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To file taxes in Canada, you gather your slips, pick a way to send the return (certified software, a preparer or paper), and submit it by April 30. For income earned in 2025 that date was April 30, 2026, or June 15, 2026 if you were self-employed. Any tax you owed was still due April 30.
Dates for the 2026 return aren’t published yet. Until the CRA posts them, plan around the pattern above and check its due dates page before you rely on it.
What are the steps, start to finish?
- Collect your slips and receipts.
- Pick how you’ll file: software, a preparer, a free clinic or paper.
- Enter your income, then your deductions and credits.
- Read the totals and compare them with a rough estimate.
- Send it, keep the confirmation, and wait for your notice of assessment.
Nothing exotic there. Most of the work is step one.
What do you need before you file taxes?
Slips first. The CRA says to gather them by the end of February, and that means T4s from employers, T4As for pensions and other income, and T5s from banks and investment accounts. If one hasn’t shown up by the end of March, contact whoever issues it.
Then the smaller things people forget. Receipts for anything you plan to claim, your RRSP contribution slips, and last year’s notice of assessment. That notice carries an eight-character NETFILE access code, and your CRA My Account shows it too. You don’t have to use it, but it helps confirm who you are.
Keep the paperwork afterwards. The CRA asks preparers’ clients to keep slips, receipts and signed forms for at least six years, and that’s a sensible habit for everybody.
Keep your tax documents and records for at least six years.
How long should you keep your income tax records?, canada.ca
Which way should you send it?
Most people file online. Here’s how the routes compare, including two that cost nothing.
| Route | Who it suits | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| NETFILE with certified software | Most people who do their own return | Use software on the CRA’s certified list |
| Tax preparer using EFILE | Complicated year, or you want help | The preparer asks for access through Represent a Client |
| SimpleFile | Lower income, simple return | Free CRA service; it opened March 9 in 2026 |
| Free clinic | Modest income, simple situation | Volunteers complete it for you |
| Paper | You can’t file online | Slower than electronic filing |
NETFILE opened for 2025 returns on February 23, 2026. File electronically and pick direct deposit, and the CRA says you’ll usually get your refund faster than by cheque.
What does a real return look like in numbers?
Say you earned $70,000 at a job in Ontario in 2026, and your T4 shows $12,000 of tax withheld (we made that number up for the example). Our income tax calculator puts your total tax at $11,133.91. So the tax refund calculator gives a refund of about $866.
Now add a $5,000 RRSP deduction. Tax falls to $9,651.41 and the refund grows to about $2,349. So it pays to ask which deductions you’ve missed before you file.
Not sure what else you can claim? The tax credits calculator covers federal credits like the age, pension, disability and medical amounts. It doesn’t cover provincial ones.
What happens if you file late?
You pay a penalty of 5% of the balance you owe, plus 1% for each full month you’re late, up to 12 months. Owe $2,000 and file three full months late, and that’s $100 plus $60, so $160, before interest.
If the CRA has already caught you late in earlier years and sent a demand to file, the rate doubles to 10% plus 2% a month. Even if you can’t pay, file on time. Filing late can also hold up benefit and credit payments. The CRA sets out both rates on its interest and penalties page.
On that same $2,000 balance, three full months late with a demand to file on record would be $200 plus $120, so $320 before interest. Double the pain, so it pays to file on time every year.
Do you owe a lot each year? Then you might be making instalments already, and the tax instalments calculator sizes them for you.
Do you have to file if you owe nothing?
Not always, but you probably should. A filed return is how the CRA works out benefit and credit payments, so skipping it can cost you money you were entitled to. If your income is modest, a free volunteer tax clinic can do it for you, and the clinic page on canada.ca explains who they serve.
What are the usual slip-ups?
Forgetting income that arrived without a slip, like tips or cash side work. Missing the self-employed deadline while assuming the payment date moved too. It didn’t. Cutting it fine in the last week of April is the other classic, when every site and every office is jammed at once.
Another one is rushing to file before every slip arrives. You can amend later, but it’s a hassle, so wait for the T5s if you can.
Our sources
Dates, filing methods and the late-filing penalty come from Canada Revenue Agency pages on 2025 due dates, the 2026 tax-filing season and late-filing penalties. The example comes from our 2026 engine using the CRA’s rates and is an estimate. We’re an independent site, and no government body is behind it.
Frequently asked questions
When is the deadline to file taxes?
For 2025 income it was April 30, 2026, or June 15, 2026 if you were self-employed. We couldn't find 2026 return dates yet.
Do I have to pay by June 15 if I'm self-employed?
No. Payment of any balance was still due April 30, 2026. Only the filing date moved.
What is a NETFILE access code?
An eight-character code on your last notice of assessment and in My Account. You don't have to use it, but it helps confirm your identity.
What if a tax slip hasn't arrived?
The CRA says to contact the issuer if you haven't received it by the end of March.
What is the late-filing penalty?
5% of your balance owing plus 1% for each full month, to a maximum of 12 months.
- 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