Welcome to tax season! It's time to prepare for filing your 2025 personal tax return. To help you get organized, we've put together a checklist to assist in gathering all necessary information.
In this article, we outline the key deadlines related to your filing obligations and highlight changes implemented to personal tax filings for 2025.
2025 Personal Tax Deadlines
General Deadline for Individuals:
The filing deadline for personal tax returns is April 30, 2026 (this applies to most individuals).
Self-Employed Individuals and their Spouses:
The filing deadline for self-employed individuals and their spouses is June 15, 2026; however, any balance owing must still be paid by April 30, 2026.
Payment Deadline for Individuals:
Any balance owing must be paid by April 30, 2026.
Tax Filing and Payment Deadline for Deceased Taxpayers:
- If the individual’s death occurred between January 1 and October 31, the final return is due April 30 of the following year.
- If the individual’s death occurred between November 1 and December 31, the final return is due six months after the date of death.
Tax Filing and Payment Deadline for Deceased Taxpayers who Carried on a Business:
- If the individual’s death occurred between January 1 and December 15: The final return is due by June 15, 2026.
- If the individual’s death occurred between December 16 and December 31: The final return is due six months after the date of death.
Income Tax Instalments
- Tax instalments for 2026 may be required if net taxes owing for 2025 is projected to be more than $3,000 and the actual net tax owing in either 2024 or 2023 was also more than $3,000. Tax instalment payments for 2026 are due by March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15. Instalment interest and penalties will be charged by CRA if the required tax instalments are insufficient.
Changes Implemented for 2025 Personal Tax Filings
Middle-class Tax Cut
Effective July 1, 2025, the Government of Canada reduced the federal personal income tax rate from 15% to 14%, as this change was proposed mid-year, the effective rate for the lowest tax bracket for the entire 2025 tax year is 14.5%. What this means is that for individuals earning taxable income up to $57,375, they will be taxed at a rate of 14.5% compared to 15% previously.
Top-up Tax Credit
Most of the federal non-refundable tax credit rate will be calculated at a rate of 14.5%. top-up tax credit has been introduced to ensure that the non-refundable tax credits do not decrease in value and remain at the previous rate at 15% on amounts exceeding the first income tax bracket of $57, 375.
Home Accessibility Tax Credit (HATC)
HATC is a non-refundable credit available on up to $20,000 of eligible home renovations or alteration expenses per calendar year. This is designed to help seniors and persons with disability live more independently and make their home more accessible and safer. Only for the year 2025, an individual can claim both the HATC and medical expenses tax credit (METC) for the same expenses and can double dip into both credits which can significantly increase the tax savings for 2025. Starting 2026, an individual must choose to claim the expense under HATC or METC, which means if eligibility criteria are met, it’s important to claim these expenses in 2025 and get the benefit of both credits.
Canada Disability Benefit (CDB)
CDB is a monthly federal benefit program launched in July 2025 for low-income, working age (18-64) Canadians with disabilities, providing up to $200/month. The individual must be eligible for the disability tax credit to receive CDB. An application is required to receive the benefit. Payments received will be included as income, with a corresponding deduction applied to ensure they are effectively non-taxable.
Digital news subscription tax credit
The digital news subscription tax credit has been eliminated for 2025.
Other Tax Tips
Donations Made in January and February 2025
For the 2024 personal tax year, a two-month extension was granted for charitable donations due to the Canada Post strike. If you made a donation in January or February 2025 and claimed it on your 2024 tax return under this extension, be sure not to claim the same amount again on your 2025 personal tax return.
Personal Support Workers Tax Credit
This new tax credit will be available for the 2026 to 2030 taxation years to eligible support workers. It will provide a refundable credit at 5% of their eligible earnings, up to a maximum credit of $1,100 annually.
Accelerated Investment Incentive (AII) and Immediate Expensing for Business
The AII was re-instated by the 2024 Fall Economic Statement to encourage business capital investment. Eligible property acquired on or after January 1, 2025 and available for use before 2030 can benefit from up to three times the normal first-year capital cost allowance deduction. Additionally, immediate expensing is allowed for acquisition of zero-emission vehicles, manufacturing and processing machinery, and certain clean energy equipment acquired on or after January 1, 2025. These changes have not been enacted as at the time of this article.
2025 Personal Tax Return Documents
GG Observations
These changes reflect updates to tax policies and regulations aimed at addressing various aspects of taxation, including housing affordability, support for workers, and the taxation of certain income streams. It is important to stay informed about these changes and file your personal tax on time. Please feel free to reach out to us if you need any assistance on your personal tax return for 2025.
