Rules
A Guide to CRA Business Day Deadlines and Counts
CRA business day deadlines and counts, explained stage by stage: filing dates, payments and objections, plus the shift rule that moves a due date.
What to take away
- Most CRA due dates run in calendar days, and a due date that lands on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday moves to the next business day.
- Payroll remittances are the main working-day countaccelerated remitters above the top withholding threshold owe the third working day after the period ends.
- Provincial statutory holidays can shift a remittance date even when the federal list has not changed.
- The 90 day objection window runs in calendar days from the date on the notice, so a business-day count overshoots it.
Start with the trigger document
A deadline count begins with a document or a date, not a calendar. For a T1 return, the filing and payment dates run from the tax year end. The date on the notice of assessment starts the objection window instead. A GST/HST filer works from the end of the reporting period. Payroll works from the end of the pay period covered by the remittance.
Five stages of a deadline count
- Record the trigger date15-20 min
- Build the closure calendarhalf day
- Classify the deadline15-30 min
- Count forward30-60 min
- Apply the shift rule10 min
Record that date and its source on the same line. Fifteen to twenty minutes is enough for one file, and it prevents the most common error here: counting from the day the mail arrived. CRA counts from the date on its own document, and its record governs.
The federal holidays business day counts walk-through shows how that starting date feeds everything after it, including the shift at the end.
Stage by stage
Four stages carry the work, each with its own duration.
| Stage | Duration | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Record the trigger date | 15 to 20 minutes per file | A dated, sourced starting point |
| Classify the deadline | 15 to 30 minutes | Filing, payment, remittance or objection |
| Count forward | 30 to 60 minutes | A raw due date, before adjustments |
| Apply the shift rule | 10 minutes | The date you act on |
The count itself is short. Holiday dates are the long part, and it is the part people skip. The shift itself comes from section 26 of the Interpretation Act, which moves a deadline that falls on a holiday to the next day that is not one; the CRA also treats Saturdays and Sundays this way. Two holiday lists are in play at once: the federal list and the province where the account is registered. That second list is where most counts go wrong.
Employment and Social Development Canada publishes the federal statutory holiday list, and a verified working days per year holidays set covers the dates that recur.
The Interpretation Act names the federal holidays: New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Thanksgiving Day, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Federal holiday
| Federal holiday | 2025 date | 2026 date |
|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | January 1 | January 1 |
| Good Friday | April 18 | April 3 |
| Easter Monday | April 21 | April 6 |
| Victoria Day | May 19 | May 18 |
| Canada Day | July 1 | July 1 |
| Labour Day | September 1 | September 7 |
| National Day for Truth and Reconciliation | September 30 | September 30 |
| Thanksgiving Day | October 13 | October 12 |
| Remembrance Day | November 11 | November 11 |
| Christmas Day | December 25 | December 25 |
| Boxing Day | December 26 | December 26 |
One to two hours a year keeps the list current.
If the last day of a period is a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the deadline becomes the next day that is not one of those.
Main CRA due dates
These are the usual dates, and they all shift to the next business day when they land on a weekend or holiday.
- T1 returnApril 30, or June 15 if you or your spouse are self-employed, with any balance owing still due April 30.
- Personal instalmentsMarch 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15.
- T2 corporation returnsix months after the fiscal year end, with the balance due two months after year end, or three months for most small Canadian-controlled private corporations.
- GST/HST returnone month after the end of a monthly or quarterly period, and for annual filers with a December 31 year end, March 31 for a corporation or June 15 for an individual with business income, whose payment is still due April 30.
- T4 and T4A slipsthe last day of February. T5 slips: also the last day of February.
- T3 trust return90 days after the trust's tax year end.
- Notice of objection90 days from the date on the notice of assessment.
The GST/HST and corporate dates article covers those two filing types in more detail.
What has to exist before what
- The trigger document. This is the blocker. Without the notice, the period end or the assessment date, no later stage can start, and any date you produce is a guess that CRA will not honour.
- The holiday dates for the correct province and for the federal list. A holiday observed in one province is an ordinary working day in another.
- A written line stating which deadline you are counting. Filing and payment dates for the same return can sit six weeks apart. A self-employed T1 is due June 15 for filing, with the balance owing on April 30.
- Proof of how the date was reached, kept with the return.
Where the remittance count breaks
The money-losing failure is the remittance overrun. A payroll account crosses from regular to accelerated remitter, and the deadline shifts from the 15th of the following month to the 25th and 10th for threshold 1, or to the third working day after set dates for threshold 2.
CRA sets remitter type by average monthly withholding from two calendar years earlier. Under $3,000 can be a quarterly remitter, due the 15th of the month after each quarter. A regular remitter has less than $25,000 and remits by the 15th of the following month. Accelerated threshold 1 is $25,000 to $99,999.99. It remits twice a month, by the 25th for pay days from the 1st to the 15th, and by the 10th of the next month for the 16th to month end. Accelerated threshold 2 is $100,000 or more. It remits within three working days after the 7th, 14th, 21st and last day of each month. That third working day rule is the one the example below counts.
Nothing else changes, no notice arrives, and the payer still counts to the 15th and misses by about a week.
Worked example. A remittance period ends Saturday, June 21, 2025, one of the set threshold 2 dates, for an account registered in Quebec. Monday June 23 is the first working day. Tuesday June 24 is Quebec's National Holiday, so it does not count.
Wednesday June 25 is the second working day. Thursday June 26 is the third working day. The remittance is due June 26. In Ontario, June 24 is a working day, so the third working day is June 25.
The cause is a status change that never gets written down. The fix is one line in the payroll file recording the remitter type and the date it last changed.
CRA's payroll deductions and contributions page sets out the thresholds.
Counting deadlines while CRA is slow
A count does not pause because CRA is slow to reply. File on time even when you expect an adjustment, because late-filing penalties start the day after the due date. For an income tax return the penalty is 5 per cent of the balance owing plus 1 per cent for each full month late, up to 12 months. For a GST/HST return it is 1 per cent of the amount owing plus 0.25 per cent of that amount for each full month late, up to 12 months. Pay an estimate to stop interest compounding. Keep the receipt and the postmark.
For payroll remittances, CRA's penalty for a late remittance is 3 per cent for 1 to 3 days late. It rises to 5 per cent for 4 to 5 days, 7 per cent for 6 to 7 days, and 10 per cent for more than 7 days. A repeated failure in the same year that is knowing or grossly negligent carries 20 per cent.
An objection has its own clock. The 90 days run from the date on the notice, in calendar days. If the last day falls on a weekend or holiday, it moves to the next business day. Nothing is suspended while an objection is open, so interest keeps running on any unpaid balance.
Provincial closure dates decide which day the shift lands on, so record them with the file; the Quebec payroll holiday counting piece shows how that works for a Montreal account. A short note on how closures change an add-business-days count this year saves the same argument next year.
Common questions
Does the April 30 payment deadline move if it falls on a weekend?
Yes. When a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, CRA treats the next business day as the deadline. Nothing on your return changes.
Are objection deadlines counted in business days?
No. The 90 day window for a notice of objection runs in calendar days from the date on the notice. Only the final shift to the next business day uses the working-day rule.
What counts as a public holiday for CRA purposes?
Federally, the holidays named in the Interpretation Act. Provincial statutory holidays matter too, especially for payroll remittances tied to an account in that province.
How long should I keep filing records?
Six years from the end of the tax year they relate to. Keep the proof of mailing with them, because the postmark supports the filing date.
