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Tax Alerts

New Quarterly Newsletters (Q2 2026)

Two quarterly newsletters have been added – one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues.

What’s new for the 2025 filing season? (March 2026)

When Canadians sit down to prepare the tax return for the 2025 tax year, the forms they use will appear to most taxpayers to be identical to the ones completed at this time last year. That appearance is deceptive, as the tax return form is never the same from one year to the next. In some cases, the change is one which happens each year – the increase in taxable income brackets and tax credit amounts resulting from the indexing of those amounts for inflation. Those changes are built into the figures which appear in the return form, and the taxpayer doesn’t need to do anything in order to benefit from such changes when completing and filing the return.

That’s not necessarily the case for other tax changes. Each year, new tax measures are introduced. In addition, the rules on the computation of income can be changed and existing tax deductions and credits can be extended, changed, or withdrawn altogether. In such cases, it’s up to the taxpayer to make sure that income is accurately reported and a claim is made for every deduction and credit available under the current rules – and conversely, to ensure that claims are not made for deductions or credits for which the taxpayer is not eligible for 2025.

At the beginning of tax filing season, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) posts information on its website to alert taxpayers to the substantive tax changes which they will find when completing their tax return, as well as any changes made to the Agency’s administrative policies and practices which could affect taxpayers who are filing their return for 2025. Such information is also highlighted in the General Income Tax and Benefit Guide for 2025. This year, the substantive tax changes made are relatively narrow and technical in nature, affecting only taxpayers who do specific types of work, or who have specific living or health circumstances, or those who make particular types of investments. Most of this year’s changes relate to tax administration – the policies and procedures which govern the completion and filing of returns for 2025.

The changes to such administrative policies and procedures include the following.

Changes to EFILE

Most Canadian taxpayers do not prepare and file their own returns. During last year’s filing season, 60% of returns were filed using EFILE, a system in which an accredited EFILER prepares a taxpayer’s return and files it electronically with the CRA on the taxpayer’s behalf. (Individual taxpayers can also prepare and file their own tax returns electronically, but such filings are done using the CRA’s NETFILE service.)

To properly prepare and EFILE a return, the EFILER needs to have access to the information found in the taxpayer’s online tax CRA account. In previous filing seasons, such access could be gained using the “Authorize a Representative” function found in EFILE software for individuals.

That was changed beginning July 15, 2025, and an EFILER can no longer use EFILE software to request access to another taxpayer’s online tax account. Instead, EFILERS must request such online access through the “Represent a Client” function on the CRA website, and the access will be provided only once the taxpayer confirms it within their CRA account.

More information on changes to the CRA’s processes for naming and authorizing a representative can be found at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/representative-authorization/confirm-representative.html#individual.

Regaining access to a CRA account

For good reason, the online CRA accounts of taxpayers are protected by multiple levels of security. To access their accounts, taxpayers must enter a UserID and password. As well, at the time the taxpayer is logging in, they are sent a one-time six-digit numeric code as part of the Agency’s Multi-Factor Authentication requirement, and must enter that code.

Most taxpayers don’t log into their online CRA accounts that frequently, and so it’s not that unusual for a taxpayer to forget or mislay their login information. As well, if a taxpayer inputs the incorrect User ID or password too many times in an attempt to get it right, their online account will be locked and therefore inaccessible.

In previous years, taxpayers who were locked out of their CRA online accounts or simply forgot their login information had to call the CRA to re-establish access – a process which could take some time, especially during tax filing season.

The CRA has now instituted a self-service option which enables taxpayers to regain access to their online account where they have forgotten or misplaced their log-in credentials, have been locked out of their account, or simply want to change their sign-in options. Information on how to do that is available on the CRA website at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/e-services/cra-login-services/help-cra-sign-in-services/cra-userid-password.html#section3.

Change in marital status during 2025

The marital status of a taxpayer has a significant effect on the types of tax deductions and credits for which they may be eligible. Generally speaking, where a taxpayer is married (or living common-law) their eligibility, especially for tax credit or benefit programs like the Goods and Services/Harmonized Sales Tax Credit or the Canada Child Benefit, is determined, in part, by the combined income of both spouses, and is not based on individual income. As well, the ability to claim personal tax credits, like the spousal tax credit, or to make a spousal registered retirement savings plan contribution, depends on the taxpayer having a spouse at the end of the tax year.

