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Efile in Canada comes in two forms. With NETFILE you send your own return using CRA-certified software. With EFILE a registered preparer sends it for you. For the 2025 tax year both were open until 29 January 2027, but the payment deadline was still April 30, 2026.
Is NETFILE the same as EFILE?
No, and people mix them up all the time. The names differ by one letter and the CRA runs them side by side. The difference is who presses the button.
| Service | Who sends the return | What you need | 2025 return window |
|---|---|---|---|
| NETFILE | You | Certified software and your SIN | 23 February 2026 to 29 January 2027 |
| EFILE | An approved preparer | Your slips, receipts and a signed declaration | 23 February 2026 to 29 January 2027 |
If your taxes are plain, NETFILE is usually enough. If you have a business, a death in the family or several foreign accounts, a preparer using EFILE may be less stressful.
What happens when a preparer files for you?
The CRA’s page on using a professional tax preparer says certified preparers file through EFILE, and that you sign Part F of Form T183, the declaration and authorization. The information on the T183 has to match the electronic return, so read it before you sign. Picture Priya in Surrey handing her slips to a preparer in March: the preparer does the keying, but her signature on the T183 is what lets the return go out under her SIN.
Who can’t use NETFILE?
The CRA lists some returns it won’t take this way. You can’t use it for a deceased person’s return or a bankruptcy return. It also turns away claims for scientific research expenses and foreign tax credits from more than three countries. Quebec residents send their provincial return to Revenu Quebec, so they file two returns, not one.
Check the full list on the CRA’s NETFILE page before you buy any software, because finding out halfway through a return that your situation isn’t accepted is a waste of an evening.
Not sure? Ask a preparer.
When do you have to file?
Most people file and pay by April 30. If you or your spouse ran a business in 2025, the filing date moves to June 15, but any balance owing is still due April 30. When a date lands on a weekend or holiday, the next business day counts.
Being late costs more than the deadline suggests. The CRA says filing by April 30 keeps benefit payments such as the Canada child benefit from being disrupted. The GST/HST credit follows the same logic, though it was renamed the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit in July 2026. Filing on time with a balance you can’t pay beats filing late.
What does a typical efile refund look like?
Take an Ontario employee earning $60,000. The income tax calculator puts federal and Ontario tax at $8,320.50, with $4,339.75 of CPP and EI on top. Suppose the employer withheld $10,000 through the year. The refund is $1,679.50, a decent chunk of change at tax time.
Had only $8,000 come off, you’d owe $320.50. You can try your own numbers in the tax refund calculator. It only counts basic credits, so a real refund can be larger if you have donations, tuition or medical costs.
Want to lower the bill? A $5,000 RRSP deduction cuts taxable income by the same amount, and the RRSP calculator shows what that money could become. The tax credits calculator covers the federal credits you might have missed, though it’s federal only.
What goes wrong when people file online?
Most problems are boring. A slip turns up in March after the return has already gone in, or a box number lands in the wrong field, or a claim is entered with no receipt anywhere in the shoebox.
Keep your slips and receipts. The CRA asks you to hold them for six years, and it can ask to see them after you’ve filed. If you use a preparer, you still read the return and sign the declaration, so it’s your name on the numbers.
Does a paid product change your tax? No. Software does the arithmetic, and it can’t create a credit you don’t qualify for, however many tiers it has. No product’s price or features were confirmed from an official source, so check each provider’s own page.
Where does this information come from?
Filing dates and service windows come from the Canada Revenue Agency pages for the 2025 return, read in October 2026. Tax figures in the examples use the 2026 federal and Ontario rates in our calculators. This site isn’t a government service and doesn’t speak for one.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between NETFILE and EFILE?
With NETFILE you send your own return using certified software. With EFILE an approved preparer sends it for you.
Until when can I efile a 2025 return?
The CRA kept NETFILE and EFILE open until 29 January 2027 for 2025 returns. Any balance owing was still due April 30, 2026.
Can I efile if I ran a business?
Yes. Your filing date is June 15, but you must still pay any balance by April 30.
Do I need to send my receipts?
You don't send them with the return, but you should keep them for six years in case the CRA asks.
Can Quebec residents efile both returns at once?
Not through NETFILE. The CRA says Quebec residents file the provincial return with Revenu Québec.
- How to file your tax return in Canada: steps and dates
What to gather, when your return is due and how to file in Canada, from the first slip to the notice of assessment that closes the year