The short version
- The T2 return is due six months after your tax year ends, but tax owing is due two or three months after year end: well before the return.
- A Canadian-controlled private corporation (CCPC) that claimed the small business deduction gets three months to pay if its prior-year taxable income stayed within its business limit.
- Corporations that owe more than $3,000 pay instalments during the year, monthly by default or quarterly for eligible small CCPCs.
- A late T2 with a balance owing costs 5% of the unpaid tax plus 1% for each full month late, up to 12 months.
- BC companies also file an annual report with BC Registries, on its own schedule tied to the incorporation date.
Every deadline counts from your year end
Every resident corporation files a T2 return for every tax year, even a year with no income and no tax owing. BC corporate income tax is calculated on the same federal return and administered by the CRA, so there's no separate provincial corporate return to file.
Your corporation's tax year usually ends on the fiscal year end chosen when it first filed. Many small corporations use December 31, but plenty don't, so the dates below are counted from whatever your year end is.
Filing deadline: six months after year end
The T2 is due within six months of the end of the tax year. When the year ends on the last day of a month, the return is due on the last day of the sixth month after. Otherwise, it's due on the same day of the sixth month.
| Tax year ends | T2 return due |
|---|---|
| December 31 | June 30 |
| March 31 | September 30 |
| August 31 | February 28 |
| September 23 | March 23 |
If the deadline falls on a weekend or a public holiday the CRA recognizes, the return is on time if it's received or postmarked by the next business day. A refund can only be claimed if the return is filed within three years after the tax year ends.
Payment deadline: two or three months after year end
Tax owing is due on the balance-due day, which comes long before the return does. For most corporations, that's two months after the tax year ends. A CCPC gets three months when all of these apply:
- It was a CCPC throughout the tax year
- It claimed the small business deduction for the current or previous tax year
- Its taxable income for the previous year didn't exceed its business limit, or, for associated corporations, their combined taxable income didn't exceed their combined business limits
Interest starts on any unpaid balance the day after the balance-due day, whether or not the return has been filed. In practice, that means your year-end numbers need to be close to final within two or three months, not six.
Instalments during the year
A corporation whose tax for the current or previous year is more than $3,000 generally pays instalments through the year. Monthly instalments are the default, due by the last day of each month of the tax year. A small CCPC that meets the CRA's conditions, including a clean compliance history, can pay quarterly instead.
Instalments are estimates. The final tax is settled on the balance-due day, and instalment interest applies if payments were short or late.
A December 31 year end, start to finish
For a CCPC with a December 31, 2026 year end, the corporate tax year plays out like this:
| Date | What's due |
|---|---|
| Last day of each month in 2026 | Monthly instalments, if required |
| February 28, 2027 | T4 and T5 slips for 2026 salaries and dividends; tax owing for corporations on the two-month rule |
| March 31, 2027 | Tax owing for CCPCs that qualify for the three-month rule |
| June 30, 2027 | T2 return; T5018 slips for construction businesses reporting on a calendar year |
February 28, 2027 falls on a Sunday, so the CRA treats payments and slips received on Monday, March 1 as on time. Our BC tax deadline calendar lists every one of these dates, plus GST, PST, and payroll deadlines.
What goes into the return
The T2 includes your corporation's financial statements in the CRA's standard account format, along with schedules for items like capital cost allowance, the small business deduction, and BC's own corporate tax calculation.
The returns are only as good as the books under them. Year end is also when a few owner-specific items need to be settled: whether the owner took salary, which needs T4 slips, or dividends, which need T5 slips; and whether the shareholder loan account shows money owed by the owner. A shareholder loan that isn't repaid within one year after the end of the corporation's tax year can generally become taxable income to the owner.
Late filing penalties
A T2 filed late with a balance owing is charged 5% of the unpaid tax, plus 1% of the unpaid tax for each full month it's late, up to 12 months. If the corporation was already charged a late-filing penalty in any of the previous three years and the CRA has formally demanded the return, the penalty doubles to 10% plus 2% a month, for up to 20 months. Interest compounds daily on unpaid tax and penalties.
The BC annual report: a separate filing
Every BC company also files an annual report with BC Registries, within two months after each anniversary of its incorporation. It has nothing to do with your tax year end, which is exactly why it gets missed. A company that doesn't file stops being in good standing, and one that misses two consecutive years can be dissolved by the Registrar.
Working backwards from the deadline
The six-month filing window is shorter than it looks. Tax owing is due at month two or three, and the CPA preparing the return needs complete, reconciled books well before that to calculate it. When books are kept monthly, year end is mostly a matter of closing December. When they aren't, those first months go to catching up.
Our year-end corporate tax filing is prepared and filed by our contracted CPA partners from books we keep all year, and our pricing page shows the rush premium that applies when there's less time to work with.
Common questions
Does my corporation have to file a T2 if it had no income?
Yes. Every resident corporation files a T2 for every tax year, even when it had no income and owes no tax. Inactive corporations sometimes qualify for a simplified return, but a return is still required.
Is BC corporate income tax filed separately?
No. BC corporate income tax is calculated on a schedule within the federal T2 return and collected by the CRA, so one return covers both.
If the T2 is due in June, why do I owe interest from March?
Because payment and filing have separate deadlines. Tax owing is due on the balance-due day, two or three months after year end, and interest runs on any unpaid amount from then on, even though the return itself isn't due until six months after year end.
Can my corporation change its year end?
Generally only with the CRA's approval. You'll need to send a written request explaining the business reason for the change.