GST/HST filing deadlines 2026
Your GST due date depends on your filing frequency, and annual filers have a second obligation most of them do not know about.
Most owners land on this page because a date is close. If you would rather hand the return over than diarise it, we file GST/HST returns on a fixed fee that is published.
Quick answer: Monthly and quarterly filers file and pay one month after the reporting period ends. Annual filers file and pay three months after their fiscal year-end — March 31 for a corporation with a December 31 year-end. Only a sole proprietor with a December 31 year-end splits the two: file by June 15, pay by April 30. Annual filers whose net tax was $3,000 or more last year also owe quarterly instalments.
Want a different reporting period? See how to change your GST filing frequency.
Your deadlines follow your reporting period, not the calendar. Have the filings handled, or ask which period you are on.
| Filing frequency | When to file and pay |
|---|---|
| Monthly | One month after the end of each month |
| Quarterly | One month after the end of each quarter |
| Annual (corporation, Dec 31 year-end) | File and pay by March 31 |
| Annual (sole proprietor, Dec 31 year-end) | File by June 15 · balance due April 30 |
| Annual (other year-end) | File and pay three months after fiscal year-end |
How often do I need to file GST in Canada?
Filing frequency is not something you pick at registration. The CRA assigns it from your annual taxable supplies in the previous fiscal year, and most small corporations land in the annual band and stay there. Whichever band you are in, your GST filing deadline follows that reporting period, not the calendar.
| Annual taxable supplies | Assigned reporting period |
|---|---|
| $1,500,000 or less | Annual |
| More than $1,500,000 up to $6,000,000 | Quarterly |
| More than $6,000,000 | Monthly |
| Charities | Annual |
Two catches. It does not adjust itself downward. If revenue drops, the CRA keeps you on the old frequency until you elect on Form GST20, and a less frequent period opens only after 12 months below the threshold. Electing to file more often is always open, and useful in a regular refund position.
The revenue figure is also not simply your sales. Annual taxable supplies include zero-rated supplies and the taxable supplies of your associates, and exclude supplies made outside Canada, zero-rated exports, exempt supplies, sales of capital real property and goodwill.
This page is the schedule: which period the CRA assigns, and when each return and payment falls due. To move to a different period, see how to change your GST filing frequency and the GST20 election.
GST calendar 2026
Below: calendar-quarter filers and annual filers with a December 31 year-end. Monthly filers file and pay by the end of the next month. Weekend or holiday dates move to the next business day. The GST schedule 2026 filers on calendar quarters and December year-ends follow is set out in the table below.
| Reporting period | Return and payment due | Note |
|---|---|---|
| October–December 2025 (quarterly) | January 31, 2026 | A Saturday: on time on Monday, February 2 |
| January–March 2026 (quarterly) | April 30, 2026 | |
| April–June 2026 (quarterly) | July 31, 2026 | |
| July–September 2026 (quarterly) | October 31, 2026 | A Saturday: on time on Monday, November 2 |
| October–December 2026 (quarterly) | January 31, 2027 | A Sunday: on time on Monday, February 1 |
| 2025 fiscal year, corporation (annual) | March 31, 2026 | Return and payment together |
| 2025 fiscal year, sole proprietor (annual) | Payment April 30, 2026; return June 15, 2026 | The only split dates on the calendar |
The instalment trap for annual filers
If you file annually and your net tax for the previous fiscal year was $3,000 or more, the CRA expects quarterly instalments toward the current year, not one payment when you file. Each is generally a quarter of last year’s net tax, due one month after each fiscal quarter ends. Missing them creates instalment interest even if you pay the full amount on time at year-end. Full explanation
What late GST filing costs
File late with tax owing and the penalty is 1% of the amount owing plus 0.25% of that amount for each complete month the return is late, up to 12 months, plus interest. Refund returns carry no penalty.
A separate and larger risk: GST collected is not your money. It is held for the Crown, and using it as working capital is how otherwise-healthy businesses end up with a debt they cannot clear.
Already missed one? Catching up on overdue GST returns is quoted as a fixed fee, and filing first stops the monthly part of the penalty growing.
Monthly, quarterly or annual: choosing (or changing) your frequency
You can often elect to file more often than your assigned frequency, which speeds up refunds. Quick Method filers follow the same deadlines. We handle GST/HST filing and registration in a fixed monthly fee. See how form GST20 works, and why the CRA will not move you back down on its own.
Whether this applies to you depends on your year-end and structure; ask about your own situation and a CPA replies, usually the same business day, free.
Subscribe to our Canadian tax deadline calendar — the fixed CRA dates land in your calendar every year with a reminder a week ahead.
Add the deadline calendarGeneral information current as of , not advice. Weekend or holiday dates move to the next business day. speak with a CPA about your circumstances.
When is my GST/HST return due?
Choose how often you file and enter the last day of the period. The date appears straight away.
This calculator needs JavaScript. See this year’s dates.
Runs in your browser; nothing you enter is sent anywhere. General information, not advice for your situation.
Who this is for, and who it is not
This page is for owners filing their own GST. If returns are already outstanding, catch-up comes before any calendar.
Where we work
The fee is the same wherever you are. We work with businesses in Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Langley and Mission, across the Fraser Valley, and with owner-managed companies in Vancouver.
What happens when you get in touch
Knowing the date is the easy half. If you would rather the return simply went out on time every period, this is how that starts.
- A free thirty-minute conversation. What you do, what is filed and what is overdue. You leave with a fixed fee in writing and no obligation to take it.
- Access, in the first week. We are authorized with the CRA, so notices and balances get looked up rather than requested from you. If you are switching firms, your file is requested the same week.
- Current, then ahead. Books set up or brought current, anything overdue scheduled oldest year first, and the next twelve months of deadlines set before they arrive.
Send an enquiry, or ask one question first — both go to a CPA, not a queue.
Add these deadlines to your calendar
Subscribe once and the fixed CRA dates appear in your calendar every year, each with a reminder a week ahead. No signup, nothing tracked.
How to add it — Google, Outlook, Apple
Google Calendar: Settings → Add calendar → From URL → paste https://www.everstonecpa.com/calendar/canadian-tax-deadlines.ics → Add calendar.
Outlook: Calendar → Add calendar → Subscribe from web → paste the same URL → name it “Tax deadlines” → Import.
Apple Calendar: File → New Calendar Subscription → paste the URL → set auto-refresh to weekly. On iPhone: Settings → Apps → Calendar → Accounts → Add Account → Other → Add Subscribed Calendar.
Covers the fixed calendar dates only. Your corporate T2 and balance-due dates depend on your fiscal year-end. Use the corporate deadline calculator for those.
