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Books behind? What to fix before December 31, and what can wait
Plan your expenses and deductions strategically each year
Timing is a lever. When you buy equipment, pay a bonus, or make an RRSP contribution changes what you can deduct and when — and the best moves are made before your year-end closes, not in the scramble afterward. Reviewing your position mid-year is what keeps those options open.
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Maintain accurate and organized financial records for easy reporting
Reconciled every month, your books are filing-ready and cheaper to prepare. Rebuilt in a hurry from a shoebox of receipts, they produce a number that's wrong often enough to matter — missed credits, personal expenses left in, transfers coded as revenue. Keep bank, credit-card, and HST records current as you go.
Talk to a tax professional for expert guidance
Software reports what happened; it won't tell you what to do about it. A specialist who knows your business structure can flag changes to your instalments, the small business deduction, and your salary-versus-dividend mix while there's still time to act — before the return is filed, not after.
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Personalized Marketing: AI helps in analyzing customer data to create personalized marketing campaigns
The point is simple: the earlier you look, the more you can change. A review done mid-year gives every decision two quarters to work — the same review in filing season is just a report on choices already made.
“A mid-year review isn't more paperwork. It's the chance to change your tax bill while you still can — deliberately, with the numbers in front of you.”
Use accounting and tax software to make management easier
The right tools cut the manual work — automatic bank feeds, digital receipts, and built-in GST/HST tracking. Paired with a monthly review, the numbers start driving decisions instead of just piling up. We set this up and keep it running as part of every engagement.
It is November, your books stopped somewhere around spring, and the year is almost over. The usual reaction is to try to fix all of it at once, or to put the whole thing off until tax season.
Neither works well. Most of the catch-up can wait until January. A few things cannot, because December 31 closes them: once the year ends, the choice is gone or the cost is already locked in.
This guide splits the work in two. First, the short list you deal with before December 31. Then, the longer list that can safely wait, with the real deadline for each.
Quick answer: My books are months behind. What do I have to do before December 31? Not everything. Before December 31, focus on the items the calendar closes. Get a rough year-to-date profit figure so you can make decisions on real numbers. Pay your December 15 instalment if the CRA has asked you for instalments. Check whether your sales have passed the $30,000 GST/HST small supplier threshold, because registration has its own 29-day clock. If you are incorporated and want to pay yourself a salary for 2026, it has to run through payroll before the year ends. And collect the details you will need for T4 or T4A slips, which are due by the end of February. The detailed work, such as sorting every transaction, matching receipts and final reconciliations, can be done in January, as long as it is finished before your filing deadlines.
Why December 31 Matters Even If Your Deadlines Are Later
Most filing deadlines for 2026 fall in 2027. Self-employed people file their 2026 return by June 15, 2027, but any balance owing is due April 30, 2027. A corporation files within six months of its year-end.
So why rush? Because some decisions can only be made inside the year. A salary paid in January counts for next year, not this one. A threshold you crossed in July does not wait for your accountant to notice it in April. December 31 is not when the paperwork is due. It is when some of your options stop.
Fix These Before December 31
- Get a rough profit figure for the year so far. It does not have to be perfect. Total your sales from your bank deposits and invoices, and your main expenses from your statements. A number that is roughly right lets you decide on instalments, owner pay and purchases. With no number at all, you are guessing.
- Pay the December 15 instalment, if you have been asked for instalments. Individuals who pay by instalments have four due dates: March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15. December 15, 2026 is a Tuesday. If you missed earlier ones, paying what you can now reduces the interest that keeps building on the shortfall.
- Check your sales against the $30,000 GST/HST threshold. You stop being a small supplier when your taxable sales pass $30,000 in one calendar quarter, or over four consecutive quarters. From that point you generally have to charge GST/HST and register within 29 days. Behind books are the main reason people find this out months late, and the tax they should have charged then comes out of their own pocket.
- If you are incorporated, decide on a 2026 salary now. Salary is paid through payroll, with source deductions sent to the CRA by the 15th of the month after you pay it. A salary for 2026 has to actually be paid in 2026. Dividends work differently, so if salary is part of your plan, that decision cannot wait for your year-end bookkeeping.
- Collect the details for any slips you will have to issue. T4 and T4A slips are due by the last day of February. In 2027 that is a Sunday, so the next business day, Monday March 1, applies. You need each person's name, address and amounts paid. Gathering them now is easier than chasing people in February.
- Know your owner draws. If you are incorporated and took money out of the company during the year, write down how much and when. Money taken out that is not recorded as salary or a dividend sits as a shareholder loan, and leaving it unsorted for too long can make it taxable personal income.
What Can Wait Until January
This is the bulk of a catch-up, and none of it is closed by December 31. It still has to be done before you file, and it is easier when the year is complete.