Consequently, a change in marital status usually has an effect on one’s eligibility for a variety of tax deductions and credits and the ability to engage in particular tax planning strategies. The CRA’s listing of income tax changes for 2025 includes a reminder that taxpayers are required to inform the CRA of a change in marital status by the end of the following month after that status has changed. Where a taxpayer’s marital status changed during 2025, they must enter the date of the change on page 1 of the tax return. Taxpayers who must do so should be aware that the CRA will recalculate benefits and credits received based on the new marital status, which could mean either increased or decreased eligibility for benefits and credits.

One final point – while the general rule is that a change in marital status must be communicated to the CRA by the end of the month following the month of the change, that’s not the case where a couple separates. A separation does not generally exist (for tax purposes) until the spouses have lived separate and apart for 90 days, as the result of a breakdown in their relationship. Once that 90-day separation period has passed, the taxpayer must inform the CRA that they are now separated, and the effective date of that separation, for tax purposes, will be the date the spouses began living apart.

When it comes to substantive changes to tax rules for 2025, the only change which will affect all taxpayers is a reduction in the tax rate applied to the first income tax bracket (for 2025, income up to $57,375). Effective as of July 1, 2025, that rate was reduced from 15.0% to 14.0%. Because the change took effect mid-year, the effective tax rate for 2025 on the first income bracket is 14.5%. As with changes in tax bracket and tax credit amounts, the tax rate reduction is built into the tax return form (or tax return software), and there’s no need for the taxpayer to do anything to benefit from the change.

That’s not the case for other substantive changes to the tax system which took effect in 2025. Those changes are relatively technical and narrow in effect, but should be noted by the taxpayer groups who are affected by them. A listing of such changes, with links to the information provided by the CRA on the nature and effective date of those changes, is set out below.

For those using the Income Tax and Benefit Guide for 2025 in completing their return, each of these changes is highlighted in the Guide.

The information presented is only of a general nature, may omit many details and special rules, is current only as of its published date, and accordingly cannot be regarded as legal or tax advice. Please contact our office for more information on this subject and how it pertains to your specific tax or financial situation.

Some last-minute tax filing strategies – what (and what not) to claim (March 2026)

Most taxpayers don’t sit down to prepare their tax return for the 2025 tax year – or meet with a tax preparer to get that return done – before early in the month of March, after T4 slips have been received from their employer and the CRA’s online filing services are up and running for 2025 returns. Unfortunately, by that time, the most significant opportunities to reduce or minimize the tax bill for 2025 are no longer available. Almost all such tax planning or saving strategies, in order to be effective for 2025, must have been implemented by the end of that calendar year and the deadline for the last such major tax saving opportunity – making an RRSP contribution – was March 2, 2026.

The fact that the clock has run out on most major tax planning opportunities for 2025 doesn’t, however, mean that there are no tax-saving strategies left. At this point, there are a couple of ways to minimize the tax hit for 2025 – by claiming all available deductions and credits on the return, and also by making sure that those deductions and credits are structured and claimed in the way which will give the taxpayer the greatest tax benefit.

In some cases, a claim for a tax deduction or credit can only be made on the return for the year in which the expense is incurred, while in other cases claims can be made for expenses incurred in the previous tax year, or even as far back as five years previously. In other cases, the availability and the amount of a tax deduction or credit which can be claimed depend, in whole or in part, on the income (and tax payable) of the taxpayer making the claim.

Getting the best tax result on one’s return requires an assessment of which deductions and credits are available to claim in the current year, whether claims to be made by each spouse can be combined on a single return, whether some or all credit and deduction claims can be carried forward and claimed in a future year (or claimed in the current year by another family member), and whether it even makes sense to make the claim. To most taxpayers, it would seem that the logical approach, and the one guaranteed to create the best tax result, would be to claim every available deduction and credit as soon as it is available and to the maximum extent possible. It may seem counterintuitive, or even illogical, to not do so, but in some cases (albeit for different reasons) there are situations in which it makes sense to defer an available claim to a future year, or to transfer the claim to another family member.

Those considerations apply to two of the most common tax credit claims made by Canadian taxpayers – the charitable donation tax credit and the medical expense tax credit, and the decision on how to structure such claims doesn’t need to be made until the tax return for the year is prepared.

Charitable donation tax credit

Taxpayers are entitled to make a claim on the annual tax return for charitable donations made in the current (that is, 2025) year or any of the previous five years. The reason it can sometimes make sense not to claim a charitable donation in the year it was made arises from the way in which the charitable donations tax credit is structured in order to encourage higher donations.

