Tax season is officially underway in Canada.
As of Monday, tax filers are now able to submit their returns both electronically and by mail, where possible, with the deadline to file and pay taxes owed just a few months away.
To help maximize savings and potential refunds, experts say it’s important to prepare early and be aware of some changes for this tax season.
“I would start as early as possible. No doubt, start by collecting all your slips,” says Ryan Minor, director of tax at Chartered Professional Accountants Canada.
“If you’re doing it yourself, you want to make sure you maximize your refund, claim every deduction and credit that you’re entitled to.”
Here’s what you need to know to get started.
The deadline to file tax returns in Canada is April 30, or June 15 for Canadian taxpayers and their spouses/common-law partners with self-employment income.
In almost all cases, the deadline to pay taxes owed to the Canada Revenue Agency, or CRA, is April 30. Taxes owed and a tax return are different, which Minor says can be confusing.
“The tax due date, which is the date you have to have your money into the CRA, that’s April 30 for both categories of taxpayer,” says Minor.
“Now that part confuses a lot of people but the payment is due April 30. Otherwise, those taxpayers will start paying interest.”
The penalty for filing a return after the deadline is five per cent on the balance of taxes owed, plus one per cent for each month the return is late up to 12 months. If the filer submitted their return late within the past three tax filing years, those numbers are doubled.
Whether or not filers submit their tax return to the CRA on time, they can still be charged additional interest if the amount of taxes owed is not paid on time.
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Being prepared early on is a good first step to ensure no late payments or filings.
“As good practice, it’s a good idea to list the income you’ve earned and what slips you should be expecting to look out for those slips,” says Minor.
For most employed Canadians, that will mean ensuring they have a copy of their T4 income statement, which employers will usually mail to employees by the end of February.
In some cases, a T4 slip may also be available through the CRA’s online portal.
For those with investments, including for a retirement portfolio, there are also T3 and T5 slips, which must be gathered ahead of the deadline.
Canadians should also ensure they have their online profile with the CRA up to date.
“The CRA has a portal with quite a bit of good information. The CRA has your slips so you can go and look at what slips the CRA has on file. You can look at details of prior returns, carry forward balances, RSP limits, things like that,” says Minor.
“You can go to the mail section and see if they sent you any mail about anything, or retrieve prior years’ notices of assessment. So the CRA portal is a good tool when preparing your returns as well.”
Minor also says there are situation-specific deductions and credits that Canadians will need to stay on top of.
“If you had a lot of medical slips, you might go to the pharmacy and get them to print out your statement for the year of everything you’ve paid them over and above and after your insurance,” says Minor.
“If you’ve donated to registered charities, there’s a donation tax credit. So collect all those donation slips. And if you’re missing any, perhaps contact the registered charity that you donated to.”
Minor also encourages Canadians to study the CRA’s annual guide for federal income tax and benefits, as it includes more information on other situation-specific scenarios.
Submitting taxes electronically is the preferred method by the CRA. The agency is no longer mailing out paper tax packages automatically.
Canadians who want to physically mail their taxes can still do so, but they must request those paper tax packages by contacting the CRA.
“I think it’s good practice, one, to have an email address on file, and if you’re really concerned, opt back into paper mail just to make sure you’re going to get that correspondence.”
Minor adds: “You’re going to miss something important.”
For some lower-income tax filers, the federal government currently has a program aimed at making it easier to file a tax return and receive benefit payments.
GST, the Canada Child Benefit and others are only paid out to qualifying individuals if they filed their taxes. In order to ensure Canadians who need these payments for their day-to-day expenses, it’s critical that they file their returns.
Starting March 9, 2026, qualifying Canadians can register for SimpleFile with or without an invitation. The CRA says the service is a free, fast and secure method offered to eligible individuals to make the process easier.
Prime Minister Mark Carney‘s Budget 2025 also proposed changes to the Income Tax Act, and, if passed into law, it would allow the CRA to file a tax return on behalf of qualified individuals automatically. When announced, Carney’s office estimated it could help about one million Canadians filing in 2027 (for the 2026 tax year), and could reach 5.5 million by 2028.
Free tax clinics are also offered in some communities, where volunteers complete tax returns for people who may have lower incomes, according to the CRA.
Minor says if possible, it’s always a good idea to consult a tax professional to help with filing a tax return — especially for complex tax situations.
“We do have a fairly complicated tax system and depending on your situation, if you have a simple situation, then it shouldn’t be too much difficulty, but if you had a more complex situation with a business or rental properties or investment income and things like that, I would consider using a professional,” says Minor.
“A professional has done many returns, they’re more accurate because of the experience, they’ll be able to tell you what’s available, and they’ll be able to file it on their behalf. So, it’ll take far less time, obviously, if you use a CPA, than doing it yourself because you’ll have to do all that background research yourself.”