--- title: "Corporate Year End in Canada, Step by Step" url: https://www.everstonecpa.com/year-end-hub description: "Corporate year end in Canada, step by step — guides on pre-year-end planning, closing the books, statements, the T2 and the deadlines. Start here." type: service-or-info updated: 2026-10-08 summary: "A Canadian corporate year end runs in three stages: decisions taken before the fiscal year closes, closing and reconciling the books afterwards, then statements and the T2 return . This hub puts the relevant guides, checklists and calculators in that order, annotated so each one is read at the right moment." faq_count: 6 publisher: EverStone CPA Inc., a Chartered Professional Accountant firm registered with CPA British Columbia and CPA Alberta service_area: British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba language: en-CA contact: info@everstonecpa.com · https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online --- [Home](https://www.everstonecpa.com/) [Resources](https://www.everstonecpa.com/resources) Year end hub Topic hub # Corporate year end, *step by step* Updated 8 October 2026 What to decide before the year closes, what to gather after it does, and what actually gets filed — the year-end guides on this site in the order the work happens. [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online)[Ask a Free Question](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **Quick answer:** A Canadian corporate year end runs in three stages: decisions taken before the fiscal year closes, closing and reconciling the books afterwards, then statements and the [T2 return](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/corporations/corporation-income-tax-return.html). This hub puts the relevant guides, checklists and calculators in that order, annotated so each one is read at the right moment. Three stages — and only one of them is still a decision. The paperwork is the least interesting part of year end. What changes your tax bill happens in the last weeks before the fiscal year closes, while compensation, purchases and shareholder balances can still be adjusted. After that, the number is largely fixed. To work through it in order, a [free five-email course](https://www.everstonecpa.com/year-end-playbook) paces it lesson by lesson. So this hub is sequenced by *when*, not by topic. Section one is what to do while the year is still open. Section two is closing the books. Section three is the statements and the return. If your year end is next month, start at the top; if it passed in March, start at section two. ## Stage one: before the year closes - [The year-end tax checklist](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/year-end-tax-checklist-incorporated-owners) — the moves worth reviewing in the final weeks, from compensation to asset purchases. Read it about two months before your year-end date. - [Bonus or dividend?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/bonus-vs-dividend-year-end-canada) — the compensation decision that has to be made before the year closes, and the accrual timing behind it. Read it alongside the checklist. - [Salary vs dividends calculator](https://www.everstonecpa.com/salary-vs-dividends-calculator) — models the two routes on your numbers, which is the fastest way to make that decision concrete. - [Leave the cash in, or pay it out?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/leave-money-in-corporation-or-pay-out-canada) — the deferral question behind every year-end compensation decision. Read it if profits have outrun what you need to live on. - [Shareholder loans](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/shareholder-loans-canada-taking-money-out-of-corporation) — the balance that must generally be repaid within one year after the end of the corporate tax year in which it arose, or be added to your personal income. Check yours before the year end, not after. - [Capital cost allowance](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/capital-cost-allowance-cca-classes-canada) — why the date an asset is bought and available for use matters to the deduction. Read it before deferring or accelerating a purchase. - [Tax on split income](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/tosi-tax-on-split-income-canada) — the rules that decide whether dividends to family members are taxed at their rate or the top one. Read it before declaring any. ## Stage two: closing the books - [The bookkeeping errors that stall a year end](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/bookkeeping-mistakes-small-business) — the handful of coding and reconciliation problems that turn a review into a rebuild. Read it any time; act on it monthly. - [How often to do the books](https://www.everstonecpa.com/monthly-vs-annual-bookkeeping) — what actually breaks when the books are only touched once a year, and what the once-a-year approach really costs. Read it if year end is always a scramble. - [Bring the books current](https://www.everstonecpa.com/behind-on-bookkeeping) — for the case where several periods are behind and the year end cannot start until they are done. - [Bookkeeping and year-end accounting](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accounting-services) — how the monthly work and the annual work fit together when one firm does both. - [How long to keep the records](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/cra-record-retention-how-long-to-keep-records) — what to file away once the year is closed, and for how long. Read it before any cleanout. ## Stage three: statements, the return and the deadlines - [Financial statement preparation](https://www.everstonecpa.com/financial-statement-preparation-canada) — what gets produced from the closed books and who reads it. Read it if a lender or landlord has asked for statements. - [Compilation engagements (CSRS 4200)](https://www.everstonecpa.com/compilation-engagement-canada) — the standard package most lenders expect from a small corporation, and who is permitted to issue it. - [The T2 deadline explained](https://www.everstonecpa.com/t2-deadline) — the six-month filing window and the earlier payment date that sits inside it. Read it as soon as the year-end date passes. - [T2 deadline calculator](https://www.everstonecpa.com/t2-deadline-calculator) — returns your filing and payment dates from your year end. Thirty seconds, once a year. - [Late-filing penalties](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/t2-deadline-penalties-canada) — what a missed T2 actually costs, and why it escalates for repeat lateness. Read it if a deadline has already gone. - [The corporate tax hub](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-hub) — the wider annotated set of T2, instalment and planning guides once the year end itself is behind you. The pattern across all three stages: everything expensive is a timing problem, not a knowledge problem. Owners rarely lose money for not knowing a rule; they lose it learning in April about a decision due in November. Where the year end is for a small owner-managed corporation, [financial statements for small Aldergrove corporations](https://www.everstonecpa.com/financial-statements-aldergrove) sets out what is genuinely required and what is optional. About this page **EverStone CPA** Prepared and reviewed by a Chartered Professional Accountant at EverStone CPA, a CPA firm working fully online with small and midsized businesses in BC, Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba. [About the firm](https://www.everstonecpa.com/about) · [Send an enquiry](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online) Common questions ## Corporate year end — common questions **What is a corporate year end, exactly?