Closing a business: the final payroll remittance may be due before the usual date

Check the closure rule before using the normal schedule

CRA's employer guide sets a seven-day remittance requirement for the withheld CPP contributions, EI premiums and income tax of former employees when the business ends. An ordinary monthly or quarterly calendar entry should not be assumed to cover that special event.

Confirm the actual end date and circumstances with the payroll preparer. A temporary pause in seasonal payroll and a business closure are different situations, and other final obligations may also apply.

Prepare the closing payroll package

• Confirm the last payroll, final amounts and the business end date.
• Reconcile deductions, employer amounts and payments already made.
• Identify the applicable final remittance and reporting instructions.
• Coordinate final information slips and employee documentation.
• Retain payment, submission and account-closure evidence.

Use the current official instructions for the relevant filings rather than waiting automatically for the next ordinary annual slip deadline. Ask which remaining steps must be finished before requesting account closure.

Keep each confirmation distinct

A final bank transfer does not establish that information returns were submitted. A request to close an account does not establish that every return and balance has been processed. Keep the correspondence and check unresolved items through the official account or adviser.

Understand the calendar’s scope during a closure

Compliance Calendar organizes ordinary recurring obligations from the business profile. It does not automatically create special business-closure deadlines or close CRA accounts. Track the confirmed event-specific dates in your planning system, use notes against related tasks where useful, and review the profile only after the relevant obligations are understood.