Corporate, personal and trust tax returns
KB Fiscalité prepares corporate T2 and CO-17 returns, personal T1 returns, T3 trust returns and non-resident filings, treating every return as the execution of a tax plan rather than a year-end formality.
Who has to file a T2 and CO-17 return?
Every corporation resident in Canada must file a T2 return with the Canada Revenue Agency for each taxation year, even when no tax is payable. A corporation with an establishment in Quebec also files the CO-17 return with Revenu Québec. Both returns are due six months after the corporation’s year end, but the tax balance is payable earlier, two or three months after year end, depending on the corporation’s situation.
Preparing a T2 is far more than transcribing the financial statements. It means reconciling accounting income with taxable income, applying the small business deduction correctly, handling transactions between related corporations, tracking inter-corporate dividends and maintaining the corporation’s tax accounts from year to year. Every position taken on the return (remuneration, dividends, reserves) should flow from a plan, not from habit.
What are the general filing deadlines?
Each type of return runs on its own calendar, and the most common mistake is confusing the filing date with the payment date. The table below summarizes the general deadlines.
| Return | Who files it | General filing deadline |
|---|---|---|
| T2 (federal) | Corporations resident in Canada | Six months after year end |
| CO-17 (Quebec) | Corporations with a Quebec establishment | Six months after year end |
| T1 | Individuals | April 30 |
| T1, self-employed | Individuals in business and their spouse | June 15 (balance due April 30) |
| T3 | Trusts | Generally 90 days after the trust’s year end |
| Non-resident filings | Depends on the income or disposition | Varies with the applicable regime |
Instalments, source withholdings and balances owing follow rules of their own, separate from the filing deadline itself. The firm builds the complete calendar for each file so that no payment date is discovered after the fact.
When is your T1 personal return due?
The T1 return for individuals is due April 30. When you or your spouse carry on a business, the filing deadline moves to June 15, but any balance owing remains payable on April 30. Quebec residents also file a separate provincial return with Revenu Québec, two parallel systems whose differences are worth understanding rather than merely tolerating.
The firm’s work concentrates on returns that carry real stakes. The owner-manager whose mix of salary, dividends and advances has to reconcile with the corporation’s T2. The individual who sold a rental property or realized significant capital gains. Foreign-source income and its credits. Late years that need to be brought back into compliance.
Why do trusts file a T3 return?
A trust is a separate taxpayer. It files a T3 return (with its Quebec counterpart) for each taxation year, generally within 90 days of the trust’s year end. Income the trust allocates to its beneficiaries flows out on slips and is taxed in their hands. Income the trust keeps is taxed inside the trust, under rules specific to trusts.
Two realities demand close attention. Trust reporting requirements have tightened in recent years, and the identities of trustees, beneficiaries and settlors must now be disclosed with care. And the 21-year rule deems a trust to have disposed of its property at fair market value on each 21st anniversary, a deadline that rewards planning started years in advance, often through a distribution of property to the beneficiaries before the anniversary arrives.
How does non-resident taxation work?
A non-resident earning Canadian-source income generally faces a withholding tax on certain passive income (dividends, rents, royalties) which a tax treaty may reduce. In some situations, elections allow the non-resident to file a Canadian return and be taxed on net income instead of treating the withholding as final tax, a difference that matters enormously for a rental property.
When a non-resident disposes of taxable Canadian property (Canadian real estate, for instance) the vendor must obtain a compliance certificate under section 116. Otherwise, the buyer is required to withhold part of the purchase price. A Canadian return then establishes the actual tax on the gain, and any excess withholding is recovered through it. The firm acts for non-resident vendors and for Canadian buyers exposed to the withholding obligation, coordinating the filings with both the CRA and Revenu Québec.
Why have a tax firm prepare your returns?
A tax return is never an isolated exercise. It either executes the plan behind it or quietly undoes it. The firm prepares the T2, CO-17, T1 and T3 as one coherent whole, in which the shareholder’s remuneration, the trust’s allocations and the corporation’s elections answer each other from return to return.
That coherence pays twice. Defensively, positions that are documented and consistent year over year stand up better to a CRA or Revenu Québec audit. Strategically, every filing season becomes a scheduled check-up on the structure itself, the moment to catch what has drifted and correct it while correction is still cheap.
Frequently asked questions
When is a corporation's T2 return due?
The T2 return is due six months after the corporation's year end, and the Quebec CO-17 follows the same general deadline. The tax balance itself is due earlier, two or three months after year end depending on the corporation's situation, so the tax should be calculated well before the filing deadline arrives.
What is the deadline for my personal tax return?
The T1 personal return is due April 30. If you or your spouse carry on a business, the filing deadline moves to June 15, but any balance owing is still payable on April 30. Quebec residents also file a separate provincial return with Revenu Québec.
Does a family trust have to file a return every year?
Yes. A trust is a separate taxpayer and files a T3 return (plus its Quebec counterpart) for each taxation year, generally within 90 days of the trust's year end. Income allocated to beneficiaries flows out on slips and is taxed in their hands, while income kept in the trust is taxed in the trust.
I am a non-resident selling Canadian real estate. What filings apply?
Selling taxable Canadian property as a non-resident triggers specific steps, including a compliance certificate under section 116. Without it, the buyer must withhold part of the purchase price. A Canadian return then follows to establish the actual tax on the gain. These steps should be organized before closing, not after.
Why use a tax firm instead of preparing returns myself?
Returns for an owner-manager, a corporation and a family trust are interdependent. Salary and dividend decisions, trust allocations and corporate elections must line up across all of them. A tax firm prepares them as one coherent file, which both improves the outcome and makes each position easier to defend in an audit.
Let’s talk about your tax situation.
General informational content, not legal or tax advice. Every situation requires its own analysis. Contact us for advice tailored to yours.