January is when February is decided

1. Reconcile payroll before anyone prepares a slip

The T4 must equal what payroll actually did — every paycheque, every remittance, the year’s ceilings applied correctly. A January reconciliation catches the discrepancy while it is a bookkeeping fix; the CRA’s own matching catches it later as a PIER report.

2. Close the how-did-I-pay-myself question

Whatever the plan was, January is when it becomes a filing reality: amounts through payroll need a T4, amounts declared as dividends need a T5, and anything sitting in the shareholder loan needs classifying now — deliberately, not by whatever the slips accidentally imply. The calculator frames next year’s plan while you are at it.

3. Stage your own T1 inputs

Owner returns wait on the corporation’s slips plus the usual personal set. Listing what applies to you in January — the corporation’s T4/T5, RRSP contributions with their own deadline logic, instalments already paid — is what makes April boring, which is the goal.

4. Check the instalment picture

A year that just closed profitable can mean instalments begin or change this year. Finding that out in January, from the calculator, beats finding out from an instalment reminder mid-year.

Fastest first step: email what you’re facing to info@everstonecpa.com — reply within one business day, and we book the consult from there.

General information, not tax advice. The document in your hand and its own dates govern.