Six things to sort out before a December 31 year-end, the CRA rule behind each one, and the dates that follow in early 2027.
Before December 31, decide how you will pay yourself for the year, make sure any equipment you buy is available for use by year-end, and plan to pay any bonus you record within 180 days. Then get ready for the early 2027 deadlines: T4 and T5 slips by March 1, 2027, and your GST/HST return on the date your reporting period sets. Most of these choices can only be made while the year is still open, so the time to plan is now.
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What Should Be on Your Year-End Checklist?
If your business, or your corporation, has a December 31 year-end, these are the items to work through in the next ten weeks. Payroll slips and RRSP room follow the calendar year for everyone, so they apply whatever your corporation’s year-end is.
Choose salary, dividends or both
Time equipment purchases
Plan to pay bonuses on time
Check your GST/HST reporting period
Get ready for T4 and T5 slips
Bring the books up to date
Salary or Dividends: What Should You Decide Before December 31?
If you own a corporation, you can pay yourself a salary, dividends, or a mix of both. This is general information, not a recommendation for your situation, but one difference is clear from the CRA’s own rules: RRSP room.
The CRA works out your RRSP deduction limit from 18% of your earned income for the previous year, up to an annual dollar limit. Earned income, as the CRA calculates it in its RRSP guide (T4040), is built from employment earnings, self-employment earnings and certain other income. Dividends are not on that list. So a salary paid in 2026 can create RRSP room for 2027, when the annual limit is $35,390, and dividends do not.
Salary runs through payroll and is reported on a T4 slip, so the decision has to be made while the 2026 payroll is still open. Dividends your corporation pays are reported on T5 slips. For your own RRSP, the CRA’s contribution year runs to the 60th day of the following year, so contributions for 2026 can be made until March 1, 2027.
The right mix depends on your corporation’s income, your personal income and your plans. We model salary and dividend options for owner-managers as part of our T2 corporate tax work.
Should You Buy Equipment Before Year-End?
Capital cost allowance (CCA) is how a business deducts the cost of equipment, vehicles and other depreciable property over time. Timing matters in three ways:
- It has to be available for use. The CRA says you can usually claim CCA on a property when it becomes available for use. Property other than a building usually becomes available for use when you first use it to earn income, or when it is delivered to you and can produce a saleable product or service, whichever is earlier. A machine ordered in December but delivered in January belongs to next year.
- The first-year claim. Normally, the half-year rule limits the claim in the year you acquire a property to one-half of your net additions to a class. For eligible property acquired after November 20, 2018 that becomes available for use before 2028, the CRA says the accelerated investment incentive effectively suspends the half-year rule, although the enhanced first-year claim is being phased out for property that becomes available for use after 2023.
- You choose how much to claim. You do not have to claim the maximum CCA in any year, and land is not depreciable.
Buy equipment because the business needs it. A deduction lowers the tax on what you spend; it does not give the purchase price back.
When Do Year-End Bonuses Have to Be Paid?
A corporation can record a bonus as an expense of the year it was earned and pay it later, but not much later. Under subsection 78(4) of the Income Tax Act, salary, wages or other remuneration that is still unpaid 180 days after the end of the tax year is treated as not incurred in that year. It becomes deductible in the year it is actually paid. Reasonable vacation or holiday pay is an exception.
For a December 31, 2026 year-end, day 180 is June 29, 2027. A bonus recorded for 2026 should be paid through payroll by then.
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Is Your GST/HST Filing Frequency Still Right?
The CRA assigns your GST/HST reporting period from your annual taxable supplies, and you can choose to file more often:
| Annual taxable supplies | Assigned period | You can choose |
|---|---|---|
| $1,500,000 or less | Annual | Monthly or quarterly |
| More than $1,500,000 up to $6,000,000 | Quarterly | Monthly |
| More than $6,000,000 | Monthly | No other option |
- Annual filers. For most businesses, the return and final payment are due three months after the fiscal year-end, so March 31, 2027 for a December 31, 2026 year-end. A sole proprietor with a December 31 year-end and business income pays by April 30 and files by June 15.
- Monthly and quarterly filers. The return and payment are due one month after the end of each reporting period.
