Know Your Small Business Tax Deadlines For 2022 (2024)

With the beginning of a new year upon us, tax submission deadlines for individuals and businesses are starting to loom. Every small business owner must adhere to these deadlines or risk facing penalties for late filing of returns plus interest on any overdue balances. Knowing these deadlines can help you ensure that you don’t simply waste your hard earned money and run afoul of CRA and RQ. I have compiled a list of deadlines for all unincorporated small business owners which includes sole proprietors and self employed individuals.

Check out my post on (unincorporated) small business tax deadlines for 2023.

Sign up to download our free Canada unincorporated business tax deadline calendar for 2023 or Quebec unincorporated small business tax deadline calendar 2023.

Note that the usual deadline for sales tax (GST/HST and QST) payments and income tax returns is April 30th. However, since this falls on a Saturday, the deadline is pushed to Monday, May 2nd, 2022.

SALES TAX DEADLINES

• GST/HST returns for 2021 must be filed by June 15th, 2022 for those who are required to file annually.

• GST/HST payments for 2021 are due by May 2nd, 2022 If payment is not made, Revenue Canada (CRA) will start charging interest starting May 3rd.

• QST returns for 2021 are due by June 15th, 2022

• QST payments for 2021 are due by May 2nd, 2022. If payment is not made, Revenue Quebec (RQ) will start charging interest starting May 3rd. Since interest charged on late QST payments is higher than interest charged on income tax, it is better to prioritize payment of QST.

• GST/HST Instalments for 2022 must be paid on a quarterly basis for those whose net GST/HST payable was higher than $3,000 in the previous year. GST/HST Instalments are due on May 3rd, 2022, August 1st, 2022, October 31, 2022 and January 31st, 2023. If instalments are not paid CRA will charge interest starting on the due date of the instalment.

• QST Instalments for 2021 must be paid on a quarterly basis for those whose net QST payable was higher than $3,000 in the previous year. QST Instalments are due on May 3rd, 2022, August 1st, 2022, October 31, 2022 and January 31st, 2023. If instalments are not paid RQ will charge interest starting on the due date of the instalment.

• See my post on Late filing penalties for GST/HST and QST.

• Note that late filing penalties and interest on overdue balances are not tax deductible expenses.

INCOME TAX DEADLINES

Ensure that you at least file your tax returns by the due date even if you are unable to pay the balance due. This will help you to avoid penalties for late filing, which are based on the balance payable.

• Income tax returns for individuals for the calendar year 2021 (January to December 2021) must be filed and paid by May 3rd, 2022. If tax returns are not filed on time, penalties will be charged. If tax returns are filed on time, but the balance due is not paid, only interest applies.

• Income tax returns for Self employed sole proprietors and partnerships I.e. any unincorporated business that include the T2125 in their returns have until June 15th, 2022. This also includes spouses of unincorporated business owners even if the spouses don’t have self employed income. If tax returns are not filed by June 15th penalties will apply.

• Although income tax returns for self employed unincorporated small business owners is due by June 15th, both CRA and RQ start charging interest on balances due starting May 3rd, 2022. So if you choose to file between April 30th and June 15th it is best to pay an estimate of taxes owing by May 3rd, 2022 to avoid or reduce interest costs.

• Instalments relating to the 2022 tax year are payable by March 15th, 2022, June 15th, 2022, September 15th, 2022 and December 15th, 2022. If you are required to pay instalments as a sole proprietor, you will be advised about the amounts and due dates by both Revenue Canada and Revenue Quebec via mail or by going to “my account” which is available online. Note that if your income taxes payable exceed $3,000 you are required to pay quarterly instalments for 2022, except if you live in Quebec where this amount is reduced to $1,800. Similarly if taxes payable owing to RQ exceed $1,800 you will be required to make instalments for 2022

• It should be noted that if your instalments start for the first time as a result of exceeding the income threshold in 2021, instalment payments will only start September 15th, 2022.

• See my post on Late filing penalties for income taxes.

RRSP CONTRIBUTION DEADLINE

All individual taxpayers have until March 1, 2022 to contribute to their RRSPs for the 2021 calendar year. The maximum amount that you can contribute can be found on your 2020 notice of assessment or by going to CRA my account. Exceeding this amount will result in penalties so you want to be careful about how much you contribute. It should also be noted that the higher your marginal tax rate, the more benefit you get from an RRSP contribution.

PAYROLL DECLARATIONS (T4 AND RL1) DEADLINE

For Sole proprietors and corporations who pay employees via payroll:

• T4 Salary Declarations are due by February 28, 2022

• RL1 Salary Declarations for those with employees in Quebec are also due by February 28, 2022

• CNESST annual salary declarations (for those in Quebec) are due by March 15, 2022

With a little bit of preparation filing your tax declarations on time is fairly straightforward and can help save you interest, penalties and the inevitable stress that comes with procrastination.

Download our free small business tax deadline calendar for 2022.

Ronika Khanna is an accounting and finance professional who helps small businesses achieve their financial goals. She is the author of several books for small businesses and also provides financial consulting services.