To file your CRA income tax forms, pick the return that matches your situation (most individuals use the T1 General), collect your tax slips and receipts, and submit electronically through certified NETFILE software or by mail to your assigned tax centre before the deadline. For the 2025 tax year, personal returns and any balance owing are due April 30, 2026.1Canada Revenue Agency. The Tax-Filing Deadline Is Almost Here: Last-Minute Tips to Help You File Before April 30th!
Which CRA Form You Need
The right starting point depends on who is filing and what kind of income is involved.
Individuals use the T1 General to report worldwide income and claim deductions, credits, and benefit entitlements for the tax year. The CRA uses your T1 to calculate what you owe or your refund, and it feeds eligibility for programs like the Canada Child Benefit and the GST/HST credit.2Canada Revenue Agency. Get a T1 Income Tax Package
If you earn business or professional income, add Form T2125, Statement of Business or Professional Activities, to your T1. It’s where you report gross revenue and deduct allowable business expenses, using only the business portion of any mixed-use costs.3Canada Revenue Agency. Expenses Section of Form T2125
Corporations file a T2 return each tax year, including non-profits, tax-exempt entities, and inactive companies, and whether or not tax is payable.4Canada Revenue Agency. Corporation Income Tax Return For tax years starting after 2023, electronic filing is mandatory for most corporations.5Canada Revenue Agency. Completing Your Corporation Income Tax (T2) Return
Other common forms cover specific situations:
- RC66 applies for the Canada Child Benefit and simultaneously registers your children for the GST/HST credit, the climate action incentive payment, and related provincial or territorial programs.6Canada Revenue Agency. RC66 Canada Child Benefit Application Includes Federal, Provincial, and Territorial Programs
- TD1 Personal Tax Credits Return is what your employer asks you to complete when you start a new job or want to change how much tax is withheld. There is a federal TD1 and a separate provincial or territorial version, and you typically fill out both.7Canada Revenue Agency. Get the Completed TD1 Forms From the Individual
- T3 Trust Income Tax and Information Return is required annually from resident express trusts that aren’t on the CRA’s listed-trust exclusion. Other trusts file only when specific conditions apply, such as having tax payable, disposing of capital property, or allocating more than $100 of income to any single beneficiary. Most trusts required to file also complete Schedule 15 with beneficial ownership information.8Canada Revenue Agency. Filing a Trust’s T3 Return
- GST/HST registration is required once a business’s worldwide taxable supplies exceed $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters or in a single quarter. If you cross the threshold within one quarter, you must charge GST/HST on the very supply that pushed you over. Businesses under the threshold can register voluntarily to claim input tax credits.9Canada Revenue Agency. When to Register for and Start Charging the GST/HST
What to Gather Before You File
Every individual filer needs a nine-digit Social Insurance Number. Business entities file under a 15-character Business Number that combines the nine-digit BN itself, a two-letter program code identifying the account type (for example, “RC” for corporate income tax or “RP” for payroll), and a four-digit reference number.10Canada Revenue Agency. What Is a Payroll Deductions Account
Gather your tax slips before entering anything on the return. Employers issue T4 slips for employment income, financial institutions issue T5 slips for investment income, and T3 slips report trust allocations. Most slips arrive by the end of February, though T3 and T5013 slips may not arrive until late March. If a slip is missing, you can view copies through CRA My Account once the issuer has reported them.11Canada Revenue Agency. Get a Copy of Your Slips
Collect receipts for every deduction or credit you plan to claim: childcare, medical costs, charitable donations, moving expenses, RRSP contributions, and similar items. Keep records of any instalments you paid during the year, and keep all supporting documents for at least six years after the tax year they relate to, even when you file online and don’t have to attach them. The CRA can ask for those records any time inside that window.12Canada Revenue Agency. How Long Should You Keep Your Income Tax Records?
Before you transmit anything, confirm that your mailing address and direct deposit details in CRA My Account are current. Outdated information delays refunds and can cause you to miss benefit payments and notices.
Deadlines
Most individuals must file their T1 and pay any balance owing by April 30 of the year following the tax year. For the 2025 tax year, that date is April 30, 2026. Self-employed individuals and their spouses or common-law partners get until June 15, 2026, to file, but any tax owed is still due April 30. Missing the payment date triggers interest even if the return itself isn’t due yet.
Corporations follow a different schedule. A T2 is due six months after the fiscal year-end, whether or not tax is owed. The corporate payment deadline is generally two or three months after the fiscal year-end, depending on the corporation’s size and status.
How to File
NETFILE for Individuals
NETFILE sends your personal return directly to the CRA through certified tax software. The service opened for the 2025 tax year on February 23, 2026, and remains open until January 29, 2027.13Canada Revenue Agency. Find Certified Tax Software Several certified products exist, and many offer free versions for filers with modest income or simple returns. Once your return goes through, you get a confirmation number and can watch its status in CRA My Account.14Canada Revenue Agency. NETFILE – Tax Software for Filing Personal Taxes
EFILE for Tax Professionals
Preparers who file for clients use EFILE. Access requires a one-time online application (no fee), a Represent a Client (RepID) identifier, and a suitability screening. Once approved, you receive an EFILE number and password that you renew annually. The client must sign Form T183 before the return is transmitted.15Canada Revenue Agency. Apply for EFILE
Paper Filing
Paper returns go to the tax centre assigned to your province or territory:
- Winnipeg Tax Centre: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories, Yukon, and parts of Ontario (Hamilton, Kitchener, Waterloo, London, Thunder Bay, and Windsor areas).
