# Deadlines for sole proprietors

> When to file and pay income tax, GST/HST and instalments if you run an unincorporated business with a December 31 year-end.

- Web page: https://taxnotes.ca/guides/deadlines-for-sole-proprietors/
- For: Self-employed · Topic: Self-employment
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-10

If you're self-employed, you have until June 15 to file your income tax return, but any tax you owe is still due on April 30. If you file GST/HST returns annually, they usually follow the same split. Filing late costs you a penalty if you owe tax; paying late costs you interest from the day after April 30, even if you file by June 15.

## Your business year

Most self-employed people have to use a December 31 year-end, so the business year matches the calendar year. A fiscal period can't be longer than 12 months, though it can be shorter in the year a business starts or stops. Some people are eligible to use a different method that allows a year-end other than December 31, which comes with an extra form to reconcile the income each year.

The dates below assume a December 31 year-end.

## Income tax: file by June 15, pay by April 30

If you or your spouse or common-law partner carried on a business during the year, your return is due June 15 of the following year. For 2025 returns, that was June 15, 2026.

The exception: if your business expenses relate mostly to a tax shelter investment, your return is due April 30.

Either way, any balance owing is due April 30 (for 2025, April 30, 2026). If you can't pay it all, file on time anyway.

## Instalments: four dates a year

If the CRA expects you to pay instalments, they're due:

- March 15
- June 15
- September 15
- December 15

If your main income is self-employment income from farming or fishing, you have one instalment date instead: December 31. Our guide to [paying tax by instalments](https://taxnotes.ca/guides/tax-instalments/) explains who has to pay and how much.

## GST/HST: depends on your reporting period

If you're registered for the GST/HST, your deadlines depend on the reporting period the CRA assigned you. You can see your periods and due dates in your CRA account.

- **Monthly or quarterly:** file and pay one month after the end of each period.
- **Annual, as a sole proprietor with business income:** if your fiscal year-end is December 31 and you had business income for the year, pay by April 30 and file by June 15, the same pattern as your income tax.
- **Annual, but with no business income for the year, or a different year-end:** file and pay three months after your fiscal year-end.

You must file a return for every period, even if you had no sales, and almost all registrants have to file electronically. Annual filers may also have to pay GST/HST in instalments during the year. See [Do I need to register for GST/HST?](https://taxnotes.ca/guides/gst-hst-registration/)

## When a date falls on a weekend or holiday

If a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday recognized by the CRA, you have until the next business day. Your income tax return is on time if the CRA receives it, or it's postmarked, by then. Payments, including instalments, and GST/HST returns are on time if the CRA receives them by then.

## What being late costs

- **Interest** is compounded daily on any unpaid balance, starting the day after the due date. The rate can change every three months.
- **The late-filing penalty** applies if you file after the due date and owe tax: 5% of the balance owing, plus 1% for each full month late, up to 12 months. It's higher if you were also penalized for one of the previous three years after the CRA sent you a demand to file.
- **Instalment interest** applies if you were required to pay instalments and paid late or too little.

Filing by June 15 avoids the penalty even if you can't pay in full. Interest still runs on whatever is unpaid after April 30. If you've already missed a date, see [Missed the filing deadline?](https://taxnotes.ca/guides/missed-the-deadline/)

## Your year at a glance

- **March 15, June 15, September 15, December 15:** income tax instalments, if you have to pay them.
- **April 30:** pay any income tax balance owing for the previous year, and your annual GST/HST balance.
- **June 15:** file your income tax return and your annual GST/HST return.

Thinking about incorporating? See [Should I incorporate yet?](https://taxnotes.ca/guides/should-i-incorporate/), and the T2 dates tool on our [business page](https://taxnotes.ca/business/) for corporate filing dates.

## Sources

1. [Filing due dates for the 2025 tax return](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/important-dates-individuals/filing-dates-tax-return.html) (canada.ca)
2. [Interest and penalties on late taxes](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/about-your-tax-return/interest-penalties/late-filing-penalty.html) (canada.ca)
3. [Payment due dates: Required tax instalments for individuals](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/payments/payments-cra/individual-payments/income-tax-instalments/due-dates.html) (canada.ca)
4. [Reporting requirements and deadlines (GST/HST)](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/gst-hst-businesses/file-gst-hst-return/reporting-requirements-deadlines.html) (canada.ca)
5. [Fiscal period](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/sole-proprietorships-partnerships/fiscal-period.html) (canada.ca)

Tax figures in this guide come from the TaxNotes.ca rates tables (https://taxnotes.ca/rates/), which cite the Canada Revenue Agency and, for Quebec, Revenu Québec.

Last reviewed: October 10, 2026

How to cite: "Deadlines for sole proprietors", TaxNotes.ca, last reviewed 2026-10-10, https://taxnotes.ca/guides/deadlines-for-sole-proprietors/. For a figure or rule, also cite the official source listed above.

Licence: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Free to share and adapt with attribution: https://taxnotes.ca/reproducing-our-content/