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Most people had until April 30, 2026 to file their 2025 income tax return in Canada. If you or your spouse ran a business, the filing date was June 15, 2026, but any tax owing was still due April 30. You send the return through CRA-certified software, a preparer who files electronically for you, or on paper.
The dates that matter
Here are the dates for the 2025 return, as the CRA lists them.
| Who you are | File by | Pay any balance by |
|---|---|---|
| Most people | April 30, 2026 | April 30, 2026 |
| You or your spouse ran a business | June 15, 2026 | April 30, 2026 |
| Return for someone who died | Different dates apply | Different dates apply |
If a date lands on a weekend or a public holiday, you’re on time if the CRA gets it or it’s postmarked the next business day. The CRA hasn’t published dates for the 2026 return yet, so don’t assume they match. Look at the CRA page in early 2027.
How do you send it?
NETFILE is the service built into certified tax software. The CRA certifies the software each year, and it keeps a list on its site. NETFILE and ReFILE were open from February 23, 2026 until January 29, 2027, so a late return for 2025 can still go this way for now. The CRA describes the service on its NETFILE overview page.
Software prices and free tiers vary by product, and we haven’t verified any. The CRA only says that free versions usually depend on your income or your tax situation, so ask the developer before you start. Or use a preparer certified for EFILE, who sends the return for you. That’s the route when your return has a corporation, rental property or foreign income in it.
What should you gather before you sit down?
You’ll need your social insurance number, last year’s notice of assessment and every slip you received. Slips usually mean T4 for employment income, T5 for investment income and receipts for the RRSP contributions you want to deduct. Add your rent or property tax figures, medical bills and donation receipts if you plan to claim them.
What if a slip hasn’t arrived? Don’t wait around. Use your last pay stub or statement for a rough figure, and check the CRA account for the slip. A quick estimate first tells you whether it matters.
A simple order of attack helps. Collect the slips, run a rough estimate, enter everything in your software, compare the software’s answer to your estimate, then send it. Five steps, and the fourth is the one people skip.
What does a typical return look like?
Take Sam, who lives in Ontario and has $60,000 of employment income. Our income tax calculator gives $8,320.50 of federal and Ontario income tax, so Sam keeps $47,339.75 after tax, CPP and EI. If the employer withheld $9,000, the refund calculator shows a $679.50 refund. That’s $9,000 withheld minus $8,320.50 of tax, a nice little cheque but nothing life-changing.
Bump the income to $85,000 and the tax is $15,551.05, with $5,769.52 going to CPP and EI. Why bother running your own figures first? Because if the software’s answer is far from ours, one of you has a wrong number, so find out which.
What if you file late, or can’t pay?
File anyway. The CRA ties late returns to interest, penalties and delayed benefits such as the GST/HST credit and the Canada child benefit. We haven’t listed the penalty rates on this page, since we couldn’t confirm them in a form we’d stand behind. If you can’t pay in full, file on time and deal with the payment separately.
Self-employed people often get caught here. The June 15 date gives you extra weeks to file, but interest on a balance still runs from April 30. The self-employed tax calculator shows what to set aside, and it includes both halves of CPP. It leaves out EI and GST/HST.
One more habit worth having at tax time: save a PDF of the finished return and the confirmation you get after sending it. If a question comes up a year later, you’ll have both in one folder instead of hunting through your inbox.
Which mistakes are worth a second look?
Which mistake costs the most? Missed credits. Our calculators don’t include every claim, so check the tax credits calculator for the federal ones, then read your province’s list, because a claim you skip is money you don’t get back. Numbers copied wrong from a slip come a close second, and a slip entered twice isn’t far behind.
Keep the receipts you claimed. You may need them if the CRA asks. If you’re not sure how long to hold on to them, the CRA’s record-keeping page points to its guidance on where to keep records and for how long.
Where did these dates come from?
Due dates and NETFILE dates come from Canada Revenue Agency pages for the 2025 tax-filing season. Tax figures come from our calculators, which use 2026 federal and Ontario rates. No level of government runs or endorses this site.
Frequently asked questions
When is the deadline to file an income tax return?
For the 2025 return it was April 30, 2026 for most people, and June 15, 2026 if you or your spouse ran a business. Tax owing was still due April 30.
Are the 2026 return dates out yet?
We couldn't find them on a CRA page, so we haven't listed any. Check the CRA site early in 2027.
What if I file after the deadline?
File anyway. The CRA links late returns to interest, penalties and delays to benefits like the GST/HST credit.
Do I have to use paid software?
No. The CRA says many products offer a free version depending on your income or situation, so ask the developer what yours covers.
Can I still send a 2025 return electronically?
Yes for now. NETFILE and ReFILE stay open until January 29, 2027 according to the CRA.
- 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