Self-employed tax deadline in Canada: when do you file and pay?
Friday
Apr302027
Pay what you owe for 2026. The return itself is due Tuesday, June 15, 2027.
June 15 to file, April 30 to pay
For your 2026 taxes, file your return by June 15, 2027 and pay any balance owing by April 30, 2027. The later filing date applies if you or your spouse or common-law partner ran a business. It doesn’t move the payment date.
If you’re self-employed in Canada, you get two deadlines, not one. Your return is due June 15. Any tax you owe is due April 30, about six and a half weeks earlier. For your 2026 taxes, that’s Friday, April 30, 2027 to pay and Tuesday, June 15, 2027 to file.
The CRA’s dates page shows the 2025 return right now: pay by April 30, 2026, file by June 15, 2026. Apply the same rule to the 2026 tax year and you get the two 2027 dates above.
Your 2026 balance owing: income tax, plus the CPP on your self-employment profit.
Your 2026 return, with Form T2125 for your business income.
Who gets until June 15
The June 15 date isn’t only for the person with the business. It covers you if you or your spouse or common-law partner carried on a business during the year.
The one exception is a business whose expenditures relate mostly to a tax shelter investment. That return is due April 30, like an employee’s.
You file by June 15 if…
You carried on a business during the year, or your spouse or common-law partner did. So the salaried spouse of a freelancer also gets until June 15.
You file by April 30 if…
Nobody in the couple ran a business, or your business expenditures relate mostly to a tax shelter investment.
June 15 is a filing date, not a payment date. If you owe for 2026 and pay on June 15, interest has already been running since May 1. The CPP on your profit is part of that balance too; here’s how CPP works when you’re self-employed.
Your 2027 calendar for the 2026 tax year
If you also pay instalments, or file GST/HST once a year, more dates land in the same few months. Here’s the whole run with a December 31 year-end:
- First 2027 instalment, if the CRA says you need to pay them
- Pay your 2026 balance owing. GST/HST annual filers also pay their 2026 GST/HST.
- File your 2026 return. GST/HST annual return due. Second 2027 instalment.
- Third 2027 instalment
- Fourth and last 2027 instalment
Instalments only apply if your net tax owing is more than $3,000 ($1,800 in Quebec) for the year and for one of the two years before. The instalments guide explains who has to pay them and how much.
Weekends and holidays. If a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday the CRA recognizes, your return is on time if the CRA receives it, or it’s postmarked, by the next business day. A payment is on time if it’s received on the first business day after. None of the 2027 dates above falls on a weekend.
What it costs to miss them
Missing April 30 and missing June 15 cost you different things. Paying late costs interest. Filing late, when you owe tax, adds a penalty on top of the interest.
- May 1Interest starts the day after the payment date, compounded daily on whatever you haven’t paid. The rate can change every three months. It’s 7% for October 1 to December 31, 2026.
- 5% + 1%The late-filing penalty if you file after June 15 and owe tax: 5% of your balance owing, plus 1% for each full month late, up to 12 months.
- 10% + 2%The repeat penalty if you were also charged a late-filing penalty in one of the three previous years and got a demand to file: 10%, plus 2% a month, up to 20 months.
Worked example, hypothetical. You owe $4,000 on your 2026 return. Here’s what three different timings cost you, apart from interest, which depends on the rate at the time.
On time
- Late-filing penalty
- $0
- Interestnothing left unpaid
- $0
- Extra cost
- $0
Paid late
- Late-filing penaltyfiled on time
- $0
- Interestdaily, from May 1 to Jul 30
- Yes
- Extra cost
- Interest
Filed late
- 5% of $4,000
- $200
- 3 full months × 1%Jul 15, Aug 15, Sep 15
- $120
- Penaltyplus interest from May 1
- $320
The cap. After 12 full months the late-filing penalty stops growing at 17% (5% plus 12 × 1%). On $4,000 that’s $680, plus interest.
Can’t pay? File anyway. The CRA’s own advice is to file on time even if you can’t pay your balance, so you aren’t charged a late-filing penalty. Then you only owe interest on what’s unpaid.