For most taxpayers that credit, at both the federal and provincial/territorial levels, is a two-tier credit. Federally, the first $200 in donations receives a credit of 14.5% of the total donation, or $29. However, donations above the $200 level receive a credit equal to 29% of the donation amount over $200. (There is a third-level donation credit percentage of 33%, but that is available only to the minority of taxpayers whose taxable income for 2025 is over $253,414.)

Take, for example, a taxpayer who makes a regular contribution to a favourite charity of $100 each month, or $1,200 per year. Where they claim that donation on the annual return for 2025, that claim will result in a federal tax credit of $319 ($200 times 14.5%, plus $1,000 times 29%). Where, however, the same taxpayer defers the claim to the following year and claims a total of $2,400 in donations on a single return, they will receive a federal credit of $667 ($200 times 14.5%, plus $2,200 times 29%). Where the donations are accumulated and claimed once every five years, the federal credit received will be $1,711 ($200 times 14.5%, plus $5,800 times 29%). Under each scenario, the total charitable donation made is the same, but the amount of credit received increases with each year that the claim is deferred. Since each of the provinces and territories provide a two-tier credit (at different rates, depending on the jurisdiction), the same result will be seen when calculating the provincial/territorial credit.

As well, charitable donations made by either spouse can be combined and claimed on the return for one of those spouses, thereby increasing the amount of charitable donations available to claim and possibly the amount of credit which can be received.

It’s important, as well, to remember that the charitable donation tax credit is a non-refundable credit, meaning that it can reduce tax payable but cannot create, or increase, a refund. Consequently, in deciding which spouse will make the claim for the credit for charitable donations made by both spouses, it’s necessary to make sure that that spouse has tax payable for the year of at least the amount of the available charitable donation tax credit. Any credit amount in excess of tax payable for the year cannot be claimed and is simply lost.

Medical expenses

Notwithstanding our publicly funded health care system, there are a great (and increasing) number of medical and para-medical expenses for which coverage is not provided and which must be paid on an out-of-pocket basis. In many instances, it’s possible to claim a medical expense tax credit for those out-of-pocket costs.

For 2025, the federal credit for such expenses is 14.5% of allowable expenses. As is usually the case, the provinces and territories also provide a credit for the same expenses, albeit at different rates.

Many taxpayers, with some justification, find the rules on the calculation of a medical expense tax credit claim confusing. First, there is an income threshold imposed. Medical expenses eligible for the credit are qualifying expenses which exceed 3% of net income, or (for 2025) $2,834, whichever is less. Put more practically, for 2025, taxpayers who have net income of $94,467 or more can claim medical expenses incurred over $2,834. Those with lower incomes can claim medical expenses which exceed 3% of that lower net income. For instance, a taxpayer having $35,000 in net income could claim qualifying medical expenses incurred over $1,050 (3% of $35,000).

The other aspect of the medical expense tax credit which can be confusing is the calculation of the optimal time period. Unlike most tax credit claims, the medical expense tax credit can be claimed for qualifying expenses which were paid in any 12-month period ending during the tax year. While confusing, such rule is beneficial, in that it allows taxpayers to select the particular 12-month period during which medical expenses (and therefore the resulting credit claim) is highest. The only restrictions are that the selected 12-month period must end during the calendar year for which the return is being filed, and, of course, any expenses which were claimed on a previous return cannot be claimed again.

While only expenses which exceed the $2,834/3% threshold may be claimed, it’s also possible to aggregate expenses incurred within a family and make a single claim for those expenses on the return of one spouse. Specifically, the rules allow families to aggregate medical expenses incurred for each spouse and for each child who was under the age of 18 at the end of 2025. While medical expenses incurred by a single family member might not be enough to allow them to make a claim, aggregating those expenses can mean (especially for a family that does not have private medical insurance coverage) that total expenses will exceed the applicable threshold.

In determining who will make the medical expense tax credit claim for a family, there are two points to remember. Since total medical expenses claimable are those which exceed the 3% of net income/$2,834 threshold, whichever is less, the greatest benefit will be obtained if the spouse with the lower net income makes the claim for total family medical expenses. However, like the charitable donation tax credit, the medical expense credit is a non-refundable one, meaning that it can reduce tax otherwise payable, but cannot create (or increase) a refund. Therefore, it’s necessary that the spouse making the claim have tax payable for the year of at least as much as the credit to be obtained, in order to make full use of that credit.

