Bookkeeping in Canada: the CRA dates your books have to be ready for in 2027

A Canadian small business's books have to be ready before each CRA deadline, not on it: the GST/HST return one month after each monthly or quarterly period, T4 slips by the last day of February, and the income tax return, which for a sole proprietor is due June 15 with the balance owing April 30. Below are the 2027 dates for two made-up businesses, worked out from the CRA's rules.

Both businesses are fictional. Both have a December 31, 2026 year-end.

The two businesses

Ridgewood Tile is a sole proprietor in Mississauga. GST/HST registered, filing quarterly by choice. One part-time employee. Reports business income on Form T2125 inside the owner's T1 return.

Alder Bay Media Inc. is a small Canadian-controlled private corporation in Vancouver. GST/HST registered, filing quarterly. Three employees. Files its own T2.

The 2027 calendar

WhenRidgewood Tile (sole proprietor)Alder Bay Media Inc. (corporation)
By January 31Q4 2026 GST/HST return and paymentQ4 2026 GST/HST return and payment
By the last day of FebruaryT4 slips and summary for the employeeT4 slips and summary for three employees
By the end of February or MarchBalance of 2026 corporate tax owing: two months after year-end, or three for some CCPCs
By April 30Q1 2027 GST/HST return; balance of 2026 personal tax owingQ1 2027 GST/HST return
By June 15T1 with Form T2125 filed
By June 30T2 for 2026 filed, six months after year-end
By July 31Q2 2027 GST/HST returnQ2 2027 GST/HST return
By October 31Q3 2027 GST/HST returnQ3 2027 GST/HST return

Some of those dates fall on a weekend in 2027. When a due date is a Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday, the CRA treats a return or payment as on time if it arrives the next business day. Plan for the date in the table anyway.

What each date needs from the books

A GST/HST return is the tax you collected less the input tax credits you can claim. If the books keep GST/HST collected in its own liability account and input tax credits in their own account, the return is a report you run. If tax was lumped into sales and expenses, someone has to pull it back out invoice by invoice.

Ridgewood Tile's Q4 2026, for example: 31,000.00 of tile installation billed in Ontario at 13% HST is 4,030.00 collected. It paid 1,404.00 of HST on 10,800.00 of materials. The return is 4,030.00 − 1,404.00 = 2,626.00 owing.

T4 slips come from payroll records. The books need the gross wages, the deductions withheld and the employer's share recorded from the payroll report, not just the net pay that left the bank.

The T1 and T2125 need the year's income and expenses sorted the way the form asks, plus a list of assets bought in the year for capital cost allowance. Ridgewood's owner draws are not expenses; they come out of the owner's equity.

The T2 needs full financial statements and a trial balance. For Alder Bay Media, the account to watch is the shareholder loan: money the owner took that was neither salary nor a dividend. Your accountant will want it explained.

The order of work

The pattern that keeps a Canadian small business out of trouble:

  1. Reconcile every account each month against its PDF statement from RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO, CIBC, a credit union or anyone else.
  2. Record GST/HST and PST on each sale and purchase as it happens, at the rate printed on the invoice or bill.
  3. At the end of each filing period, run the GST/HST figures and hand them to whoever files.
  4. In January, close the year and send the accountant a trial balance.

BC is the province where this trips people most: 5% GST plus 7% PST, and the PST is filed with the province on its own return. PST paid on purchases is a cost, not a credit.

Records

Keep the books and the documents behind them for six years from the end of the tax year they relate to. Statements, invoices, bills, payroll reports. A shoebox counts as a record; a shoebox you can't find doesn't.

Where we come in

Disclosure: I'm Damin. I run ZeraBooks from Surrey, BC. Our team keeps the books for Canadian small businesses in Canadian dollars, with the GST/HST collected, input tax credits and net amount ready at the end of each period. You or your accountant file. We don't use bank feeds; you upload each month's statement to a portal. Pricing starts at $150 a month, billed in U.S. dollars, and is agreed after a free call.

More on how it works, including the T2125 and T2 differences, is on our page for bookkeeping services in Canada. The service itself is described on bookkeeping services.

Put the eight dates in your calendar now, two weeks early. 

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