on April 30, your remittance deadline will be May 15. |
| Accelerated remitters | If your AMWA is between $25,000.00 and $99,999.99 | Maximum twice a month |
If your remitting period is from the 1st to the 15th of the month, you must remit deductions by the 25th. If your remitting period is from the 16th to the last day of the month, your remittance due date will be the 10th of the following month. |
| Accelerated remitters | If your AMWA is over $100,000.00 | Maximum four times a month |
For remitting periods from the 1st to the 7th of the month, the due date is the third business day after the last date. So, if the reporting period ends on the 7th the due date is the 10 th. For remitting periods from 8th–14th, 15th–21st, and 22nd–last day of the month, your due date is the third business day after the last date of your remitting period. |
Other scenarios
No employees or only seasonal workers
If you don’t have any employees or hire only seasonal workers, you must report a nil remittance. Your due date will depend on your remitter type.
Change in business status
When your small business ceases to exist and changes its legal status, you must report a final remittance within seven calendar days of the event taking place. Make sure you communicate this change to the CRA.
Contributions towards your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP)
Your RRSP contribution limit is generally the lesser of:
- 18% of your previous year’s income
- annual RRSP dollar limit ($31,560 for 2024)
The CRA allows you to carry forward any unused RRSP portion, enabling you to make the most out of this plan.
Your contribution deadline for RRSP is February 28 (February 29 if it’s a leap year) of the following year. For the 2024 tax year, you can contribute by February 28, 2025.
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Small Business Tax Guide
- How Much a Small Business Can Make Before Paying Taxes
- Small Business Tax Rates
- GST/HST for Small Businesses
- Small Business Tax Deductions in Canada
- Business-Use-of-Home Expenses
- How Long You Should Keep Business Records
- Managing Prepaid Expenses
- Self-Employed and Small Business Tax Dates