Year-End Corporate Tax Checklist

Introduction
A complete year-end corporate tax checklist is essential for every incorporated business in Canada, whether you operate a small company, a professional corporation, or a growing enterprise with multiple employees. Year-end is the most important tax period, where corporations must reconcile financial records, calculate taxes, prepare payroll, issue slips, review deductions and ensure compliance with CRA and Revenu Québec rules. Many corporations wait until the last minute, leading to missed deductions, penalties, interest, and costly errors. A detailed year-end corporate tax checklist allows business owners to organize their financial data, optimize tax planning opportunities and prepare accurate corporate returns. This guide provides a comprehensive corporate tax planning Canada framework to help businesses meet all legal requirements.

Legal and Regulatory Framework
A year-end corporate tax checklist must follow the Income Tax Act, the Excise Tax Act and Québec’s Taxation Act. Every corporation must file a T2 corporate tax return within six months after its fiscal year-end. Québec corporations must also file a CO-17 return. Corporate taxes payable are due two or three months after year-end depending on the corporation’s status and taxable income.

The CRA requires accurate reporting of revenue, expenses, payroll, GST/HST, dividends, shareholder loans, capital cost allowance (CCA), and investment income. Corporations must track taxable capital for small business deduction eligibility and apply rules for associated corporations. Québec corporations must follow additional requirements for QST reporting, employee remittances and provincial payroll obligations. Following a year-end corporate tax checklist ensures compliance with both federal and provincial tax obligations.

Key Court Decisions
Court rulings reinforce the importance of maintaining accurate corporate records and complying with year-end filing deadlines. Cases involving inadequate bookkeeping, unreported revenue or incomplete T2 filings resulted in penalties and reassessments. Courts have emphasized that corporations must maintain organized financial records, including supporting documents for all expenses and deductions. In disputes involving CCA or shareholder loans, courts ruled that corporations must follow legislative rules strictly and retain evidence supporting claims. Québec court decisions have similarly required corporations to keep proper accounting records under the Taxation Act. These decisions highlight the importance of using a structured year-end corporate tax checklist to stay compliant and avoid legal issues.

Why CRA Targets This Issue
The CRA reviews corporate filings closely because corporations have multiple reporting obligations and tax planning opportunities. Year-end is when errors are most likely to occur, such as:
• unreported income
• incorrect shareholder loan balances
• improper CCA claims
• missing GST/HST or QST filings
• inaccurate payroll remittances
• excessive deductions
• misclassified expenses
• omitted T4, T5 or RL slips

CRA systems automatically compare filings against third-party records, GST/HST returns, payroll data and bank information. Québec also audits corporations for provincial compliance. A robust year-end corporate tax checklist reduces the chance of CRA or Revenu Québec review by ensuring accuracy and completeness.

Mackisen Strategy
Mackisen CPA provides a structured and proactive year-end corporate tax checklist designed to maximize deductions, improve compliance and reduce audit risk. Our approach includes:
• reviewing bookkeeping records for accuracy
• reconciling bank accounts, credit cards and loans
• verifying GST/HST and QST filings
• preparing payroll T4, RL-1, T5 and RL-3 slips
• analyzing shareholder loan balances to avoid Part XIII and shareholder benefit issues
• calculating CCA and identifying capital additions
• reviewing asset purchases for tax planning opportunities
• confirming eligibility for the small business deduction
• preparing dividend declarations and corporate resolutions
• reviewing intercompany transactions for associated corporation rules
• optimizing tax planning strategies before year-end closes

This comprehensive year-end corporate tax checklist ensures corporations meet all legal obligations while maximizing tax savings.

Real Client Experience
Many corporations come to Mackisen after discovering errors during their year-end corporate tax checklist. One professional corporation failed to review shareholder loan balances and was reassessed for shareholder benefits. Mackisen corrected documentation and minimized penalties. Another small business had inaccurate bookkeeping, leading to incomplete GST/QST filings. We rebuilt the records, filed adjustments and restored compliance.

One Québec business missed issuing RL-1 slips, resulting in penalties. Mackisen prepared the slips, filed corrections and set up a payroll system to avoid future issues. Another corporation incorrectly classified personal expenses as business expenses. We separated allowable deductions, corrected returns and implemented proper financial controls. These cases demonstrate why corporations must follow a thorough year-end corporate tax checklist to avoid costly outcomes.

Common Questions
Corporate owners often ask when taxes must be paid. Taxes are due two or three months after year-end, depending on small business deduction eligibility. Filing the return is separate from paying the tax. Many ask whether bookkeeping affects the year-end corporate tax checklist. Accurate bookkeeping is essential because errors in financial statements translate directly into tax errors.

Others ask about issuing slips. Corporations must issue T4 and RL-1 slips for employees and T5 and RL-3 slips for dividends paid. Many also ask how to avoid shareholder loan problems. Loans must be repaid within one year after fiscal year-end or categorized properly to avoid shareholder benefit inclusion. Understanding these questions helps corporations follow a complete year-end corporate tax checklist effectively.

Why Mackisen
With more than 35 years of combined CPA experience, Mackisen CPA Montreal helps businesses stay compliant while recovering the taxes they’re entitled to. Whether you’re filing your first GST/QST return or optimizing multi-year refunds, our expert team ensures precision, transparency and protection from audit risk. When applying a year-end corporate tax checklist, Mackisen provides complete corporate tax preparation, compliance review, planning strategies and professional guidance tailored to each business.