A year-round tax calendar for contractors

How this calendar works

The calendar assumes a 31 December year-end, which every sole proprietor has and many contractor corporations choose. If your company's year-end is another month, the corporate dates (balance due, T2, GST annual return) shift with it; the personal and payroll dates don't. The tax year covered is 2026, so most of the filing dates fall in 2027, and the same pattern repeats every year.

When a CRA due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, a return or payment is treated as on time if it arrives on the next business day. That rule moves several 2027 dates, and they're marked below.

January to March: slips, RRSP and the first instalment

• 15 January: payroll deductions for December go to the CRA if you're a regular remitter (most small employers, by the 15th of the month after each payday). New or small employers with a perfect compliance record may remit quarterly: October to December deductions are due 15 January too. Our payroll guide explains remitter types.
• 20 January: WorkSafeBC fourth-quarter payroll report and payment, for BC employers who report quarterly (generally premiums of $2,000 or more a year).
• Last day of February: T4 slips for your crew, T4A slips where they apply and T5 slips if your company paid you dividends, filed with the CRA and given to the people on them. For 2026 slips that is Monday, 1 March 2027, because 28 February is a Sunday. BC quarterly WorkSafeBC reporters also reconcile the previous year's payroll by 28 February.
• End of February: Alberta employers file an annual return with WCB-Alberta by the end of February each year (28 February 2027 for the 2026 year), reporting last year's payroll and estimating this year's.
• 1 March 2027: last day for RRSP contributions you can deduct on your 2026 return (the 60th day of the year). Salary paid in 2026 creates RRSP room for 2027; dividends don't. The 2026 RRSP dollar limit is $33,810.
• Corporate tax balance: due two months after year-end, which for a 31 December 2026 year-end is also 1 March 2027. A Canadian-controlled private corporation that claimed the small business deduction and meets the CRA's conditions gets three months: 31 March 2027.
• Early March: WorkSafeBC's Annual Payroll Report and Payment for BC employers who report once a year (generally premiums under $2,000), due on the date printed on the report, between 3 and 11 March.
• 15 March: first income tax instalment of the year, if the CRA's February reminder applies to you (see instalments).
• 31 March: GST/HST annual return and payment for a corporation with a 31 December year-end (three months after year-end). Sole proprietors get longer; see April to June. BC contractors registered for PST file on their own PST schedule; see PST registration in BC.

April to June: filing season

• 15 April: payroll remittance for March (regular remitters) or January to March (quarterly remitters). 20 April: WorkSafeBC first-quarter report for quarterly reporters.
• 30 April 2027: the big one for sole proprietors. Your 2026 income tax and CPP on self-employment are due, even though the return itself isn't due until June. Your 2026 GST/HST annual return payment is due the same day. If you pay GST/HST by instalments, the first 2027 instalment (one month after the January to March quarter) is also due. Interest on anything unpaid starts 1 May.
• 30 April 2027 is also the filing date for anyone without business income, such as an employee on your crew. Your spouse or partner gets the self-employed filing date if either of you carried on a business.
• 15 June 2027: self-employed income tax return filed (your business income goes on form T2125), and the GST/HST annual return filed for sole proprietors with a 31 December year-end. Second income tax instalment of the year.
• 30 June 2027: T2 corporate return for a 31 December 2026 year-end (six months after). T5018 slips for payments to subcontractors, if you report by calendar year: the CRA gives six months after the end of the reporting period you chose. Who files T5018s is on our trades and construction page.

July to September: the mid-year check

• 15 July: payroll remittance for June, or April to June for quarterly remitters. 20 July: WorkSafeBC second-quarter report.
• 31 July: second GST/HST instalment for annual filers (one month after the April to June quarter). 31 July 2027 is a Saturday and Monday 2 August is the Civic Holiday, which the CRA recognises, so Tuesday 3 August 2027 counts.
• August: the CRA's second instalment reminder arrives, covering September and December. Compare it with your profit so far. If your net tax owing for the year will be $3,000 or less, you don't have to pay; if it will be lower than last year, you can base the payments on this year's estimate, with interest if you fall short.
• Mid-year review: with half a year of books, check profit to date against the instalments paid, check whether sales have passed the $30,000 GST registration test if you're not registered yet (our GST/HST registration guide explains the test), and renew clearance letters for subcontractors on long jobs.
• 15 September: third income tax instalment.

October to December: year-end decisions

• 15 October: payroll remittance for September, or July to September for quarterly remitters. 20 October: WorkSafeBC third-quarter report.
• 31 October: third GST/HST instalment. 31 October 2027 is a Sunday, so Monday 1 November 2027 counts.
• November: the planning window. Decisions about salary, bonus or dividends, equipment you want in use this year, and money taken from the company need to be made while payroll can still run and deliveries can still arrive. Our year-end tax planning checklist goes through each one.
• 15 December: last income tax instalment of the year (15 December 2026 for 2026; 15 December 2027 for 2027).
• 31 December: record the odometer reading on each vehicle, count any materials inventory, and make sure equipment you're claiming this year is delivered and ready to use, not just ordered.
• 31 January (next year): fourth GST/HST instalment for annual filers, one month after the October to December quarter. 31 January 2028 is a Monday.

