Year-End Change Impact Calculator
Moving a fiscal year-end creates a period and a return. Enter both dates for its length, its T2 date and what comes after it.
Written and reviewed by Sharad Gondaliya, CPA (Ontario), CPA Ontario Membership 61040184.
Last reviewed: October 29, 2026
Enter both year-ends and the effect appears here.
Gondaliya CPA Professional Corporation is a registered EFILE electronic filer. Returns are prepared and transmitted in Canada. Credentials are never shared and never used offshore.
A Change of Year-End Creates a Period, and a Return
Moving a year-end does not stretch or shrink the year that is already running. It closes a period on the new date, and that period is a tax year of its own with its own return and its own deadline.
So a change from December 31 to June 30 produces a six-month period, a return for it, and then full years ending June 30. The cost of the change is that extra return, at $300.00 plus HST per tax year.
| How a year-end moves | What creates the period | Approval needed |
|---|---|---|
| An approved change | The new date closes a period early | Written approval from the Canada Revenue Agency |
| An amalgamation | Each predecessor’s year ends the day before | None, the amalgamation sets it |
| A dissolution | The final period ends on the dissolution date | None, the dissolution sets it |
The Approval Is the Part That Is Not Automatic
A fiscal year-end is fixed by the first return filed. Changing it needs the written approval of the Canada Revenue Agency, and the request is made before the change rather than demonstrated by filing.
A return filed carrying a year-end that does not match the record is not read as a change of year-end. It is rejected against the date on record, which means the year is still outstanding and the transmission achieved nothing. The corporate fiscal year end calculator works from the date on record.
The New Date Cannot Be More Than 53 Weeks Out
A tax year cannot exceed 53 weeks, which is 371 days. Where the gap between the current year-end and the proposed one is longer than that, the gap is not a single period and cannot be reported as one.
Reaching a year-end that far out means an intervening year-end first, so two returns rather than one. The calculator says so where the dates you enter have that effect.
A Short Period Does Not Get an Early Deadline
The six-month rule runs from the day the period ends, whatever the period’s length. A two-month stub has six months after it to file, which is three times the period itself.
What a short period does bring forward is the next year-end, and with it the next return. The two T2 returns in one year checker shows how close together two deadlines can land after a change like this.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I change my corporation’s fiscal year-end?
With the written approval of the Canada Revenue Agency. The request is made before the change, and filing a return with a different date on it does not change the year-end on record.
Does changing a year-end mean an extra return?
Usually yes. The change closes a period on the new date and that period is a tax year with its own return, at $300.00 plus HST per tax year.
How long can the period created be?
No longer than 53 weeks, which is 371 days. A gap longer than that is not one tax year and needs an intervening year-end.
When is the return for that period due?
Six months after the day the period ends, moved to the next business day where that falls on a weekend or a public holiday. A short period gets the same six months as a full year.
What happens if I just file on the new date?
The return is rejected against the year-end on record. The year stays outstanding, so nothing has been filed and nothing has been changed.
Nil T2 Filing, $300.00 plus HST per tax year
Type your corporation name, pick your unfiled years, pay, and sign Form T183CORP on a secure screen. Your CRA confirmation is emailed within 3 business days.
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