Finally, the number and variety of medical expenses which an individual or family might have to pay for out of pocket are almost limitless, and the rules governing which can be claimed and in what circumstances are very specific and, often, not necessarily intuitive. In some cases, for instance, a doctor’s prescription will be required, while in others it will not. The very long list of medical expenses eligible for the credit, and any ancillary requirements, such as obtaining a prescription from a medical professional, can be found on the Canada Revenue Agency website at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/about-your-tax-return/tax-return/completing-a-tax-return/deductions-credits-expenses/lines-33099-33199-eligible-medical-expenses-you-claim-on-your-tax-return.html.

How to know you’re really hearing from the CRA (March 2026)

For most Canadians, interactions with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) are few and far between. In the vast majority of cases, taxpayers file a tax return each spring and either pay any tax amount owed or (in most cases) receive a refund and do not hear from or have reason to contact the Agency again until the next tax filing season. However, especially during tax season, and for the few months after the general filing deadline of April 30, there are a number of additional (legitimate) reasons why the CRA might get in touch with individual taxpayers.

Unexpected communications of any kind from the tax authorities are generally stressful for taxpayers, who often fear the worst. Such anxiety often leads taxpayers to respond quickly to whatever request is being made, but that’s not the right response. Any unsolicited communication from the CRA should first prompt the taxpayer to verify that such communication is, in fact, legitimate and not part of a fraud or scam to part the taxpayer from their money.

Such frauds and scams aren’t new, but they are becoming both more numerous (there are currently warnings about 18 separate tax and benefit scams listed on the Agency’s website, and there are undoubtedly more which have not yet come to light) and more successful. The reasons why lie, for the most part, in changes in technology and in how we now communicate on personal, business, and tax matters. Most Canadians now carry out most of their communications using technology that didn’t exist a generation or two ago. The sheer volume of such communications, and especially the fact that providing a more or less instant response has become the norm, has made scams and frauds much easier to carry out. A fraudster who sends out thousands of fraudulent text messages asking the recipient to click on a link which then provides access to that individual’s personal or banking information needs to succeed in only a few instances in order to make the fraud profitable. Adding to the risk is the fact that the CRA, as part of its move toward online and electronic communication with taxpayers, now utilizes nearly every available form of e-communication. The CRA contacts taxpayers by phone call, automated voice message, letter, text message, email, and online (through its website service My Account). About the only forms of communication that the CRA doesn’t use are social media sites like What’sApp and Facebook Messenger. And now, Generative AI has enhanced the ability of even unsophisticated scammers to produce communications purportedly from the CRA which are harder and harder to distinguish from the real thing.

It’s clear, from all of this, that the first response to any communication received from the CRA should be to NOT respond until that communication can be verified as authentic. And while that’s not always easy to do, there are practices which, if followed, can minimize the risk – and other practices which should always be avoided.

No matter the form of communication, or how urgent or time-sensitive that communication claims to be, taxpayers should NEVER:

Provide or share any personal or financial information, whether over the phone, by text, by email, or on a website, to any person or organization claiming to be from the CRA (even if call display on a phone call indicates that the person is calling from a number belonging to the Agency, as such phone numbers can be spoofed). Taxpayers who receive an unsolicited phone call from someone claiming to be from the CRA can ask the caller for their name, office location, and a number at which they can be reached. It’s then possible to use a service on the CRA website to verify whether or not that callback number is, in fact, one used by the CRA. That service, called Verify a CRA number, can be found on the Agency’s website at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/corporate/scams-fraud/verify-cra-contact.html. If the caller refuses to provide a name, office location, and callback number, it’s not the CRA calling.
Click on any link (whether to a form or a website) contained in a text message or unsolicited email. While the CRA does use texts and emails to communicate, it does so only for very specific purposes. The CRA will send a text to a taxpayer only as part of its multi-factor authentication service used when the taxpayer is logging into their CRA account, and then only to provide a six digit one-time numeric code to be entered on the website. Any other kind of text is not from the CRA. Similarly, the Agency does send emails to taxpayers, but in only two specific circumstances: where the taxpayer has registered for email notifications and has a new message to view in their CRA online accounts, or where the taxpayer has asked, during a previous meeting or call with a CRA representative, that a CRA link to a form or publication be sent to the taxpayer by email.