GST/HST annual filers get the same two dates
Most businesses that file GST/HST once a year have 3 months after their year-end to file and pay. A sole proprietor gets the same April 30 and June 15 split as income tax, but only when all three of these are true:
- You’re a sole proprietorAn individual with a business, not a corporation.
- Your year-end is December 31The usual year-end for a self-employed person.
- You had business incomeBusiness income for tax purposes in that year.
Here’s how the CRA’s own examples work out. Your due dates also show in your CRA account.
| Your GST/HST situation | Pay by | File by |
|---|---|---|
| Annual filer, sole proprietor, Dec 31 year-end, business income in the year | April 30 | June 15 |
| Annual filer, sole proprietor, Dec 31 year-end, no business income in the year | March 31 | March 31 |
| Annual filer with an August 31 year-end | November 30 | November 30 |
| Monthly or quarterly filer | 1 month after the period ends | 1 month after the period ends |
For the return itself, see how to file a GST/HST return as a sole proprietor.
Missed June 15, 2026 for your 2025 return?
If you still haven’t filed your 2025 return and you owe tax, the late-filing penalty grows each month. Here’s what to do, in order:
- File now, even if you can’t pay it all. Each full month you wait adds another 1% of your balance, up to 12 months.
- Pay what you can. Interest on your 2025 balance has been running since May 1, 2026, compounded daily, so every payment cuts what the next day costs.
- Ask for relief if you couldn’t file. If circumstances beyond your control stopped you, you can ask the CRA to cancel or waive the penalty or interest. Requests are accepted for a 10-year period ending in the calendar year you ask.
Hypothetical: you owe $2,000 for 2025 and file on November 20, 2026. That’s 5 full months after June 15 (July 15, August 15, September 15, October 15 and November 15), so the penalty is 5% + 5% = 10%, or $200. Interest on the $2,000 runs from May 1, 2026 until you pay.
Tracking it
Have your 2026 numbers ready before April 30
- Monthly income and profit
- Expenses sorted by T2125 line
- GST/HST collected and paid
- Every invoice with its GST/HST split out
The Canada Self-Employed Income, Expense & GST/HST Tracker is a spreadsheet for Excel and Google Sheets. It doesn’t file your return or pay the CRA; it keeps the totals you need when you do.
FAQ
When is the self-employed tax deadline for 2026 taxes?
File your 2026 return by June 15, 2027 and pay any balance owing by April 30, 2027. The CRA currently lists the same rule for 2025 taxes: file by June 15, 2026, pay by April 30, 2026.
Is the self-employed deadline June 15 or April 30?
Both. June 15 is when your return is due. April 30 is when any tax you owe is due. Interest starts on unpaid tax the day after April 30, even if you file before June 15.
Does my spouse also get until June 15?
Yes. The June 15 filing date applies if you or your spouse or common-law partner carried on a business in the year, unless the business expenditures relate mostly to a tax shelter investment.
What's the penalty for filing a self-employed return late?
If you file after June 15 and owe tax, it's 5% of your balance owing plus 1% for each full month late, up to 12 months. If you were charged the penalty in one of the three previous years and got a demand to file, it's 10% plus 2% a month, up to 20 months.
What if June 15 falls on a weekend?
Your return is on time if the CRA receives it, or it's postmarked, by the next business day. In 2027, June 15 is a Tuesday and April 30 is a Friday.
When is my GST/HST return due if I file once a year?
If you're a sole proprietor with a December 31 year-end and business income for the year, pay by April 30 and file by June 15. Otherwise, it's 3 months after your year-end.
Sources
- CRA: Filing due dates for the 2025 tax return (self-employed persons)
- CRA: Interest and penalties on late taxes
- CRA: GST/HST reporting requirements and deadlines
- CRA: Required tax instalments for individuals (due dates)
- CRA: Prescribed interest rates, fourth quarter 2026 (7% on overdue taxes)
- CRA: Cancel or waive penalties and interest
- CRA tax tip: Self-employed? Make filing easier with these tips from the CRA