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Tax information in Canada comes down to three dates and a set of 2026 rates. For the 2025 return, most people had to file and pay by 30 April 2026, and self-employed people could file by 15 June 2026 (any balance was still due in April). The tax on 2026 income is worked out with federal brackets that start at 14% and top out at 33%.
What tax information do you need to file?
Start with your slips. Employers, banks and benefit programs send them, and the CRA tells filers to keep all receipts and supporting papers for business income too. Add your last notice of assessment if you have it, your Social Insurance Number, and receipts for anything you plan to claim.
Next comes the choice of how to file. The CRA certifies tax software, and its electronic filing services run from 23 February 2026 until 29 January 2027. Returns for the years 2018 to 2025 can be sent that way.
How long should you keep it all? The CRA says at least six years. Keep the return itself and every assessment notice too. A cheap folder, or a scanned one on your computer, is all it takes, and it beats a scramble at tax time when the CRA asks about a claim from 2021.
Which dates matter in 2026?
| What | Date |
|---|---|
| File the 2025 return (most people) | 30 April 2026 |
| File the 2025 return (self-employed, or spouse of one) | 15 June 2026 |
| Pay any 2025 balance | 30 April 2026 |
| Instalment payments in 2026 | 15 March, 15 June, 15 September, 15 December |
Dates for the 2026 return, which you’d file in 2027, aren’t published yet. Check the CRA’s important dates page before you count on 30 April.
Miss the deadline with a balance and you pay a flat 5% on what you owe, then 1% more for every whole month it stays late, up to a year of months. Filing on time is worth it even when you can’t pay yet, because the late-filing charge only bites on tax owing. The CRA’s interest and penalties page sets this out.
A quick example: owe $1,500 and file two full months late, and the penalty is $75 plus $30, so $105, before interest. Not a disaster, but it’s $105 you didn’t need to spend.
What are the 2026 federal tax rates?
| Taxable income | Federal rate |
|---|---|
| Up to $58,523 | 14% |
| $58,523 to $117,045 | 20.5% |
| $117,045 to $181,440 | 26% |
| $181,440 to $258,482 | 29% |
| Above $258,482 | 33% |
Provincial tax comes on top of that. These brackets cover income earned in 2026, which you report in 2027.
What does that look like in dollars?
Take a $60,000 salary in Ontario. The income tax calculator shows $5,338.30 federal and $2,982.20 Ontario tax, so $8,320.50 in all. CPP and EI take another $4,339.75. You keep $47,339.75, and your average tax rate is 13.9%.
The last dollar you earn is taxed higher than that average. To see that number, try the marginal tax rate calculator. Good to know before you say yes to overtime.
Do the check by hand if you like. Tax of $8,320.50 plus $4,339.75 of CPP and EI is $12,660.25, and $60,000 less that leaves $47,339.75. Your average rate is the $8,320.50 divided by $60,000, which is that 13.9%, a ballpark you can carry around in your head.
A refund? The tax refund calculator compares what was withheld with what you owe. Credits are a separate question. The credits estimator covers federal ones only, so provincial credits need their own check, and it can take a while.
Where can you check your own figures?
Your CRA My Account shows your slips, your notice of assessment and your RRSP room, and it’s the source that counts when numbers disagree. Our tables and calculators are a second opinion at best. If your last notice of assessment says one thing and an online tool says another, trust the notice and find out why the tool differs.
Common mistakes and limits
People forget side income. The CRA says gig work, freelancing, content creation, ride-sharing, marketplace sales, and gifts and tips received through online platforms all count.
Self-employed people also forget instalments. You may need them if your net tax owing is over $3,000 for 2026 (Quebec: $1,800) and it was in 2025 or 2024 too. The tax instalments calculator works out four equal payments, though it’s only one of the options the CRA allows.
Our calculators give estimates. They use the basic personal amount, the Canada employment amount, and the CPP and EI credits. Refundable credits, benefits and most other claims aren’t included, so your assessed figure can differ.
Quebec residents file a separate provincial return with Revenu Québec, and its rules aren’t covered here. If your year included a move, a sale of property or foreign income, read the CRA guide for that situation first.
Where the numbers come from
Tax rates and brackets are the 2026 figures published by the Canada Revenue Agency. Due dates, penalties, the record rule and the instalment thresholds come from CRA pages read on 30 September 2026. The CPP and EI figures in the examples use the 2026 limits in our calculators. No government body has reviewed or endorsed what you read here.
Frequently asked questions
When was the 2025 tax return due?
Most people had until 30 April 2026. Self-employed people could file by 15 June 2026, but any balance was still due on 30 April.
Are the 2026 return dates published?
We couldn't find them yet. The 2026 return is filed in 2027, so check the CRA's important dates page.
How long should I keep tax records?
The CRA says at least six years, including a copy of your return and any notices of assessment or reassessment.
What is the penalty for filing late?
It is 5% of the balance owing plus 1% for each full month, up to 12 months. A higher repeat penalty can apply.
What are the federal tax rates for 2026?
They run from 14% up to $58,523 to 33% above $258,482, with 20.5%, 26% and 29% in between.
- How Canadian income tax works: brackets and credits
How federal and provincial Canadian income tax stack up, what marginal and average rates mean, and how credits and deductions change your bill