** It is the last day of your corporation’s fiscal year — the date the books are closed and profit is measured. It does not have to be 31 December, and for many businesses another date fits the seasonal cycle better. All of the corporation’s filing and payment deadlines are calculated from it. [Ask about your case →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **When is everything due after my year end?** The T2 return is due six months after the year-end date. The balance owing is due earlier — generally two months after year end, extended to three months for a Canadian-controlled private corporation claiming the small business deduction and meeting the conditions. Payroll slips run on the calendar year and are unaffected by your year end. **What should I do before my year end rather than after?** Anything that changes the numbers: deciding on salary, bonus or dividends, reviewing your shareholder loan balance, timing significant asset purchases, and clearing personal expenses out of the corporate accounts. Once the date passes, most of these options close and the year end becomes a reporting exercise. **What does my accountant need from me at year end?** Reconciled books, full-year bank, card and loan statements, asset purchase or disposal details, and notes on anything unusual. Most year-end cost goes into reconstructing information, so a cleaner start means a shorter engagement. **Can I change my year end to buy more time?** Not as a scheduling tactic. The year end is set with the first return, and changing it generally needs CRA approval for a genuine business reason, so choose it carefully at incorporation. **Do I need financial statements every year?** The corporation needs reliable financial information every year, because the return is built from it. Whether you need a formal compilation engagement report on top of that usually depends on who is asking, a bank, a landlord or an investor — rather than on any CRA requirement. ## Get ahead of your year end Tell us your fiscal year-end date and how the books are kept, and you will get a straight answer on what should happen before it and what happens after. [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online)[Ask a Free Question](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) Tools and templates ## Free tools for this Practical templates and calculators you can use straight away — no charge and no sign-up. [What year one actually looks like](https://www.everstonecpa.com/how-year-one-works) [Accounting for ecommerce and marketplace sellers](https://www.everstonecpa.com/ecommerce-accounting-hub) [The Home Buyers’ Plan five-year repayment grace period is extended to 2028](https://www.everstonecpa.com/tax-update/home-buyers-plan) [Vacation pay rules for employers: accrual, pay-as-you-go and the year-end treatment](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/vacation-pay-rules-canada-employers) [Accounting for incorporated professionals](https://www.everstonecpa.com/incorporated-professionals-hub) [Accruing a bonus at year end: the 180-day rule](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/accrued-bonus-180-day-rule-canada) [Prepaid expenses at year end: what has to be deferred](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/prepaid-expenses-year-end-canada) [Bank reconciliation what it catches, and what a skipped year costs](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/bank-reconciliation-why-it-matters) [Compilation or review?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/compilation-vs-review-engagement) [Year-End Document Checklist A free checklist of every document your accountant needs at year-end, grouped by where it comes from.](https://www.everstonecpa.com/year-end-document-checklist) [Monthly Bookkeeping Checklist A free one-page monthly bookkeeping routine: reconcile, categorize, review, file.](https://www.everstonecpa.com/monthly-bookkeeping-checklist) [CRA Audit Document Checklist](https://www.everstonecpa.com/cra-audit-document-checklist) ## Every guide on this subject - [Choosing your corporate year-end: and changing it later](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/corporate-fiscal-year-end-canada-how-to-choose) - [A month-end close checklist, and why it makes year end cheap](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/month-end-close-checklist-small-business) - [Payroll year-end: a checklist for Canadian employers](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/payroll-year-end-checklist-canada) - [The year-end inventory count: what CRA expects to see](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/year-end-inventory-count-canada) ## Related reading Keep up with what changed this year. [Recent Canadian tax updates](https://www.everstonecpa.com/tax-updates) [Which month your year-end files in](https://www.everstonecpa.com/year-end-filing-months) [The January checklist that decides February](https://www.everstonecpa.com/january-owner-checklist) [Preparing statements for a bank](https://www.everstonecpa.com/for-lenders) [Compilation or review?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/compilation-or-review-what-you-need) [Closing or selling a corporation](https://www.everstonecpa.com/closing-or-selling-your-corporation) ### Starting fees Every fee is fixed in writing before any work begins. - **Corporate year-end and T2 return** fixed fee, quoted in writing *This page* - **Monthly bookkeeping, sales tax filing included** from $325 a month - **Payroll, remittances, T4s and ROEs** included in monthly bookkeeping - **Books, payroll and the year-end T2 together** $500–$700 a month - **Personal tax return (T1)** from $125; self-employed or rental $275–$500 - **Catch-up bookkeeping** from $2,200 per year of records - **Controller or CFO support** controller from $1,650, CFO from $2,750 a month - **One-off advice call with a CPA** $225 plus GST [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online) --- Source: https://www.everstonecpa.com/year-end-hub Prices: https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing · Contact: info@everstonecpa.com · https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online