Corporate tax deadlines in Canada: the 2026 guide
T2 due six months after year-end, tax balance due at two or three months, CO-17, instalments, GST/HST and slips — every 2026 corporate tax deadline explained.
Your T2 corporate income tax return is due six months after your fiscal year-end, but the tax itself is due much sooner: two months after year-end for most corporations, or three months for Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs) that meet the small business deduction conditions. In Québec, the CO-17 follows the same six-month filing deadline, while the balance is due two months after year-end for every corporation. Below, every 2026 deadline that applies to an incorporated Canadian business — filing, payment, instalments, sales tax and slips. We review and update this guide annually.
T2 filing deadline: six months after your year-end
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) requires every corporation to file a T2 return no later than six months after the end of its tax year — even if no tax is owing. If your fiscal year-end is the last day of a month, the return is due on the last day of the sixth month that follows. If your year ends mid-month, the return is due on the same calendar day six months later: a September 23 year-end means a March 23 filing deadline.
When a deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday recognized by the CRA, your return is on time if it is received or postmarked by the next business day. There is no extension mechanism for T2 returns — the six-month deadline is firm.
When the tax is due: two months after year-end — or three
Filing and paying are separate deadlines, and payment comes first. The general rule: your balance of corporate tax is due two months after year-end. Interest starts accruing the day after that, even though the return itself is not due for another four months. That gap is the single most common source of surprise interest charges for new corporations.
The balance-due day moves to three months after year-end only if all of these conditions are met:
- the corporation is a CCPC throughout the tax year;
- it claimed the small business deduction for the current or previous tax year; and
- its taxable income for the previous year — combined with the taxable income of any associated corporations — did not exceed the business limit, generally $500,000.
If your corporation crossed those thresholds, plan around the two-month date. When eligibility is uncertain, paying at two months costs nothing; paying at three months when you only qualified for two costs interest.
In Québec: the CO-17 and a stricter payment rule
Corporations with an establishment in Québec also file a CO-17 return with Revenu Québec, due six months after year-end — the same date as the T2. The payment rule is stricter: the Québec balance is due two months after the end of the taxation year, for all corporations. Québec offers no three-month extension, so an SBD-eligible CCPC can correctly pay its federal balance at three months while its Québec balance was already due a month earlier. If you operate in Québec, treat the two-month date as your real payment deadline.
Worked example: year-end December 31 → T2 due June 30
Your corporation's fiscal year ends December 31, 2025. Here is your 2026 calendar:
- T2 and CO-17 returns: due June 30, 2026 — six months after year-end.
- Federal tax balance: due February 28, 2026. That day is a Saturday, so a payment received by Monday, March 2, 2026 is on time. Eligible CCPCs have until March 31, 2026.
- Québec tax balance: due at the two-month mark for every corporation — March 2, 2026, after the same weekend shift.
- T4, T5 and RL-1 slips for 2025: due March 2, 2026, since the last day of February lands on that same Saturday.
T2 deadline by year-end month
Find your year-end below. Your balance is due two months (or three, if eligible) after the same year-end date.
- January 31 → T2 due July 31
- Last day of February → T2 due August 31
- March 31 → T2 due September 30
- April 30 → T2 due October 31
- May 31 → T2 due November 30
- June 30 → T2 due December 31
- July 31 → T2 due January 31
- August 31 → T2 due end of February
- September 30 → T2 due March 31
- October 31 → T2 due April 30
- November 30 → T2 due May 31
- December 31 → T2 due June 30
Corporate tax instalments: the $3,000 threshold
You do not have to pay federal tax instalments if your tax payable is $3,000 or less in either the current or the previous tax year — or if this is your first tax year after incorporation. Above that threshold, instalments are due monthly, on the last day of each month of your tax year.
Eligible small CCPCs can pay quarterly instead of monthly. Broadly, you qualify if the corporation claimed the small business deduction, has taxable income of $500,000 or less and taxable capital of $10 million or less (with associated corporations), and has a clean compliance record over the past 12 months.
Québec applies the same $3,000 test: Revenu Québec requires instalments when your Québec tax exceeds $3,000 for both the current and previous taxation years, with a comparable quarterly option for eligible small CCPCs.
GST/HST and QST returns
Your sales tax filing frequency depends on your taxable sales. At $1.5 million or less, you file annually; between $1.5 million and $6 million, quarterly; above $6 million, monthly. Monthly and quarterly filers file and pay within one month of the end of each period. Corporations that file annually have three months after their fiscal year-end, and generally must pay quarterly instalments once annual net tax reaches $3,000. The QST regime mirrors these thresholds, and Revenu Québec administers both taxes for most Québec businesses, so the two returns are typically filed together.
T4, T5 and RL-1 slips: end of February
If you paid yourself or employees a salary in 2025, T4 slips — and RL-1 slips in Québec — are due by the last day of February 2026. The same deadline applies to T5 slips for dividends and interest (RL-3 in Québec). Because February 28, 2026 is a Saturday, the effective 2026 deadline is Monday, March 2.
What being late costs
The federal late-filing penalty is 5% of the unpaid tax plus 1% per complete month late, up to 12 months, and Revenu Québec applies its own penalties on the CO-17. Both agencies charge compound daily interest from the balance-due day. The pattern that keeps you safe is simple: pay at two months (or three), file at six, and issue slips by the end of February.
Put your deadlines on autopilot
Stamped prepares and files T2 and CO-17 returns for incorporated businesses in every province, from $1,475, with every filing and payment date tracked in our platform and a response from a CPA within 24 hours. Estimate your bill with our corporate tax calculator, or see how our corporate tax service works.
Frequently asked questions
When is the T2 corporate tax return due?
Six months after the corporation's fiscal year-end. A December 31 year-end means a June 30 filing deadline; if the date falls on a weekend or public holiday, the return is on time if received by the next business day.
When is corporate tax due after year end?
Two months after year-end for most corporations. CCPCs that claimed the small business deduction and stayed within the business limit the previous year get three months federally. In Québec, the balance is always due two months after year-end — there is no three-month extension.
Does my corporation have to pay tax instalments?
Only if tax payable exceeds $3,000 in both the current and previous tax years — the same threshold applies federally and in Québec. Below that, or in your first tax year after incorporation, you simply pay the full balance by the balance-due day.
What happens if a tax deadline falls on a weekend?
It moves to the next business day. For example, February 28, 2026 is a Saturday, so payments and slips normally due that day are on time if received by Monday, March 2, 2026.
When are T4, T5 and RL-1 slips due?
The last day of February following the calendar year they cover. For 2025 slips, that means March 2, 2026, because February 28, 2026 falls on a Saturday.