- Sudbury Tax Centre: Atlantic provinces, Nunavut, parts of Ontario (Barrie, Belleville, Kingston, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Sudbury, and Toronto areas), and parts of Quebec (Montréal, Outaouais, and Sherbrooke).
- Jonquière Tax Centre: All other areas of Quebec.
Full mailing addresses, including for non-residents, are on the CRA’s “Where to mail your paper T1 return” page.16Canada Revenue Agency. Where to Mail Your Paper T1 Return Sending your return to the wrong centre adds processing time.
Completing the T1
Report total income from every source (employment, self-employment, investments, pensions, and any other earnings) before deductions. That’s your gross income. Net income is what remains after allowable deductions like RRSP contributions, union dues, and childcare expenses. Net income drives most benefit calculations, so accuracy affects your CCB, GST/HST credit, and other entitlements.
Credits go on separate lines further down. Line 30000 is the basic personal amount, which for 2026 ranges from $14,829 to $16,452 federally depending on your net income.17Canada Revenue Agency. T4032 Payroll Deductions Tables – General Information Other common credits — the age amount, pension income amount, disability amount, and tuition — each have their own designated lines.18Canada Revenue Agency. Line 30000 – Basic Personal Amount
After You File
The CRA aims to process 95% of electronically filed returns within four weeks and 95% of paper returns within eight weeks.19Canada Revenue Agency. Check CRA Processing Times Paper returns sometimes take up to 12 weeks, especially during peak season or if the return is pulled for review.20Canada Revenue Agency. Filing a Paper Tax Return When processing is done, the CRA sends a Notice of Assessment (NOA) summarizing your calculated tax, any refund, or the balance you still owe.21Canada Revenue Agency. Notices of Assessment – NOA or NOR – Personal Income Tax
Paying What You Owe
If the return or NOA shows a balance owing, pay by April 30 to avoid interest. The CRA accepts several payment methods:22Canada Revenue Agency. Make a Payment – Payments to the CRA
- Online banking, by adding “CRA” as a payee and using your SIN as the account number. Payments typically credit the same or next business day.
- CRA My Payment, which accepts Interac Debit, Visa Debit, and Debit Mastercard (no credit cards) with immediate confirmation.
- Pre-authorized debit through CRA My Account for one-time or recurring payments. Schedule it at least five business days before the withdrawal date.
- In person at a bank or credit union counter or ATM.
- At any Canada Post outlet with debit or cash, using a QR code from your remittance voucher or generated online. Service fees apply.
- By mail with a cheque in Canadian funds payable to the Receiver General for Canada.
Interest on overdue balances compounds daily. For the second quarter of 2026, the prescribed interest rate on overdue taxes is 7%.23Canada Revenue Agency. Interest Rates for the Second Calendar Quarter The rate is updated quarterly, so check the CRA’s prescribed-rates page if you’re paying later in the year.
If You File Late
Filing after the deadline when you owe money triggers an automatic penalty of 5% of the unpaid tax, plus 1% for each full month the return remains outstanding, up to 12 months.24Justice Laws Website. Income Tax Act RSC 1985 c 1 (5th Supp) – Section 162 Repeat late filers face stiffer consequences: if the CRA penalized you for late filing in any of the three preceding years and issued a formal demand to file, the initial penalty doubles to 10% and the monthly charge rises to 2% for up to 20 months.25Canada Revenue Agency. Interest and Penalties on Late Taxes – Personal Income Tax Filing the return, even without paying in full, stops the monthly portion of the penalty from growing.
Fixing a Return After You File
If you spot an error or forgot to claim a credit, you have three ways to request an adjustment:
- Change My Return in CRA My Account under “Tax returns.” Pick the tax year, make the changes, save the confirmation number. Available for returns back to 2016.
- ReFILE, if you originally filed through NETFILE or EFILE. Your certified software retransmits the corrected return. ReFILE works for returns from 2021 onward.
- Form T1-ADJ, the paper T1 Adjustment Request, mailed to your tax centre.
Online adjustments through Change My Return or ReFILE typically process within two weeks. Paper requests take roughly eight weeks, though the CRA warns that complex cases or heavy volume can stretch the wait to 45 weeks.26Canada Revenue Agency. Changing a Tax Return – Personal Income Tax Some situations, including bankruptcy returns, returns filed with the wrong province of residence, and certain non-resident returns, can’t be amended through the online tools and need the paper form or a call to the CRA.27Canada Revenue Agency. T1 Adjustment Requesta>
If You’re a U.S. Citizen Living in Canada
Filing your CRA forms does not end your U.S. tax obligations. American citizens and green card holders in Canada must file a U.S. return in addition to their Canadian T1, because the United States taxes its citizens on worldwide income regardless of residence. All amounts on the U.S. return are reported in U.S. dollars.28Internal Revenue Service. U.S. Citizens and Residents Abroad – Filing Requirements A foreign tax credit on Form 1116 offsets income tax paid to the CRA, and separate reporting (FinCEN Report 114 and possibly Form 8938) can apply to foreign accounts and assets above set thresholds.29Internal Revenue Service. Foreign Tax Credit