Small Business Tax Checklist
Everything you need to gather before you file, in one place. Use this checklist to get your records ready, then let us prepare and file your return. Every return is prepared and filed by a CPA.
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What to gather before you file
Filing goes faster and costs less when your records are complete. This checklist walks through what a Canadian small business needs to prepare a clean return, whether you are incorporated or self employed. Work through it, gather what applies to you, and you will be ready to file. When you are, we can take it from there.
Business records
- Reconciled bookkeeping for the full fiscal year, with every account balanced to source documents
- All bank statements for every business account, month by month
- All credit card statements used for business, reconciled to your books
- Loan and line of credit statements showing interest and principal
- Your business number and, if incorporated, the articles of incorporation and fiscal year end
- Prior year financial statements and your general ledger for the year
Income
- Total sales and revenue for the year, tied to your invoices and deposits
- Accounts receivable, meaning invoices sent but not yet paid at year end
- Any T4A, T5, or T5018 slips you received for work or contract income
- Interest, investment, or other income earned by the business
- Grants, subsidies, or refunds received during the year
Expenses and deductions
- Expense receipts sorted by category, such as supplies, software, advertising, and professional fees
- Vehicle log with total and business kilometres so we can set your business use percentage
- Fuel, insurance, repair, and lease costs for any business vehicle
- Home office details, meaning the office square footage, total home size, and yearly utilities, rent, or mortgage interest
- Meals and entertainment tied to business, kept separate from personal spending
- Capital asset purchases such as equipment, computers, or furniture, for capital cost allowance
- Accounts payable, meaning bills owed but not yet paid at year end
Payroll and sales tax
- Payroll records for the year, including gross pay, source deductions, and remittances
- T4 and T4A slips prepared and filed for employees and contractors
- HST and GST returns filed and reconciled to the sales in your books. See our HST and GST filing service
- Input tax credits tracked on the sales tax you paid during the year
- Owner draws or dividends taken, if you are incorporated
Before you file
- Your prior year notice of assessment from the CRA
- Record of any instalment payments made toward this year's tax
- Carryforward amounts such as losses or unused credits from prior years
- Any correspondence from the CRA received during the year
- Confirmation that your bookkeeping is closed and locked for the period, so nothing changes after filing
Filing deadlines to keep in mind
Corporations file a T2 return within six months of their fiscal year end, so the date depends on the year end you chose. You can confirm your own due date on the CRA page, When to file your corporation income tax return.
If you are self employed, you have until June 15 to file your personal return, but any balance owing is still due April 30. We handle both corporate tax (T2) and self employed tax, so whichever applies to you, we have it covered.
Filing personally as well? Use our personal tax return checklist to gather your T1 documents, or browse all our resources.
Checklist done? We can file it for you
Once your records are ready, we take it from there. Your return is prepared and filed by a CPA, on time and built to stand up to CRA review, so you can get back to running your business. We work fully online with clients across Canada, so there is nothing to drop off.
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