Tax scams and frauds are generally successful for two reasons. First, the communications employed to carry out such scams and frauds are structured to be very similar to legitimate communications which could very well have come from the CRA. For instance, the CRA does contact taxpayers, as part of its return verification program, to request that the taxpayer provide proof of claims made on their return – for example, verification of amounts paid for childcare expenses. A taxpayer who receives a text message or email that looks legitimate and requests that they click on a link to confirm such amounts paid isn’t likely to jump first to the conclusion that the communication is fraudulent. Second, fraudulent communications very often inform the taxpayer that they are owed a tax refund by the CRA or are eligible for payment of a new government benefit or tax credit amount. It’s human nature to welcome receipt of unexpected income, and our tax and benefit system is sufficiently complex that most individuals wouldn’t be surprised to hear that they were eligible for refunds, benefits, or tax credits of which they were unaware, and don’t think to question it. Conversely, such fraudulent communications may tell the taxpayer that they owe money to the tax authorities and that significant interest and penalty charges will accrue unless and until payment in full is made. Often, the message includes sufficient dire warnings of the negative financial consequences of such debts (like garnishment of wages, damage to one’s credit rating, or even criminal charges) as to intimidate the taxpayer into making a quick payment, without taking the time to verify the authenticity of the request.

The best defence against becoming a victim of such tax scams and frauds is two-fold: first, never disclose personal or financial information in response to a communication of any kind which purports to be from the CRA, and never click on any link provided in a text or unsolicited email communication received (ostensibly) from the Agency. Where an unsolicited phone call is received, the taxpayer should follow the steps outlined above to verify the authenticity of the call and, if still uncertain, should call the CRA directly (using the Individual Income Tax Enquires line at 1-800 959-8281) to determine whether the call was, in fact, from the Agency. Where any communication is received containing a website link or address, the CRA’s advice is that the recipient should look up the official web address and then type it directly into a browser, and never click on the link. The CRA points out that many such links include a website address which is strikingly similar to real government website addresses, differing by only one or two characters, and leading the recipient to conclude that the communication is legitimate, when it is not.

The other defence against tax scams and frauds is to be aware of what the CRA does and does not do when communicating with taxpayers.

The CRA will not:

Send refunds or payments by e-transfer or text message;
Provide or accept payments by cryptocurrencies;
Demand or pressure immediate payment by:
- Interac® e-transfer,
- Cryptocurrencies,
- Prepaid credit cards,
- Gift cards from any type of retailer;
Threaten to deport or arrest you, or put you in prison;
Use aggressive or threatening language;
Set up an in-person meeting in a public location to collect a payment;
Charge a fee to speak with a call centre agent;
Ask for personal or financial information in a voicemail or email.

Any communication which includes any of these requests, threats, or actions is, by definition, fraudulent and should be ignored and/or deleted, without replying or clicking on any link.

Given all of the above, taxpayers can legitimately feel that they are at a significant disadvantage when it comes to not falling prey to a tax scam or fraud. However, avoiding that result is made much easier by remembering that there is NO legitimate communication from the CRA which requires a response within minutes or hours or even days. There is always time and opportunity to verify the source and legitimacy of any communication received, regardless of the method of communication. When money is lost to a tax scam or fraud, it is rarely recovered; avoiding immediate responses and taking the time to verify the authenticity of any communication which claims to be from the CRA will go a long way to ensure that the taxpayer doesn’t find themself in that unhappy position.

The CRA provides detailed information on its website on how to handle phone calls claiming to be from the Agency and on recognizing and avoiding tax scams and frauds. That information can be found at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/corporate/scams-fraud/verify-cra-contact.html and at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/corporate/scams-fraud/recognize-scam.html.

How, when and where to file your 2025 tax return (March 2026)

Canada’s tax system is a self-reporting one which depends almost entirely on the voluntary compliance of Canadian taxpayers. Almost every Canadian is required to complete and file a tax return annually and, while it’s likely that few of them look forward to doing so, the rate of voluntary compliance among Canadian taxpayers is actually very high. Last year, nearly 34 million individual income tax returns (for the 2024 tax year) were filed with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

This year, most Canadian taxpayers are required to file a return for the 2025 tax year on or before Thursday, April 30, 2026. Self-employed taxpayers and their spouses, however, have until Monday, June 15, 2026 to file their returns for 2025.

It’s important to note that, regardless of the applicable tax return filing deadline, all Canadian individual taxpayers must pay any balance of tax owed for the 2025 tax year on or before Thursday April 30, 2026. There are no exceptions to this deadline and, absent very unusual circumstances, no extensions are possible. Where taxes owed for 2025 aren’t paid in full on or before the April 30, 2026 deadline, interest charges will begin to accrue beginning on May 1.

