What’s Due End of February?

Here are some end of February due dates that may apply to your business;

T4s are due to be filed for your employees on or before February 29th. If you used a payroll provider, make sure they will be filing your Employee’s T4s for you. If you use payroll software, there may be some extra steps for you to do. In Quickbooks, it’s a simple .xml file to upload! (Here's my Video on how to do that!) Then you can print the Employee’s copy right from Quickbooks! If you did your payroll for your employees manually, and are curious how to file them online using CRA’s webforms, here’s a handy dandy video I made a few years ago on how to do that. When you use CRA’s webforms to manually file, you can print a copy from there to hand out to your employees.
T4As are also due on or before Feb 29th. T4As are the income slips that you issue to independent workers who are not an employee, such as contractors who received a commission.
T5s are also due on or before Feb 29th. T5s report various types of investment income. They also can declare dividend income (and shareholder draws) for shareholders of a corporation, and are done by your accountant. Your accountant will need to see your financials to see what needs to be issued, so now is the time to finalize your 2023 bookkeeping and share with your accountant so they can prepare and file your T5s on time.
If you are a charity, then Feb 29th is also when your donation receipts are due to be issued.
Feb 29th is the Deadline for Contributing to and RRSP for the 2023 Tax Year.
If you business is incorporated, and owed greater than $3k in corporate Income Tax for the previous fiscal year, then it is required to pay installments for next year on the last day of every month. February 29th is the due date for the February Corporate Tax Installment.
If your Corporation is federally incorporated, you must file with Corporations Canada every year. Though they call it an "annual return" this is not the Corporate Tax Return (T2) that you must file with CRA every year. The filing deadline is 60 days following a corporation's anniversary date. Find out more here.
Though there are no other standard items due at the end of this month, be aware that if your Sales Tax filing is monthly, January's GST/HST filing and remittance is due on February 29th. If your Sales Tax quarterly filing is on a different schedule because of a corporate fiscal year end date that is not standard, the GST/HST for a quarter November to January would be due Feb 28th. Also, if your Corporate Fiscal Year End is August, your Corporate Tax Return is due 6 months after your Fiscal Year end (February). If your Corporate Year End is December, the Income Tax Payable is payable 2 or 3 months after the Fiscal Year End; either due February or March, depending on your corporation. Check in with your accountant to find out more about your corporate tax due dates specific to your corporation.

Last year I shared Free Valentines Day Cards from CRA's Instagram. Re-sharing because they make me giggle...

My Three Favorite Resources for February!

Here are three Fabulous Resources that I've come across in February!

Wealthsimple Tax - Ah Spring… the season we start to get ready to file our personal income taxes! There are a lot of options out there to get your income taxes filed, either DIY or by a professional income tax provider. If your situation is complex, a professional income tax provider can be a great resource! But if you file your own taxes, and haven’t heard yet about Wealthsimple Tax, now’s a great time to check it out! As a Bookkeeper, I don't prepare income tax returns, but I do prepare my own, and a few years ago I thought I'd share how I do my T2125 (Statement of Business Activities/Self Employment income) on YouTube, with a follow up of how I put that into Wealthsimple Tax.
Just what ARE CRA's Interest Rates?: Not paying CRA on time can be an expensive form of financing. How expensive? This blog post from GGFL discusses the recent rise in CRA Interest Rates (but doesn't mention the late payment penalties or late filing penalties... keep those in mind also!). They do mention though that CRA interest and penalties are not a deductible business expense! It reduces your bottom line, but NOT your taxes! Yikes! Worst of both worlds! #NeverPayCRAmoreMoneyThanYouHaveTo
BDC.ca – I often highlight BDC's blog posts in my resource newsletter because they just have so much more MEAT in them than other business blogs I find. BDC is the "Business Development Bank of Canada." They are a Crown Corporation and operate at arms length from their sole shareholder, the Government of Canada. So their raison d'être is to help Canadian Businesses thrive. And this can be seen in the wealth of information on their website about running, starting, growing, and scaling all size and types of businesses in Canada. Here are three great places on their site for you to dig in deeper:
1. Start or Buy a Business (The Basics)
2. Entrepreneur’s Toolkit (Assessments, Templates, Guides and MORE)
3. Entrepreneur’s Learning Centre (All those FREE Courses!)

What Resources have you found that have helped you start, run, or grow your business? Feature it (and a callout to your business!) in our next Resources Newsletter!

What due dates are coming up in March?

March 31st falls on a Sunday in 2024, so any March 31st dues dates listed below are actually due on April 1st 2024.

Now’s the time to prep your March Calendar! #BeThatBusiness that is organized! Here are some March due dates that might affect your business:

If you have employees, March 15th is the due date for your payroll source deductions relating to February's payroll.
If you have employees, then you likely are registered for provincial Workplace Insurance (WSIB/WCB). WCB in some provinces is due monthly, and on the 15th. (In Ontario, WSIB is due quarterly, and not due until April 30th)
March 15th the first quarterly personal tax installment is due. If you are a self employed individual, no one is deducting income taxes from you. Because of this, if you had over $3,000 in personal income taxes payable on filing in the previous year, CRA would like you to pay installments on your personal income taxes for the next year.
NR4's are issued by Canadian Payers who make payments to non-residents of Canada for income such as interest, dividends, rents, royalties, pensions, and acting services. These are due to be filed with CRA on March 31st.
If required, partnerships (except those made up of corporations, or a combination of individuals, corporations, and trusts with different filing dates) must file a Partnership Information Return before March 31st.
T3 Trusts Returns also are due on March 31st. CRA has recently updated their Reporting Requirements for trusts. Many trusts will need to file for the first time. More information can be found on CRA here.
If your business is incorporated, and owed greater than $3k in corporate Income Tax for the previous fiscal year, then it is required to pay installments for next year on the last day of every month. March 31st is the due date for the March Corporate Tax Installment.
Though there are no other standard items due at the end of this month, be aware that if your Sales Tax filing is monthly, February's GST/HST filing and remittance is due on March 31st. If your Sales Tax quarterly filing is on a different schedule because of a corporate fiscal year end date that is not standard, the GST/HST for a quarter December to February would be due March 31st. Also, if your Corporate Fiscal Year End is September, your Corporate Tax Return is due 6 months after your Fiscal Year end (March). If your Corporate Year End is January, the Income Tax Payable is payable 2 or 3 months after the Fiscal Year End; either due March or April, depending on your corporation. Check in with your accountant to find out more about your corporate tax due dates specific to your corporation. Find out more here.