April 30, 2027:

Most individuals (non–self-employed)

• April 30, 2027: Deadline to file your 2026 personal income tax and benefit return.
• April 30, 2027: Deadline to pay any balance owing for 2026 taxes.

Exception for deceased persons:

• The filing and payment deadlines can be different for a deceased person or a surviving spouse/common-law partner. See the CRA guidance on final returns and due dates.

April 30, 2027: Payment of tax – Any tax owing must be paid no later than this date; however, your tax return is due on June 15, 2027.

June 15, 2027: Deadline to file your 2026 personal income tax and benefit return if you or your spouse/common-law partner carried on a business in 2026. See date above for income tax owing due date.

Exception for deceased persons: The filing deadline for personal returns may be later if an individual or spouse died during the year. See CRA guidance.

March 1, 2027: Deadline to file T4 and T5 information returns and distribute the applicable slips for the 2026 calendar year. Employers must issue T4, T5, and other tax slips to employees and the CRA by this date. Note: The last day of February in 2027 is a Sunday, so the deadline moves to the next business day (Monday, March 1, 2027).

General guidance:

A corporation’s income tax return (T2) is due no later than six months after the corporation’s tax year-end. A corporation’s year-end varies, but the most common year-end is December 31. Example: If a business has a December 31 year end for its 2026 fiscal year, its filing deadline is June 30, 2027.

Corporate tax balance:

A corporation’s income tax balance is generally due two months after the tax year-end. Certain Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs) can qualify for a three-month balance-due date if the CRA conditions are met.

T4s (wages) and T5s (dividends/investment income)

March 1, 2027: The deadline to file T4 and T5 information returns for the 2026 calendar year and to distribute the applicable slips to recipients.

T4s are issued by employers to employees. T5s are issued to recipients of investment income.

The normal deadline is the last day in February, but because February 28, 2027 falls on a Sunday, the deadline moves to the next business day: Monday, March 1, 2027

A registered charity must file Form T3010, Registered Charity Information Return, annually and no later than six months after the end of its fiscal period.

Example: If a charity has a December 31, 2026 year-end, its T3010 filing deadline is June 30, 2027.

T4s (wages)

• March 1, 2027: Deadline to file T4 information returns and distribute T4 slips, if applicable, for the 2026 calendar year.

General guidance:

• Not-for-profit organizations are required to file a T2 Corporate Income Tax Return annually.
• Not-for-profit organizations may also be required to file the T1044 Non-Profit Organization Information Return annually (depending on their situation). If an NPO is required to file Form T1044, the return is due no later than six months after the end of its fiscal period.
• If your not-for-profit corporation is federally incorporated, with gross annual revenues over $250,000, you may be required by law to have an audit.

T4s (wages)

• March 1, 2027: Deadline to file the 2026 T4 information returns and distribute slips for the 2026 calendar year, if applicable.

The T5013 Partnership Information Return filing due date depends on partner type (including end members of a tiered partnership).

• March 31, 2027: If throughout the fiscal period all partners are individuals (the CRA considers a trust to be an individual), the return is due March 31 following the calendar year in which the fiscal period ended.
• Five months after the end of the partnership’s fiscal period: If throughout the fiscal period all partners are corporations including end members.
• In all other cases: The return is due the earlier of March 31, 2027, and the day that is five months after the fiscal period ended.

Weekend/holiday note: If the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or public holiday recognized by the CRA, the return is generally due the next business day.

March 1, 2027: Deadline for making an RRSP contribution that may be deducted on your 2026 income tax return, subject to your available RRSP deduction limit. Contributions do not have to be deducted in the year they are made; unused deductible contributions can generally be carried forward.

December 31 of the year you turn 71 is the last day you can contribute to your own RRSP.

Your annual RRSP contribution limit is the amount you are able to contribute to your RRSP each year. Contribution room is the lesser of:

• 18% of your previous year’s pre-tax earnings, OR
• the yearly maximum set by the CRA.
• PLUS any unused RRSP deduction room from previous years (which carries forward indefinitely).

You can find your RRSP deduction limit on your latest notice of assessment or notice of reassessment from the CRA.

• The contribution limit for 2026 is $7,000.
• You can contribute to your TFSA at any time during the calendar year, as long as you have available contribution room. Unused TFSA room simply carries forward indefinitely.
• If you have never contributed to a TFSA and have been eligible since its introduction in 2009, your cumulative contribution room through 2026 is $109,000, before adjusting for withdrawals or other personal circumstances.

Check your records and CRA information before contributing, because withdrawals, prior contributions and residency can affect your available room.

You can find more information about the TFSA on the CRA website on this link.

December 31, 2026:

Last day to make an FHSA (First Home Savings Account) contribution that can be deducted on your 2026 income tax return, subject to your available FHSA participation room. Unlike RRSP contributions, contributions made during the first 60 days of 2027 cannot be deducted for 2026.

A T3 Trust Income Tax and Information Return (together with related slips/summaries) is generally due no later than 90 days after the trust’s tax year-end. Any balance owing is also generally due within 90 days after the year-end.

Example: For a trust with a calendar year-end (December 31, 2026), the filing and payment deadline is March 31, 2027.

Bare trusts (enhanced trust reporting): The rules have changed. New trust reporting rules apply for taxation years ending on or after December 31, 2026. Under the updated rules, certain bare trusts may be required to file a T3 Trust Income Tax and Information Return and Schedule 15, Beneficial Ownership Information of a Trust. Several statutory exceptions apply, so trustees should review the current CRA requirements to determine whether their arrangement has a filing obligation.

CRA penalties are a strong motivation to get your tax filings and payments in on time. Before you consider filing or paying late, take a look at the potential impact on your pocketbook.

Important Tip: File on time even if you cannot pay the full balance by the due date. Why? Filing on time can avoid the late-filing penalty.

Penalties

Late-filing penalty for an individual who owes tax:

If you file your tax return late, you will be fined an additional 5% of the balance owing PLUS 1% of the balance owing for each full month the return is late, up to a maximum of 12 months. This is potentially an additional 17% in taxes owing!

Repeated late-filing penalty:

AND in the case that you were asked to file a tax return AND you were charged a late-filing penalty for any one of your prior three taxation years, the penalties could be substantially higher. If this situation applies to you, expect to pay double (10%) on the total balance owing PLUS 2% per month up to a maximum of 20 months. This could result in a total additional penalty of 50%!

Interest

In addition to the late fees above, the CRA also charges interest on your unpaid tax balance. The interest is compounded daily based on the annual interest rate prescribed by the CRA. The prescribed rate is updated quarterly but currently (to December 2026) stands at 7%.