- Instalments. If you file annually and your net tax for the previous fiscal year was $3,000 or more, you may have to pay quarterly instalments during the current year, each due within one month after the end of a fiscal quarter.
Year-end is a good time to check that your period still fits your sales. GST/HST filing is included in every one of our monthly bookkeeping packages.
When Are T4 and T5 Slips Due?
T4 slips (employment income) and T5 slips (investment income, such as dividends) are information returns. Both are due by the last day of February after the calendar year they cover (same rule for the T5). For 2026 that is Sunday, February 28, 2027. When a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the CRA considers the return on time if it receives it, or it is postmarked, on or before the next business day, so the practical deadline is Monday, March 1, 2027.
Collect what you need now: final payroll figures, any taxable benefits, and the dividends your corporation declared and paid in 2026.
How Can We Help Before Year-End?
We work with Calgary owner-managers through the year from our Calgary office. A T2 corporate tax return is a fixed $1,200 with one of our bookkeeping packages, or $1,500 on its own. T4, T4A and T5 slip filing starts from $150 per slip set, and monthly payroll starts from $75 a month. Monthly bookkeeping comes in fixed monthly packages, listed on our pricing page, with GST/HST filing included. Fees exclude GST.
For more on what a missed payroll or GST/HST date can cost, see our guides to payroll errors that trigger CRA penalties and the impact of late GST payments.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the RRSP contribution deadline for the 2026 tax year?
The CRA’s contribution year runs to the 60th day of the following year, so contributions for 2026 can be made until March 1, 2027.
Can I claim CCA on equipment I buy in December?
Yes, if it is available for use by your year-end, for example delivered and able to produce a saleable product or service. If it arrives in January, the claim starts next year.
What happens if a bonus is not paid within 180 days?
It is treated as not incurred in the year it was recorded, so it is not deductible for that year. It becomes deductible in the year it is actually paid.
When are 2026 T4 and T5 slips due?
By the last day of February. Because February 28, 2027 is a Sunday, a return the CRA receives, or that is postmarked, by Monday, March 1, 2027 is on time.
How often do I have to file GST/HST returns?
It depends on your annual taxable supplies. At $1,500,000 or less the CRA assigns an annual period, and you can choose to file quarterly or monthly instead.
Reviewed on 16 October 2026. Deadlines, limits and rules in this article are from the Canada Revenue Agency and the Income Tax Act (Government of Canada), linked beside each fact and listed below.
T2 Corporate Tax
Every Canadian corporation must file a T2 within six months of fiscal year-end, active or inactive
Bookkeeping
Monthly cloud bookkeeping, with bank and credit card reconciliation, monthly reports and GST/HST filing included
Payroll
Payroll runs with source deductions, plus T4 and T4A slips prepared and filed with the CRA at year-end
Sources
- Canada Revenue Agency, When to file information returns (page dated 2025-07-03, checked 16 October 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, T5 information return: due date (page dated 2025-12-05, checked 16 October 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, T5 Guide, Return of Investment Income (T4015) (Rev. 25, checked 16 October 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, How contributions affect your RRSP deduction limit (page dated 2026-01-29, checked 16 October 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, MP, DB, RRSP, DPSP, ALDA, TFSA limits, YMPE and the YAMPE (page dated 2025-12-01, checked 16 October 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, Contribution year (RRSP contribution receipts) (page dated 2026-09-17, checked 16 October 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, RRSPs and Other Registered Plans for Retirement (T4040) (Rev. 25, checked 16 October 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, Business and professional income guide (T4002), Chapter 4: capital cost allowance (checked 16 October 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, Basic information about capital cost allowance (page dated 2026-08-31, checked 16 October 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, Accelerated investment incentive (page dated 2025-07-21, checked 16 October 2026)
- Government of Canada, Justice Laws, Income Tax Act, section 78 (current to 2026-09-21, checked 16 October 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, General Information for GST/HST Registrants (RC4022) (Rev. 25, checked 16 October 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, GST/HST reporting requirements and deadlines (page dated 2026-05-13, checked 16 October 2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency, Find out if you need to pay GST/HST by instalments (page dated 2025-06-20, checked 16 October 2026)