Instalments: income tax, GST/HST and corporate

Three different instalment systems can apply to a contractor. Each has its own test and its own dates.

CPP on self-employment

A sole proprietor pays both halves of CPP on net self-employment income between $3,500 and $74,600 for 2026, at 11.9% (twice the 5.95% employee rate), to a maximum of $8,460.90. Earnings between $74,600 and $85,000 carry the second additional contribution (CPP2) at 8% for the self-employed, to a maximum of $832. It's worked out on your return and paid with your income tax by 30 April, which is why it belongs in your instalment estimate. An incorporated contractor who takes a salary pays CPP through the company's payroll instead; dividends carry no CPP.

Habits for every month

The dates above are easier to meet when the records exist already. These are the ones that matter most in a trades business.

• Keep the vehicle logbook as you go. For each business trip: date, destination, purpose and kilometres, plus the odometer reading at the start and end of the year. After one full year as a base year, a three-month sample each year can set the business share, as long as it stays within 10% of the base year. One record per vehicle. Keep the full-year logbook six years after the last year it's used.
• Get receipts and invoices into the books monthly: supplier invoices, fuel, tools, permits, dump fees and anything paid personally for the business. Records are kept for six years.
• Set money aside. The GST/HST you collect isn't yours; it's held in trust for the CRA until you send it in, so a separate account for it keeps the balance honest. Add a monthly estimate of income tax and CPP. The share depends on your profit and set-up; the self-employed tax calculator gives a starting figure.
• Collect subcontractor details before the first payment: legal name, address and business number or SIN, so T5018 slips can be prepared from the books, and a WorkSafeBC or WCB-Alberta clearance letter before work starts and again before the final payment.
• Reconcile GST/HST monthly: GST collected on invoices and input tax credits on purchases in your books should agree with what the return will report, including GST on progress billings and holdbacks, which has its own timing.
• Match payroll to WorkSafeBC or WCB reports: wages, deductions and remittances for the period should agree with the payroll report before it's sent.

Whether someone you pay is a subcontractor or an employee depends on how the work is actually done, and contract terms are a legal matter. This guide is general information, not legal advice; we work alongside your lawyer where one is involved.

Tools, trucks and CCA timing

Tools, trucks and equipment are claimed through capital cost allowance (CCA), a share of the cost each year by class, and you can only start claiming once the item is available for use: delivered and ready to work, not ordered or paid for. That is what makes December purchases a timing question.

Normally the half-year rule limits the first year's claim to half the usual amount. Eligible property bought after 2024 may qualify for the reaccelerated investment incentive. First-year treatment depends on the acquisition and available-for-use dates, the class and eligibility; many ordinary declining-balance assets get 150% of the normal class rate. Property bought from someone you don't deal with at arm's length, or transferred in on a rollover, isn't eligible and keeps the half-year rule. For 2026 the CCA ceiling for a passenger vehicle is $39,000 before tax; whether a pickup counts as a passenger vehicle depends on its seating and use. The common classes for contractors are on our trades and construction page.

Buy equipment because the job needs it. The timing only moves a deduction between years; it doesn't create one.

Salary or dividends when you're incorporated

How you pay yourself sets several dates on this calendar.

• Salary means a payroll account, deductions and remittances on your remitter schedule, a T4 slip by the last day of February, CPP paid through the company (both halves) and RRSP room for the next year.
• Dividends mean no payroll, a T5 slip by the last day of February, no CPP and no RRSP room. They also need corporate-law steps such as a directors' resolution.
• A mix is common. The decision has to be made while 2026 payroll can still run, so it belongs in November, not February. Our guide to dividends vs salary and the salary vs dividend calculator show the trade-offs with your own numbers.

Dividends, bonuses and shareholder loans have corporate-law steps. This guide is general information, not legal advice; we work alongside your lawyer where one is involved.

Key dates for the 2026 tax year

For a contractor with a 31 December 2026 year-end. Weekend dates have already been moved to the next business day.

Monthly or quarterly GST/HST returns and payments are generally due one month after the reporting period. Corporate income-tax instalments follow their own monthly or quarterly schedule; your CRA account lists the dates. WorkSafeBC quarterly dates are 20 April, 20 July, 20 October and 20 January, with the annual reconciliation on 28 February.

This guide is general information for contractors in BC and Alberta, checked against CRA, WorkSafeBC and Finance Canada pages on 28 Oct 2026. Rules have exceptions and can change; it isn't tax advice for your situation.