QuickBooks Online year-end guide

It's a good idea to perform certain year-end tasks with your financial records at the end of the calendar year. Some of the tasks are just good financial housekeeping, while others are required by the government. Fortunately, you can spread the tasks over the period from December to February.

This year-end guide outlines information about the tasks to perform each month, as well as employee-related tasks for the end of the year.

Reminders for tax filing

Here are some considerations to keep in mind as you head into tax filing season:

• CPP2 and QPP2: In 2024, an additional maximum pensionable earnings named CPP2 and QPP2 was introduced. Employees and employers need to make additional contributions after an employee earns above the first earnings ceiling.
• Canadian Dental Care Plan: The Canadian Dental Care Plan requires employers to report dental coverage details on T4s and T4As.
• New electronic filing requirements: If you’re filing six or more tax slips of the same type, you’ll need to file electronically on the CRA or Revenu Québec website.
• New electronic filing requirements for Revenu Québec: To file RL-1s electronically, you'll need a Transmitter Number and a range of Sequential Numbers from Revenu Québec set in your payroll settings.
• Download RL-1s as XML files from QuickBooks: Starting in mid-January, download RL-1 slips as XML files from QuickBooks so you can submit them electronically to Revenu Québec. This capability is already available for T4s.

Are you using QuickBooks Desktop? You can review our year-end guide for QuickBooks Desktop here.

Preparing for a new calendar year

Review the following details and make any updates before your first payroll of the new calendar year:

• If your workers’ comp rates have changed, update it in your payroll settings.
• If your remittance schedule has changed, update it in your payroll settings.
• If you have employees with a custom withholding amount for income tax, remind them to complete a new TD1 form (TP-1015.3 forms for QC). Forms will automatically be updated for employees with the standard amount.

Tasks by month

• December tasks
• January tasks
• February tasks
• Payroll tasks
• Dates to remember

December tasks

December is a good time to:

• Create and send customer statements
• Perform an inventory count
• Make profit distributions (only for corporations)
• Adjust payroll (this should be done in December regardless of your fiscal year)
• Start preparing for tax time with your accountant

For more information about December's end-of-year tasks, see What to do in December.

January tasks

January is when you should:

• Reconcile your accounts
• Prepare summary reports
• File sales tax
• Validate capital purchases and disposals
• Close your books for the previous calendar year

If you haven't already done so, it's also a good time to get in touch with your accountant and talk about preparing for tax time.

To view tasks to perform in January, see What to do in January.

February tasks

The bulk of your year-end work should be complete by February, with just a task or two to finish up and prepare for taxes.

• Prepare tax slips for your employees
• Connect with an accountant if you haven't done so

For information about tasks to perform in February, see What to do in February.

Payroll tasks

If you have employees (not independent consultants or contractors), there are additional tasks you should complete at the end of the year, along with additional government forms to file and deadlines to meet.

• If you use standard QuickBooks Online Payroll, you can access information about year-end payroll tasks in QuickBooks Online by selecting Payroll from the left menu, then selecting Payroll year-end guide.
• If you use QuickBooks Desktop, review the QuickBooks Desktop Payroll year-end checklist.
• If you use a different payroll provider, it's important that you consult them for items and forms to complete for the end of the year.

Review these important direct deposit cut-off dates as you plan your year-end payroll work.

* Payroll should be dated on the preceding business day, because the payroll date listed falls on either a weekend or a holiday.

Dates to remember

As you work through your year-end plan, don't forget these important dates for your T4 and RL-1 forms.

• January 1, 2025: T4s and RL-1s are available in QuickBooks Online Payroll.
• January 13, 2025: Electronic filing options are available online with Canada Revenue Agency and Revenu Québec.
• February 29, 2025: The deadline to export your T4 file from QuickBooks Online Payroll and submit T4s and RL-1s with the CRA and Revenue Quebec. You also must provide your employees a copy for their own records, which they use to do their personal income tax. These can be sent to your employees through the QuickBooks Workforce portal.