Interest charges levied by the CRA on unpaid tax amounts can be significant, for two reasons. First, by law, the prescribed interest rate levied by the Agency is higher than ordinary commercial rates. That prescribed interest rate is set quarterly and the applicable rate for the second calendar quarter of 2026 (April 1 to June 30) is 7%. Second, all interest charges levied by the CRA on unpaid tax amounts are compounded daily, meaning that on each successive day interest is levied on interest amounts that were charged for the previous day.

A summary of filing and payment due dates for returns for the 2025 tax year can be found on the CRA website at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/important-dates-individuals.html.

In order to determine whether there will be a tax balance owed on filing for the 2025 tax year it is, of course, necessary to complete and file a return for 2025. And, while there is little to no flexibility with respect to the deadlines by which returns must be filed and tax amounts owing paid, taxpayers do have choices when it comes to how to get their tax return completed and filed.

For the vast majority of Canadian taxpayers, that means paying someone else to complete and file the return. Canada’s tax system has a well-deserved reputation for complexity, and it seems most Canadians feel either unable or unwilling to tackle the chore of completing their tax return themselves.

Most such Canadians choose to file their return for the year using the CRA’s EFILE service – last year, 60% of returns filed were filed through EFILE. Where a taxpayer chooses to file using EFILE, their return is filed online by a third party, who must be certified as an EFILER by the Canada Revenue Agency. Such EFILE services are provided by accountants, by tax preparation services which operate either year-around or only during tax filing season, or by tax discounters. Almost always, the E-FILE service provider also prepares the return which they are filing.

Taxpayers who wish to use EFILE to file their return for the 2025 tax year can find information on using a tax return preparation service on the CRA website at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/e-services/e-services-individuals/efile-individuals.html. That website also provides a current listing (searchable by postal code) of certified E-FILE service providers across Canada; the listing can be found at https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/efes/epcs/prot/ntr.action.

Taxpayers who want to file online and are able and willing to prepare their own tax returns can use the CRA’s NETFILE service (which was available for the filing of returns for 2025 as of Monday, February 23, 2026); information on that service can be found at https://www.canada.ca/en/services/taxes/income-tax/personal-income-tax/how-file/tax-software/send-return/netfile.html. While there are some kinds of returns which cannot be filed using NETFILE (for instance, a return for a non-resident of Canada, or for a deceased taxpayer), the vast majority of Canadians who wish to do so will be able to NETFILE their return.

A return can be filed using NETFILE only where it is prepared using tax return preparation software which has been certified by the CRA. While such software can be found for sale just about everywhere at this time of year, approved software which can be used free of charge, or for a nominal charge, is also available. A listing of third-party tax return software certified for use in preparing individual returns for 2025 is maintained (with links to the software product websites) on the CRA website at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/e-services/e-services-individuals/netfile-overview/certified-software-netfile-program.html.

A smaller but still significant number of Canadians prefer to complete their tax return on paper: last year, just under two and a half million returns were prepared and filed in this way. The CRA has, for many years, been urging Canadian taxpayers to file their returns online and, at the same time, has reduced the options available to Canadians who wish to obtain a tax guide and return package in hard copy. For instance, the CRA previously mailed a tax guide and return package to taxpayers who had paper-filed in the previous year; this year, however, it has discontinued that practice.

Notwithstanding those difficulties it is still possible to obtain hard copy of the tax guide and return, in the following ways.

The first method is to go onto the CRA website at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/tax-packages-years/general-income-tax-benefit-package.html, select the return for your province or territory of residence as of the end of 2025, and then download and print that document.

Those who do not wish to or cannot download or print a hard copy of the return package can order a tax return package online at https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/cjcf/fpos-scfp/pub/rdr. That package will then be sent to the taxpayer by regular mail.

Finally, it’s still possible to order hard copy of the return package by calling the CRA’s automated forms and publications line at 1-855-330-3305. That line is available from 6 a.m. to 3 a.m. Eastern Time, 7 days a week. This year, for the first time, taxpayers who request a form or publication through the automated telephone service are required to provide their social insurance number in order to receive that service.

Finally, taxpayers who are unable or unwilling to complete and file the 2025 tax return on their own but lack the financial wherewithal to pay someone else to do so have another option. Volunteers at a number of Community Volunteer Income Tax Clinics across the country will prepare and file simple returns on behalf of lower-income taxpayers, free of charge. Those Community Volunteer Income Tax Clinics are generally found in community centres or libraries, and a searchable database listing such Clinics across Canada can be found on the CRA website at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/community-volunteer-income-tax-program.html.