Tax season 2025 is fast approaching, and for bookkeepers and accountants, staying on top of the important corporate tax deadlines is the key to completing smooth filings for their clients. They know well that from payroll remittances to corporate tax returns, missing a deadline can lead to penalties, client frustration, and last-minute stress.
In this guide, we’ll outline the most important corporate tax deadlines in Canada for 2025 and share tried and true strategies to keep your clients’ books clean and tax season stress-free with LedgerDocs.
Key Corporate Tax Deadlines for 2025 in Canada
Add these dates to your calendar to stay on track with your corporate tax filing:
Corporate Tax Deadlines
- Six Months After Fiscal Year-End – Corporate Tax Return (T2) Filing Deadline
- Canadian corporations must file their T2 corporate income tax return within six months of their fiscal year-end.
- Example: If your fiscal year ends on December 31, 2024, your T2 is due by June 30, 2025.
- Canadian-Controlled Private Corporations (CCPCs) that meet specific criteria may have three months to pay taxes owing for the year.
- Within 2 months of the Fiscal Year-End – Corporate Tax Payment Deadline
- Corporations that are not CCPCs must settle their taxes owing for the year within two months of the fiscal year-end to avoid interest and penalties.
- Example: If your fiscal year ends on December 31, 2024, corporate taxes are due by February 28, 2025.
Payroll & Employee Slips
- February 28, 2025 – T4, T4A & T5 Slips Filing and Distribution Deadline
- T4 Slips: Employers must provide employees with their T4 slips by this date.
- T4A Slips: Required for independent contractors and non-salaried payments.
- T5 Slips: Issued for investment income, such as dividends or interest.
- 15th of Each Month – Payroll Remittances for Regular Remitters
- Employers who are regular remitters must submit payments by the 15th of the following month (e.g., January payroll deductions are due by February 15, 2025).
- Larger employers may be classified as accelerated remitters, which have more frequent remittance schedules. For details on all remittance categories, visit the CRA website.
Personal & Self-Employed Tax Deadlines
GST/HST Deadlines
- Monthly Filers: GST/HST returns and payments are due within one month following the end of each reporting period.
- Quarterly Filers: If you file quarterly, your return and payment are due one month after the end of the fiscal quarter.
- Annual Filers: GST/HST returns are due three months after your fiscal year-end. For self-employed individuals with a December 31 fiscal year-end, the payment deadline is April 30, 2025, and the filing deadline is June 15, 2025.
- Instalment Payments: If you make instalment payments, they are due within one month after the end of each fiscal quarter
Monthly and Quarterly Estimated Tax Payments
Businesses that owe more than $3,000 in taxes ($1,800 in Quebec) must make tax installments either monthly or quarterly as determined by CRA. The 2025 installment deadlines are:
- Monthly instalments are generally due one month less a day from the starting day of your tax year
- Quarterly instalments are generally due one quarter less a day from the starting day of your tax year
Business Tax Filing Tips for 2025
To make the most of tax season 2025 and stay compliant, here are some valuable business tax filing tips:
- Keep Your Records Organized: Throughout the year, maintain organized records of all your receipts, invoices, and financial transactions. This will make tax filing much easier when the time comes.
- Track Your Expenses and Deductions: Be sure to track all business expenses. Common deductions include office supplies, travel expenses, and interest on business loans. Deductions reduce taxable income, saving you money.
- Review Your Books: Perform regular reviews of your business’s financial records to ensure that it is accurate and up to date. This will help avoid errors and potential red flags during the CRA review process.
- Consider Hiring a Professional: If tax season feels overwhelming, it’s always a good idea to consult a tax professional who understands corporate taxes in Canada. They can ensure your tax filing is accurate and help you make the most of available deductions and credits.
How Bookkeepers & Accountants Can Stay Ahead of Tax Season
Keeping clients compliant with tax deadlines requires a proactive approach. Here’s how you can streamline document collection, bookkeeping, and tax filing preparation:
1. Automate Document Collection with LedgerDocs
Chasing down client receipts, invoices, and statements is one of the biggest bottlenecks during tax season. LedgerDocs makes it easy to collect and organize financial documents automatically with several automations, including automated document requests, automatic bank statement fetching and an easy receipt scanning app that uses OCR to extract data from invoices and receipts and automatically categorize it into Quickbooks Online.
2. Keep Books Updated Year-Round
Encourage clients to upload documents consistently rather than scrambling at year-end. With LedgerDocs, you can set up automatic bank statement fetching, categorize expenses in real time, and ensure every client financial document is collected and stored securely.
3. Use OCR & Automation to Reduce Manual Data Entry
LedgerDocs’ built-in OCR technology extracts key data from receipts and invoices and pushes them into your clients preferred bookkeeping platform, such as Quickbooks Online, Freshbooks, or Xero, reducing manual entry errors and saving time.
4. Create a Tax Season Checklist for Clients
A clear checklist outlining what documents clients need to submit (e.g., payroll records, invoices, receipts, and tax forms) will help keep everything on track. Share it with your clients via LedgerDocs to keep all information centralized.
5. Monitor Deadlines & Reminders
Use calendar reminders and automated workflows to track corporate tax deadlines for each client. LedgerDocs can help with the client follow ups to ensure that documents are uploaded on time, so you’re never waiting on missing files at the last minute.
Make Tax Season Smoother with LedgerDocs
Tax season doesn’t have to be a last-minute scramble. By leveraging LedgerDocs, bookkeepers and accountants can take control of document collection, maintain organized records, and ensure clients meet their tax obligations stress-free.
Ready to simplify tax season? Try LedgerDocs today.
