Tax Insights: 2021 Annual tax filing and remittance deadlines for corporations

Issue 2021-02

In brief

Canadian corporations are required to file annual income and capital tax returns (due six months¹ following each taxation year-end), and to meet several other Canadian annual filing and remittance deadlines. This Tax Insights outlines some of the more common compliance requirements to be considered at this time of year. Others also may apply (e.g. T4A information return to report certain benefits to shareholders).

Failure to meet these requirements may result in the assessment of penalties and/or interest for non‑compliance, late filing or late remittance. A waiver may be obtained in certain circumstances.

Some of the compliance requirements discussed below also apply to individuals, trusts and partnerships. Key filing deadlines for corporations, as well as for individuals, trusts and partnerships, are summarized in Tax facts and figures 2020, available at www.pwc.com/ca/taxfacts (page 38). Deadlines falling on holidays or weekends may be extended to the next business day.

It is possible that certain filing and payment deadlines may be administratively extended in response to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (as was done during the first wave in 2020); none have been announced yet. For post-publication announcements, see our Government economic response to COVID-19 updates at www.pwc.com/ca/tax/covid-19.

In detail

Calendar-year deadlines

T4² – Statement of Remuneration Paid – Employers are required to file a T4 information return (T4 Summary and T4 Slips) to report remuneration paid. The 2020 return must be filed on or before February 28, 2021.

T5² – Return of Investment Income – The T5 return (T5 Summary and T5 Slips) reports various types of investment income (e.g. dividends and interest) paid to residents of Canada, including corporations. The 2020 return is due for filing on or before February 28, 2021.

NR4 – Statement of Amounts Paid or Credited to Non‑Residents of Canada – The NR4 return (NR4 Summary and NR4 Slips) reports amounts paid or credited to non-residents that are subject to Canadian withholding tax (e.g. royalties, dividends, interest, management fees). Certain amounts paid or credited to non-residents must be reported in the NR4 return even if they are exempt from non-resident withholding tax (e.g. certain royalty payments may be exempt pursuant to a tax treaty). The filing due date for the 2020 return is March 31, 2021.

Taxation-year deadlines

Final payments of income and capital taxes – Final payments of corporate income and capital taxes (both federal and provincial¹) are required within two months of each taxation year end (a Canadian-Controlled Private Corporation may qualify for a three-month final payment due date). For a corporation that does not qualify for the three-month due date and that has a December 31, 2020 year end, the final payment due date is February 28, 2021.

T1134 – Foreign Affiliate Reporting – Canadian corporations with foreign affiliates must file a T1134 Information Return (T1134 Summary and T1134 Supplements) annually. A separate supplement must be filed for each controlled and non‑controlled foreign affiliate (except for foreign affiliates that meet certain exemption criteria). The return is due, for taxation years beginning:

• before 2020, 15 months following a corporation’s year end, therefore for a December 31, 2019 year end, the return must be filed by March 31, 2021
• in 2020, 12 months³ following a corporation’s taxation year end, therefore for a December 31, 2020 year end, the return must be filed by December 31, 2021

T661 – Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) Claim – SR&ED tax credits are claimed on a taxation-year basis; a corporation has 18 months from the end of a taxation year to file its claim for that particular year. Extensions are not allowed, and if a corporation is late in filing or submits an incomplete claim, the claim for SR&ED tax credits will be denied.

Filing at least three months before the 18-month deadline is recommended to allow time to provide the Canada Revenue Agency with any requested additional information before this deadline. Corporations with a December 31, 2019 year end have until June 30, 2021, to file an SR&ED claim for that year.

For a partnership, the SR&ED claim (Form T661) should be filed with the partnership information return no later than 12 months after the earliest of all filing due-dates for the return of income of the members for the tax years in which the partnership’s fiscal period ends. Investment tax credits allocated to corporations by the partnership must be supported by a partnership information slip (T5013). The T5013 must be filed on time and can be amended to include the T661 information.

T106 – Information Return of Non-Arm’s Length Transactions with Non-Residents – Canadian corporations must file a T106 Information Return annually to report transactions with non-arm’s length non-residents. The T106 Return must be filed by June 30, 2021, for a corporation’s December 31, 2020 year end.

T1135 – Foreign Income Verification Statement – Form T1135 must be filed for each taxation year during which a Canadian taxpayer held “specified foreign property” of more than $100,000 at any time in the year. Specified foreign property may include foreign bank accounts and investments, indebtedness receivable from non-residents and other property held outside Canada. If the total cost of the taxpayer’s specified foreign property is less than $250,000 throughout the taxation year, the taxpayer can report the property using the streamlined information reporting requirements on Form T1135. The form must be filed within six months of a corporation’s taxation year end: June 30, 2021, for a December 31, 2020 year end.

RC4649 – Country-by-Country Report (CbCR) – A multinational enterprise (MNE) group that had total consolidated group revenue of Euro 750 million or more (approximately CA$1 billion) in the prior fiscal year must file a CbCR.

The CbCR must generally be filed within 12 months after the last day of the “Reporting Fiscal Year” of the MNE group (i.e. December 31, 2021, for an MNE’s December 31, 2020 fiscal year end).

^{1. However, the financial institutions capital tax filing and payment deadline for Saskatchewan is the last day of the sixth month after the year end (e.g. June 30, 2021, for a December 15, 2020 year-end). The payment deadline for Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island financial institutions capital tax purposes is six months after the year end.}

^{2. Quebec’s equivalent forms are relevé 1 (T4) and relevé 3 (T5).}

^{3. For taxation years beginning after 2020, the filing deadline for a T1134 Information Return will be ten months following the corporation's taxation year end.}

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