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The CRA’s electronic filing requirements hit corporations hardest. For tax years starting after 2023, every corporation has to file its T2 return online, apart from insurance corporations, non-resident corporations, corporations reporting in a functional currency and those exempt under section 149 of the Income Tax Act. If you’re an individual, we found no CRA rule that forces you online.
Which returns must be filed electronically?
The T2 is the big one. A corporation that should have filed online and didn’t faces a $1,000 penalty, and the CRA expects the filing to go through certified software.
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will charge a $1,000 penalty for non-compliance if a corporation that is required to file electronically does not comply with the requirement.
Completing your corporation income tax (T2) return, Canada.ca, canada.ca
Older summaries online talk about revenue cut-offs of $250,000 for T2 filers or $35,000 for the self-employed. We didn’t find either on a CRA page, so ignore them.
Tax preparers have a rule of their own. One paid to prepare more than 10 returns in a year has to file them electronically, and it applies to T1 and T2 returns. You sign form T183 before a preparer sends your return.
What are the electronic filing dates for 2025 returns?
Both NETFILE, which you use through certified software, and EFILE, used by preparers, opened on February 23, 2026. They stay open until January 29, 2027. For an earlier year, EFILE takes initial returns for 2018 to 2025, and ReFILE handles amended returns for 2022 to 2025.
| Item | 2025 return |
|---|---|
| Filing opened (NETFILE and EFILE) | February 23, 2026 |
| Service open until | January 29, 2027 |
| Most individuals, file and pay | April 30, 2026 |
| Self-employed, file | June 15, 2026 |
| Self-employed, any tax owing | April 30, 2026 |
| Corporation T2 electronic filing | Tax years starting after 2023 |
The CRA’s 2026 tax-filing season tip confirms the April 30 and June 15 deadlines. Dates for the 2026 return aren’t published yet. Look at the CRA’s key dates page in early 2027.
What if you missed the April 30 deadline?
You’re not shut out. The online services stay open until January 29, 2027, so you can still file the 2025 return electronically. Do it soon, though. Any tax owing was due on April 30, even for self-employed people with the later June 15 filing date, and the CRA charges interest on a balance that sat unpaid. If you’re owed a refund, there’s no hurry on the money side, but the longer you wait the longer it takes to get it.
Are there returns you can’t file electronically?
Yes. The CRA’s EFILE page says the service can’t handle returns for deceased taxpayers (before 2025), deemed residents, bankrupts and most non-residents. Some other situations are excluded too. If your return is one of those, you file on paper, and the CRA page lists the current exceptions.
Corporations have their own exceptions, listed above. If you’re not sure you fit one, treat the online rule as applying to you until the CRA says otherwise.
What does a company’s electronic filing timeline look like?
Take a corporation with a December 31, 2025 year end. The T2 is due six months later, on June 30, 2026, and it goes in by electronic filing. The balance owing comes due sooner, two months after year end (February 28, 2026), or three months for an eligible CCPC.
The money side is worth a quick estimate. An Ontario CCPC with $120,000 of active business income pays $10,800 federal tax at 9%, based on the corporate tax calculator. The tool adds about $3,235 for Ontario, using a 2026 blended rate we derived ourselves, so the $14,035 total is an estimate, not a CRA figure.
What should you do before you file online?
Get the tax number roughly right first. The income tax calculator and the tax refund calculator give a sense of the result before you open your software. If you have business income, the self-employed tax calculator shows what income tax and CPP might come to, though it leaves out EI.
Then keep the confirmation.
Electronic filing through EFILE gives an instant acknowledgment of acceptance or rejection, so save that message with your records for the year.
A rejected return isn’t a filed return. Fix the error and send it again before the deadline.
Where we got these figures
The T2 rule, the $1,000 penalty and the exceptions come from the Canada Revenue Agency‘s T2 return page. EFILE and NETFILE dates come from the CRA’s EFILE page and its filing guidance for the 2025 tax year. The preparer rule comes from a CRA announcement dating from 2012. We read all of them in September 2026, and the example uses 2026 tax data. The site has no tie to the CRA.
Frequently asked questions
Do individuals have to file their taxes online?
We found no CRA rule that forces an individual to file online. A preparer paid for more than 10 returns a year does have to.
Which corporations don't have to file the T2 electronically?
Insurance corporations, non-resident corporations, corporations reporting in a functional currency and those exempt under section 149 of the Income Tax Act.
What's the penalty for not filing a T2 online?
The CRA charges $1,000 if a corporation required to file electronically does not.
When did NETFILE open for 2025 returns?
February 23, 2026, and it stays open until January 29, 2027.
Can every return go through EFILE?
No. Returns for deceased taxpayers (before 2025), deemed residents, bankrupts and most non-residents are among those it can't process.
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