Do you have your checklist?To help make things easy, we've gathered everything you need to do into one handy checklist. |
In this article, we'll provide a list of important dates and deadlines, and outline the things to do to prepare for Year-End, such as:
- Review important dates
- Schedule a year-end meeting with stakeholders (IT, HR, Finance)
- Update Payroll Tax Remittance Frequency to avoid fines
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Confirm all taxable Benefits, Deductions, and Income Types have been set up accurately
- Add any manual cheques to Payroll, so they’re included on the T4
Part 1 - Review Important Dates
One of the best things you can do to prepare for a successful year-end is to review all important payroll dates and deadlines.
This is an important step because statutory holidays can impact and overlap run-by deadlines, and since many people take extra time off around holidays, that can further alter timelines.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Thursday, December 21, 2023 | Run Payroll by 4:30 pm EST for payment on Friday, December 29, 2023. If you require a deadline extension, submit a ticket to our support team. |
| Friday, December 22, 2023 |
If your business has three days to process payroll, or you’ve been granted a Payroll deadline extension, run Payroll by 4:30 pm EST for direct deposit on Friday, December 29, 2023. ❗No further extensions are possible for 3-day processing to ensure direct deposit on December 29. Humi’s Payroll Support team will be available to assist with time-sensitive payroll inquiries until 5:00 pm EST. |
| Monday, December 25, 2023 | Christmas Day holiday observed - all banks closed. The Humi office is closed. |
| Tuesday, December 26, 2023 | Boxing Day holiday observed - all banks closed. The Humi office is closed. |
| First week of January | The CRA typically opens internet filing for T4s and T4 summaries in early January. |
| Monday, January 1, 2024 | New Year’s Day holiday observed - all banks closed. The Humi office is closed. Humi’s Year-End Adjustment tool is available in-app for the 2023 tax year. |
| Wednesday, January 10, 2024 | Humi’s T4 generation tool is available in-app for the 2023 tax year. |
| February 25th, 2024, at 11:59 pm EST | Last day to submit T4s through Humi for automatic filing to the CRA on your behalf. |
| Thursday, February 29, 2024 | Deadline to file T4 slips and summaries with the CRA. |
| Wednesday, May 1, 2024 | Employees' personal tax returns should be filed by this date. |
Understanding Cheque Dates
The cheque date of a pay period determines the tax year the pay period will be included in.
For example, a pay period that runs from December 1 to 31, 2023, with a cheque date of December 31, 2023, will be included in T4s for 2023. However, if that same pay period had a cheque date of January 2, 2024, it would be included in T4s for 2024.
Part 2 - Schedule a year-end meeting with stakeholders (IT, HR, Finance)
Meeting with IT, HR, and Finance stakeholders to educate them on the payroll year-end process will help set you up for a smoother year-end.
Since every organization is different, we can't tell you exactly what to talk about, but this meeting should help them understand how they can help, and provide a timeline of events that may impact their roles.
Part 3 - Update your Payroll Tax Remittance Frequency to avoid fines
The CRA determines when you must pay (remit) payroll source deductions as an employer.
Humi Tip
It's normally based on your average monthly withholding amount (AMWA) from two calendar years ago.
| Remitter Type | Remitting Frequency | Average Monthly Withholding Amount (AMWA) |
| Quarterly remitters (New small employers) | Quarterly | Not based on AMWA. The monthly withholding amount is zero to $999.99 and you have a perfect compliance history. |
| Quarterly remitters (Account opened for 12 months or longer) | Quarterly | From zero to $2999.99 and you have a perfect compliance history. |
| Regular remitters | Monthly | From zero to $24,999.99 |
| Threshold 1 accelerated remitters | Up to twice a month | From $25,000 to $99,999.99 |
| Threshold 2 accelerated remitters | Up to four times a month | $100,000.00 or more |
Where to View Your Remitter Type
You can view your Remitter Type through CRA's My Business Account, and be sure to update your Remitter Type in Humi if it has changed for 2023.
Part 4 - Confirm all taxable Benefits, Deductions, and Income Types have been set up accurately
Reviewing your Benefit, Deduction, and Income Types within Humi Payroll is simple. All you have to do is click on it to quickly see how the tax is set up.
How to review the tax setup for benefits, deductions and income types in Payroll:
In this example, we'll describe how to check the tax setup for your benefits, however, the steps are exactly the same for reviewing deductions and income types, respectively.
- In Payroll, click on the Benefits & Deductions tab and select Benefits from the dropdown.
- On the Benefits page, click on the benefit you want to review.
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The section on the right shows how the benefit tax is set up.
Use these links for more information on Benefits and Deductions and Income Types.
Part 5 - Add any manual cheques to Payroll so they’re included on the T4
If you've paid an employee manually (i.e. outside of the payroll system) and that amount is required to be on the T4, you must add it before year-end.
To do this, please submit a support ticket to Humi’s support team.