Filing due dates and penalties

Filing due dates

The filing due dates for information returns and slips filed electronically are the same as for information returns and slips filed on paper. The due dates are as follows.

• T3
  File no later than 90 days after the end of the trust's tax year.

• T4, T4A, T4A(OAS), T4A(P), T4A-NR, T4E, T4RSP, T4RIF, T5, T5007, T5008, AGR-1
  File by the last day of February following the calendar year to which the information return applies. If the last day of February is a Saturday or Sunday, your information return is due the next business day. If the business stops operating, the return is due within 30 days of the day your business or activity ends.

• T1204
  File by March 31of the year following the calendar year to which the information return applies. If March 31 falls on a Sunday, your return is due the next business day.

• T5018
  The T5018 return is due six months after the end of the reporting period you have chosen. (To change the reporting period you have chosen, you will need an approval from the CRA.) If your business stops operating, you must file the information return within 30 days of the day your business ends.
  
  
• NR4
  File no later than the last day of March for reporting the preceding calendar year, or no later than 90 days after the end of the fiscal year for an estate or trust.

• T215
  File within 120 days after the day on which the past service event giving rise to a provisional Past Service Pension Adjustment (PSPA) occurs.
  
  
• RRSP Contribution Information Return
  File by May 1 of the year in which the contribution year ends. The contribution year is the period beginning on the 61st day of one year and ending on the 60th day of the following year.

Penalties

Click on the links below to get information on penalties for each type of return:

• T3
• T4
• T4A
• T4RSP and T4RIF
• T5
• T5007
• T5008
• T5018
• NR4 and T4A-NR
• T215

Late-filing penalty
For most information returns, if you file your information return late, or if you distribute slips to the employees or income recipients late, you are liable for each failure to a penalty of $25 per day, from a minimum of $100 to a maximum of $2,500.

Failure to file information returns in electronic format
If you file more than 500 various information slips (for example T4, T4A, T5) and you do not file the information returns in an electronic format as required under the Income Tax Act and Income Tax Regulations, you are liable to a penalty of $2,500 for the first offence. For each subsequent occurrence, the penalty will increase by increments of $2,500.

If a service bureau is filing an information return for you, you are still responsible for the accuracy of the information and for any balance owing.