- Sorting every transaction. Putting each expense in the right category for the months that were missed.
- Matching receipts to bank and card lines. Finding the invoice or receipt behind each business purchase.
- Reconciling every account. Checking your books match each bank and credit card statement, month by month, up to December.
- Year-end adjustments. Equipment and other assets, amounts you owe or are owed at year-end, and anything split between personal and business use.
- Your fourth-quarter GST/HST return. If you file quarterly, the October to December return is due one month after the quarter ends. January 31, 2027 is a Sunday, so the next business day applies, but plan to file the week before.
One rule applies to all of it: keep the records. The CRA requires business records to be kept for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to, and you must be able to show them if asked.
What It Costs to Get the Order Wrong
Most of these costs come from treating the two lists the same way: either everything waits, or nothing gets finished.
- Personal return filed late with a balance owing. A penalty of 5% of the balance owing, plus 1% for each full month late, up to 12 months. File on time even if you cannot pay the full amount.
- Instalments not paid, or paid short. Interest on the shortfall from each due date. Pay what you can by December 15 so interest runs on less.
- GST/HST threshold passed but not noticed. You can owe the GST/HST you should have charged, without having collected it from customers. Check your sales by quarter before December 31.
- Salary planned but not paid through payroll by December 31. The salary cannot count for 2026, so that option is gone for the year. Decide in November and run it through payroll in December.
- Payroll deductions sent late. A penalty of 3% to 10% of the late amount, depending on how late it is. Remit by the 15th of the month after you pay.
- Owner draws left unrecorded. The balance can become taxable personal income if it is not repaid or sorted out in time. Record draws now and settle the balance with your year-end.
- Return filed on estimates to meet a deadline. Corrections later, and interest back to the original due date if you underpaid. Finish the January catch-up, then file.
Confirm current rates, thresholds, and deadlines at canada.ca before calculating against them.
If You Cannot Do Even the Short List
Start with the profit figure. Every other item on the short list depends on it, and a rough one takes an afternoon with your bank statements.
If the December 15 instalment is out of reach, pay part of it. Interest runs on whatever is unpaid, so a partial payment still helps. Then book the catch-up for January, while the year is still fresh, rather than leaving it for April.
How Count myAccount Handles This
- Count myAccount assigns your file to a bookkeeping expert who sorts out what has to happen before December 31 and what can wait.
- We build a rough year-to-date profit figure from your bank and card statements, so your December decisions run on real numbers.
- We check your sales by quarter against the GST/HST threshold and tell you if registration is due.
- For incorporated owners, we work out whether a 2026 salary makes sense and run it through payroll before the year closes.
- We catch up the rest of the year in January, reconcile every account, and have your books ready before your filing deadlines.
- We keep your books monthly after that, so next November is a review, not a rescue.
Books behind and December 31 getting close? Book a free consultation at countmyaccount.ca. Tell us roughly how many months are missing, whether you are incorporated, and whether you collect GST/HST. We will tell you what has to happen before December 31, what can wait, and what it costs for Count myAccount to catch you up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do my books have to be up to date by December 31?
No. There is no CRA deadline for bookkeeping on December 31. Your books need to be complete before you file, and your filing deadlines fall in 2027. What December 31 closes are certain decisions, such as paying a salary for 2026 through payroll, and some deadlines fall just before it, such as the December 15 instalment. Deal with those first and catch up the rest in January.
When is my 2026 return due if I am self-employed?
If you or your spouse or common-law partner carried on a business in 2026, your return is due June 15, 2027. Any balance owing is still due April 30, 2027, and interest runs from that date. Filing in June does not delay the payment, so work out what you owe before April 30.
How do I know if I have passed the $30,000 GST/HST threshold?
Add up your taxable sales by calendar quarter. If they passed the CRA's $30,000 threshold in a single quarter, or over the last four quarters together, you are no longer a small supplier and generally have to charge GST/HST and register within 29 days. The exact date you must start depends on which test you passed. Confirm the rules at canada.ca before relying on a figure.
How far back do I need records for?
The CRA requires business records to be kept for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to. For a catch-up, that means every receipt, invoice and statement for the missing months, kept in a form you can produce if the CRA asks.
Can I file my return without catching up my books?
You can file on estimates, but a return built on guesses usually needs correcting later. If the correction shows you underpaid, interest runs back to the original due date. Catching up in January and filing on real numbers is almost always cheaper than filing in a rush and fixing it afterwards.
How much does Count myAccount charge to catch up my books?
Catch-up work depends on how many months are missing and how messy they are, so Count myAccount scopes it at intake and confirms the price in writing before any work starts. Ongoing monthly bookkeeping is a flat monthly package, priced by your revenue and number of transactions, and business returns are a flat fee per return. Current package prices are on our business pricing page.
