Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
How often should you meet with your accountant? Nothing in Canadian tax law sets a number, so it comes down to your deadlines. A sole proprietor with steady income can get by with two meetings a year. A corporation with staff, GST/HST and a growing bank balance is better off quarterly. Everyone needs one meeting before year end, while there’s still time to change something.
What decides how often you need to meet?
Count your recurring dates. Every filing or payment is a chance for a mistake, and mistakes are cheaper to fix early. A freelancer has an annual return and instalments. A company with employees also has payroll remittances, T4s and a T2 return. Each layer adds a reason for a check-in.
Then look at how fast your situation changes. Buying a vehicle, hiring the first employee, moving money out of a corporation or starting a second income source all deserve a call before you act, not after. That kind of meeting is triggered by an event, not the calendar.
A meeting schedule that matches the tax calendar
The CRA’s 2026 deadlines page gives the dates below. The 2027 dates aren’t out yet, so check the CRA page again before you lock them in.
| Who | Date or rule (2026) | Good time to meet |
|---|---|---|
| Self-employed individual | Return June 15, balance April 30 | February or March, to gather numbers |
| Anyone paying instalments | March 15, June 15, September 15, December 15 | A week before each date if income moved |
| Corporation | T2 within six months of year end | One to two months after year end |
| Corporation | Balance due two months after year end, three for a CCPC with the small business deduction | Before year end, to estimate the bill |
| GST/HST monthly or quarterly filer | One month after the period ends | Quarterly check |
| Employer | T4 returns by the last day of February | January |
How many meetings do different businesses need?
Here’s our judgement, not a rule. A sole proprietor with one income stream and simple costs: twice a year, once in autumn to plan and once in the new year to file. A small corporation with a bookkeeper: quarterly, with the bookkeeper sending numbers a week ahead. A business with seasonal swings or a big purchase coming: add a meeting before the purchase, since how you buy can change the tax.
Fewer is fine if your books are current and someone else watches deadlines. More is fine if you’re growing quickly. The wrong pattern is one meeting a year, in April, when everything is already decided.
Take Dev, who runs a small landscaping company in Edmonton. His season is April to October, so his big meeting is in November, right after the work stops and while the numbers are fresh. A short call in February handles the T4s. That’s two or three conversations a year, and it suits his business better than a fixed quarterly slot would.
What does a mid-year check-in save you?
Instalments are the clearest case. In the tax instalments calculator, $9,000 of expected tax owing means four payments of $2,250. The calculator uses a $3,000 threshold. It’s October, so the September 15 payment has passed and the next one is due December 15. If your income jumped this year, a fall meeting is when you decide whether to catch up.
It also helps with the size of the bill. On $80,000 of net business income in Ontario, the self-employed tax calculator shows $22,126 of income tax and CPP, 27.7% of income. That’s a big number to see for the first time at tax time in April.
For a company, the corporate tax calculator shows $35,088 on $300,000 of active business income in Ontario for a calendar 2026 year. Payroll owners can also test costs in the payroll remittance calculator before a hire.
How do you make a meeting worth it?
Send numbers ahead. Bring bank and card statements, sales totals, payroll reports and your instalment history. Write three questions down, and ask what has changed in the rules since last time. Then ask what’s due next and who owes what by when.
What about cost? No official source publishes what accountants charge, so we won’t quote any. Ask how they bill for a check-in call and whether short calls are included. The CRA says to keep your records for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to, so share them in a folder the accountant can open.
What if a meeting turns up bad news?
It happens, and it’s the best reason to meet in the fall. A missed instalment, a GST/HST return you thought was filed, a payroll remittance that never went out: all of these cost less to fix in October than after year end. Ask the accountant to write the fix down as a short list with names and dates, then book the follow-up call before you hang up.
Sources, and how we checked them
Dates come from the CRA‘s 2026 tax deadlines page, read in autumn 2026. Calculator figures use our 2026 federal and provincial data. We have no link with the CRA or any accounting body.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a legal minimum for meeting an accountant?
No rule sets one. Your deadlines decide it, and most owners need at least one meeting before year end.
Should a sole proprietor meet quarterly?
Usually twice a year is enough with simple income. Add a meeting if you pay instalments and your income changes.
When are the 2026 instalment dates?
March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15, per the CRA's 2026 deadlines page.
When must a corporation file its T2?
Within six months of its tax year end. Balance owing is generally due two or three months after year end.
What should I bring to a meeting?
Bank and card statements, sales totals, payroll reports, last year's return and a short list of questions.
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