Of the many questions we receive as chartered accountants, the one that sticks out is, “When are my taxes due?” We hear this question so much because the Canadian tax landscape can make things a bit confusing.
As a self-employed real estate agent, your tax payments are due on April 30 (for the previous year). But your filing is due on June 15. This means that your taxes are due before your filing.
Sounds confusing? I thought so.
By April 30, your accounting records may still not be up to date since your filing is due June 15. This means that you will not know how much tax you owe by the tax payment due date.
You have a few options:
- Ensure your accounting records are up to date and an accountant has completed your tax return. This will provide you with an accurate tax number.
- Estimate the tax amount and pay the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) by the April 30 deadline. Once your tax return is filed by June 15, if you realize your estimate was too high, the CRA will refund the difference back to you. If your estimate is too low, you will have to “top-up” your tax payment in addition to interest and penalty charges.
- Make installments throughout the year (also an estimate). They will be less of a burden for you since the payments will be broken up over the year.
For HST, the annual filing date is April 30. If you file quarterly, the deadline is the last day of the month following the quarter being filed. For HST monthly filing, it’s the last day of the month following the month being filed.
As always, there are exceptions and circumstances where these deadlines may not be the case, so please speak to an accounting professional to ensure your tax payments and filings are on time.
Lior Zehtser is a chartered accountant and partner of ConnectCPA, Chartered Accountants. His diverse experience in taxation, accounting and real estate comes from working in both public practice and industry. Zehtser held the position of financial controller at a North American real estate investment company, was a senior associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers and holds a real estate license with the Toronto Real Estate Board. Contact him by email.
