When is the T5018 due?

Six months after the end of your reporting period. It applies to a business with more than half its income from construction that paid subcontractors more than $500, and the penalty runs per slip.

Does my fiscal year end change when my T4s are due?

No. T4 slips, the WSIB reconciliation and the Employer Health Tax return are all fixed to the calendar year. Only the T5018 and an annual HST period move with your fiscal year end.

When is my HST return due?

One month after the end of the reporting period if you file monthly or quarterly. An annual filer follows a different rule, and it also differs between a corporation and an individual.

What happens if payroll remittances are late?

The penalty starts at 3% and climbs with how late the remittance is. It is trust money withheld from your employees rather than your own cash, which is why it is treated more harshly than a late return.

How long is a WSIB clearance certificate valid?

Ninety days from issue. An expired clearance is the same as no clearance to whoever asked for it, and on a job where the general contractor is checking it stops your payment.

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Ontario, Canada

Every filing date you have, from your year end

Not written as a rule you have to apply. Answer four questions and the obligations that actually bind you come back as dates, with the arithmetic that produced each one.

Your fiscal year end

A sole proprietor is almost always 31 December. A corporation picks its own, and it is on your articles.

How often do you file HST?

QuarterlyMonthlyAnnualNot registered

The default for most contractors between $30,000 and $1.5m in taxable supplies.

Do you pay subcontractors?

YesNo

More than $500 in a year to anyone. This is what puts the T5018 on your list, and it is the filing most solo contractors have never heard of.

Do you have employees on payroll?

YesNo

People on a T4, not subcontractors on an invoice. Four more obligations follow from a yes.

Day your WSIB clearance was issued

Optional. Gives you the expiry date, which is the one a general contractor checks before they release your money.

HST return and payment due
In 70 days
Oct 30, 2026
The return and the money go together. The tax on a holdback you have not been paid yet is the one people get wrong, and it is the one that turns a good month into an assessment.
Counted as 1 month after the quarter ending 2026-09-30.
Excise Tax Act s.238
T5018 contract payment slips due
Not counted yet
A business with more than half its income from construction reports what it paid every subcontractor. The penalty is per slip, so a handful of subs is a real number.
enter your fiscal year end
Income Tax Regulations s.238

Your year end moves two of these and none of the rest

The T5018 and an annual HST period follow your fiscal year. T4s, the WSIB reconciliation and the EHT return are fixed to the calendar. A contractor with an August year end who assumes everything moves together misses the February one every time.

The T5018 penalty is per slip

It is not one late-filing fee. Six subcontractors is six penalties, and the obligation starts the year more than half your income comes from construction, which for most people reading this was the first year.

Questions this page answers

When is the T5018 due?: Six months after the end of your reporting period. It applies to a business with more than half its income from construction that paid subcontractors more than $500, and the penalty runs per slip.
Does my fiscal year end change when my T4s are due?: No. T4 slips, the WSIB reconciliation and the Employer Health Tax return are all fixed to the calendar year. Only the T5018 and an annual HST period move with your fiscal year end.
When is my HST return due?: One month after the end of the reporting period if you file monthly or quarterly. An annual filer follows a different rule, and it also differs between a corporation and an individual.
What happens if payroll remittances are late?: The penalty starts at 3% and climbs with how late the remittance is. It is trust money withheld from your employees rather than your own cash, which is why it is treated more harshly than a late return.
How long is a WSIB clearance certificate valid?: Ninety days from issue. An expired clearance is the same as no clearance to whoever asked for it, and on a job where the general contractor is checking it stops your payment.

Or have the year arrive at you instead of you going to look for it

Set the business up once and these dates live on it: the T5018 counted from your own year end, the HST return from the period you are in, the clearance expiry ninety days after it was issued. You get told before the date rather than after it.

The subcontractors on the T5018 are the ones you already invoiced through the platform, so the slip is built out of the payments rather than out of a shoebox in the spring.

Open the demo business Read the HST and books guide

Where these figures come from

gst_hst_return_offset_months (CA-ON) Published source Last read from the source Aug 12, 2026.
t5018_return_offset_months (CA-ON) Published source Last read from the source Aug 12, 2026.
t4_filing_date (CA-ON) Published source Last read from the source Aug 12, 2026.
payroll_remittance_regular_day (CA-ON) Published source Last read from the source Aug 12, 2026.
wsib_reconciliation_date (CA-ON) Published source Last read from the source Aug 12, 2026.
eht_annual_return_date (CA-ON) Published source Last read from the source Aug 12, 2026.
wsib_clearance_validity_days (CA-ON) Published source Last read from the source Aug 12, 2026.

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HST return and payment due