Always keep these points in mind when managing corporate taxes.
Maintaining Documentation
As mentioned earlier in the GST segment, you have to maintain all invoices and receipts for seven years. This can be in either hardcopy or electronic format.
Penalties, Filing and Payment Deadlines
Your corporate tax return must be filed three months after the end of your financial year. For example, if you have a 30 June year-end, your taxes need to be paid and filed on or before 30 September. This is the same deadline for federal tax and provincial tax.
As previously mentioned with the GST, there are penalties for late filing, payment and tax evasion. As long as your corporation exists, you have to file a tax return every year even if you make no sales or profit.
Closing Your Corporate Tax Account
Also, similar to the GST section, if you decide to stop doing business, retire or wind-up the corporation, you must inform CRA or else they will still expect tax returns from the company and charge a penalty for late filing.
MY Business Account
It is highly recommend that every business owner sets up an online CRA account for their business. CRA calls it the My Business Account. You will need your SIN number, address and the last tax return to set it up. Once you have it, you can review your correspondences and other important information online. You can also file your GST return and payroll T4 slips through this feature.
