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Corporate taxes due dates hang on one thing, your fiscal year end. The balance is due two months after it (three for many small CCPCs), and the T2 return is due six months after it. A December 31 year end gives you February 28 or March 31 for the money and June 30 for the return.
Which corporate taxes are due, and when?
Three separate clocks run for a company. Income tax instalments come during the year. The income tax balance comes after year end. The return comes last. People mix these up because the CRA calls the balance day and the filing day by similar names.
The two-month rule is the general one. To get three months, the corporation has to be a Canadian-controlled private corporation all year, claim the small business deduction this year or last, and have had prior-year taxable income within its business limit (added up with any associated corporations). Miss one of those and it’s two months.
Dates for common year ends
Here are the dates for year ends that fall in 2025 and 2026, worked out from the CRA rules. When a date lands on a weekend or holiday, the payment counts if it arrives the next business day.
| Year end | Balance, 2 months | Balance, 3 months | T2 return |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 31, 2025 | February 28, 2026 | March 31, 2026 | June 30, 2026 |
| March 31, 2026 | May 31, 2026 | June 30, 2026 | September 30, 2026 |
| June 30, 2026 | August 31, 2026 | September 30, 2026 | December 31, 2026 |
| September 30, 2026 | November 30, 2026 | December 31, 2026 | March 31, 2027 |
What about a December 31, 2026 year end? The rule gives the same pattern, so February 28, 2027 or March 31, 2027 for the balance and June 30, 2027 for the return. But we couldn’t find a CRA calendar for 2027 yet, so treat those as our arithmetic and check the CRA page once it’s out.
Why do instalments matter more than the balance?
Because most of the money should already be paid by year end. Monthly instalments are the default. A small CCPC with a perfect compliance history, taxable income of $500,000 or less and taxable capital of $10 million or less can pay quarterly, on March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31 for a calendar year.
The first payment is due one month, or one quarter, less a day after the year starts. Fall behind and you pay interest. If that instalment interest goes over $1,000, the CRA can also charge a penalty of one-half of the difference between the interest and the greater of $1,000 or 25% of the interest you’d have paid with no instalments.
What does the tax look like on $300,000?
A British Columbia CCPC with $300,000 of taxable business income pays $27,000 federal and $6,000 provincial. That’s $33,000, so about $2,750 a month if you spread it evenly. Quarterly, it’s $8,250. The same income in Manitoba comes to $27,000 in total (9.0%), since Manitoba’s small business rate is 0%. In Ontario the answer for a 2026 calendar year is about $35,088, and that rests on a blended rate we derived, not a published one.
Try your own province in the corporate tax calculator. It ignores associated companies and the passive income rules, so your real bill can be higher.
Late and missed deadlines
The late-filing penalty is 5% of the unpaid tax at the deadline, plus 1% for each full month, up to 12 months. Repeat offenders get 10% plus 2% a month, up to 20 months. Filing even a day late triggers it, so a tiny balance keeps the cost small, but a big one doesn’t.
You can’t skip the return because the company was quiet. Inactive corporations file as well, and most must file online or face a $1,000 penalty. Sales tax and payroll are separate deadlines, and the payroll remittance calculator and the GST/HST calculator cover those. Owners who draw dividends can check the personal side with the dividend tax calculator.
Where the numbers come from
Deadlines, instalment rules and penalties come from the Canada Revenue Agency pages on balance-due day, instalments, penalties and the 2026 business deadlines, read in September 2026. Combined rates come from the CRA rate pages. This site has no link with the CRA or any government.
Frequently asked questions
When are corporate taxes due for a December 31 year end?
The balance is due February 28 or March 31, depending on whether you get the extra month. The T2 return is due June 30.
Who gets three months to pay?
A CCPC that claimed the small business deduction this year or last, and whose prior-year taxable income stayed within its business limit, counting associated corporations.
Is the filing deadline also extended?
No. The return is due six months after year end for every corporation.
Can I pay corporate tax quarterly?
A small CCPC with a perfect compliance history, taxable income up to $500,000 and taxable capital up to $10 million can.
What is the late-filing penalty?
5% of the unpaid tax plus 1% for each full month late, up to 12 months. It doubles to 10% and 2% a month after a recent penalty.
- Self-employed taxes in Canada: income, CPP and GST
How tax works when you are self-employed in Canada: reporting income and expenses, paying both halves of CPP, instalments and when to register for GST
Information only. This page is general information, not tax, legal or accounting advice. Tax-Services.ca is an independent publisher: we don't prepare or file tax returns or offer tax services, and we have no connection with the CRA, Revenu Québec, any government or any company named on this page. Check the figures that matter with an official source or a qualified professional.