I figured we’d better go over some due dates, seeing as there’s some confusion amongst a lot of people about when exactly your taxes are due to be paid. Some people think taxes are due at the end of March, and they come to me panicking right away at the beginning of the month thinking that their taxes are due right away. They're not. 

So let's go over the due dates.

If you are a regular personal taxpayer without a business, your taxes are due to be paid and filed by April 30th. This year, it's actually May 2nd because the 30th lands on Saturday. 

If you or your spouse are a sole proprietor or part of a partnership, your taxes are due to be filed by June 15th. However, they're still due to be paid by April 30th. This means that if you don't do your taxes by April 30th, you're not going to know how much you owe and you're going to end up paying some interest if you end up owing.

This can be somewhat confusing, as it seems backwards. I would agree with you that taxes should be due on one date, and then paid either at a later date or on the same day. It’s the same for GST - if you have an annual GST period and you're a sole proprietor or part of a partnership, then your GST return filing is due on June 15th and then due to be paid, just like personal taxes, by April 30th.

This is the reason why my office (and I'm sure the vast majority of other offices) try to get all of their business taxes done by April 30th, and we treat it like we treat it like the regular deadline. How do you pay your taxes if you don't know what you owe? You could always estimate it, but that'll only ever be as good as an estimation can be.

In short, don't panic. You have plenty of time to get your taxes done. Start gathering that information and get yourself organized.