Tax Deadlines for Self-Employed People and Small Businesses (Canada)

MyCarTracks_support · May 15, 2026, 10:44am

Tax deadlines for self-employed people in Canada are not one date. For the 2025 tax year, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), the federal tax agency, lists April 30, 2026 as the balance-due date for most individuals, and June 15, 2026 as the filing deadline when you or your spouse or common-law partner carried on a business in 2025. The CRA’s filing dates for 2025 tax returns page also warns that any balance owing is still due April 30.

GST/HST, the sales tax many Canadian businesses collect from customers and send to the government, payroll, corporation tax, instalments, and registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) contributions follow separate rules. Put them on one calendar, but do not treat them as one obligation. Missing a payroll remittance or GST/HST filing date can create a different penalty problem from filing a personal return late.

This article is educational and is not tax, legal, accounting, payroll, GST/HST, Quebec sales tax (QST), or provincial tax advice. Deadlines can change by business structure, fiscal year-end, reporting period, remitter type, province or territory, GST/HST or QST status, payroll account, corporation status, and weekends or CRA-recognized holidays.

Quick answer

For the 2025 tax year, many self-employed individuals have an April 30, 2026 balance-due date and a June 15, 2026 filing deadline. Individual instalments for 2026 are due March 15, June 15, September 15, and December 15, unless a special rule applies. RRSP, pooled registered pension plan (PRPP), and specified pension plan (SPP) contributions that can be considered for the 2025 return generally include contributions from March 4, 2025 to March 2, 2026.

GST/HST filing and payment depend on reporting period. Payroll remittances depend on remitter type. Corporations generally file the T2 corporation income tax return within six months after tax year-end, with balance due generally two or three months after year-end.

Tax deadlines for self-employed people in Canada

Obligation	Common deadline
Personal balance due for 2025	April 30, 2026
Self-employed personal filing deadline for 2025	June 15, 2026
Individual instalments for 2026	March 15, June 15, September 15, December 15
RRSP/PRPP/SPP contribution period for 2025 return	March 4, 2025 to March 2, 2026
GST/HST monthly or quarterly filer	Generally one month after reporting period ends
GST/HST annual filer with December 31 year-end and business income	Payment April 30, filing June 15
Corporation T2 filing	Within six months after tax year-end
Corporation balance due	Generally two months after year-end, or three months for eligible corporations
Payroll remittance	Depends on remitter type

When a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or public holiday recognized by the CRA, the payment or filing is generally considered on time if received or postmarked by the next business day.

Self-employed income tax deadlines

If you or your spouse or common-law partner carried on a business in 2025, the filing deadline is June 15, 2026. The balance-due date does not move with that filing deadline. Pay amounts owing by April 30, 2026 to reduce interest risk.

This applies to the personal return workflow. Corporations use the T2 corporation return and fiscal-year deadlines.

Individual tax instalments

CRA individual instalment guidance says you may have to pay instalments for next year’s taxes if your net tax owing is more than $3,000, or more than $1,800 for Québec, for 2026 and in either 2025 or 2024.

The usual individual instalment dates are:

March 15
June 15
September 15
December 15

Farmers and fishers can have different instalment timing. Use your CRA instalment reminders and your current-year estimate before reducing or skipping a payment.

GST/HST filing and payment deadlines

GST/HST deadlines depend on your reporting period and fiscal year-end. CRA GST/HST reporting requirements and deadlines ties the reporting period to annual taxable supplies and elections.

Reporting period	Filing/payment timing
Monthly	Generally one month after the reporting period ends
Quarterly	Generally one month after the reporting period ends
Annual, December 31 year-end, business income	Payment April 30; filing June 15
Annual, other fiscal year-end	Generally three months after fiscal year-end

Annual filers may need quarterly GST/HST instalments when net tax thresholds are met. Use GST/HST for Self-Employed People and Small Businesses (Canada) for the registration, ITC, filing, and remittance workflow.

Payroll remittance deadlines

Payroll remittance dates depend on remitter type. CRA payroll remittance due dates split employers into quarterly, regular, accelerated threshold 1, and accelerated threshold 2 remitters.

Remitter type	Basic timing
Quarterly	April 15, July 15, October 15, January 15, when eligible
Regular	15th day of the month after the month you paid employees
Accelerated threshold 1	Twice monthly based on the first and second half of the month
Accelerated threshold 2	Within three working days after the remitting period

If you stop operating, change legal status, or no longer have employees, check CRA payroll instructions before assuming no remittance is needed.

Corporation deadlines

Corporations generally file the T2 return within six months after the end of the tax year. If the tax year ends on the last day of a month, the filing deadline is the last day of the sixth month after year-end.

The corporation balance-due day is generally two months after the end of the tax year. Certain eligible Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs) can have a three-month balance-due day when the CRA conditions are met. Instalments may also apply during the year.

RRSP, PRPP, and SPP dates

For the 2025 income tax and benefit return, CRA RRSP guidance refers to contributions made from March 4, 2025 to March 2, 2026. That includes contributions to your RRSP, PRPP, SPP, or your spouse’s or common-law partner’s RRSP or SPP when the rules allow.

RRSP contribution room is personal, not a business expense. Do not treat RRSP planning as a substitute for business records, GST/HST filings, payroll remittances, or corporation deadlines.

Deadline workflow

Use one calendar with separate tracks:

Personal T1 income tax return and self-employed filing.
Personal balance due and instalments.
GST/HST reporting periods, returns, payments, and instalments.
Payroll remittances and year-end slips.
Corporation T2 filing, balance due, and instalments.
RRSP/PRPP/SPP personal contribution dates.
Record retention and accountant review dates.

Save filing confirmations, payment confirmations, GST/HST returns, payroll remittance records, instalment records, and accountant correspondence in the same tax-year file.

MyCarTracks workflow

Deadlines are easier to manage when vehicle reports are ready before the accountant or payroll review starts. MyCarTracks automatic mileage tracking can capture trips throughout the year, help classify business and personal kilometres, and export reports for tax, reimbursement, payroll, or team approval workflows.

The app does not set CRA filing, payment, GST/HST, payroll, corporation, instalment, or RRSP deadlines. It helps keep the kilometre-record part of the file ready before those deadlines arrive.

FAQ

Are filing and payment deadlines the same for self-employed people?

No. For the 2025 tax year, many self-employed individuals have a June 15, 2026 filing deadline, but the balance due is still April 30, 2026.

When are 2026 instalments due?

The usual individual instalment dates are March 15, June 15, September 15, and December 15. Farmers, fishers, deceased taxpayers, and other special cases can differ.

When are GST/HST returns due?

Monthly and quarterly GST/HST returns are generally due one month after the reporting period ends. Annual filer deadlines depend on fiscal year-end and business-income status.

Is payroll due on the 15th of every month?

Only for regular remitters. Quarterly and accelerated remitters use different dates.

When is a T2 corporation return due?

Generally within six months after the corporation’s tax year-end. The balance-due day is generally two or three months after year-end, depending on eligibility.