Explainer videos
Short videos on the questions readers ask most. Each one links to the full guide.
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NETFILE, explained
NETFILE is the CRA service that receives a personal T1 return straight from certified tax software.
The current season runs from February 23, 2026 to January 29, 2027.
It accepts tax years 2018 through 2025, and amended returns through ReFILE for 2022 to 2025.
NETFILE goes down for maintenance daily, from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. Eastern time.
Most online returns are assessed in about two weeks.
The CRA has not yet announced the 2027 opening date. It is usually published in the fall.
What NETFILE is, when it is open, which tax years it accepts, and how fast your assessment arrives.
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The NETFILE access code
It is an 8-character code of letters and numbers, printed on the right side of your latest notice of assessment.
You can also find it in CRA My Account, in the Tax returns section.
Entering it is optional. Your return will still go through without it.
The code confirms your identity and lets the CRA check some details before assessment.
Filing for the first time? You do not have a code. Leave the field blank.
The CRA never asks for this code by text or email. Treat any such message as a scam.
Where to find the 8-character code, whether you need it, and what first-time filers should do.
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NETFILE rejected the return
A rejection means the CRA received your data but refused it. The return is not filed.
Only a return with a confirmation number has actually been received.
Most rejections come from a name, date of birth or SIN that does not match CRA records.
An address the CRA cannot read, or a first-time filer not flagged as one, will also stop it.
Correct the detail in your software and send it again. There is no penalty for resending.
If it keeps failing near the deadline, mail a paper return so you are not filing late.
A rejection means the return is not filed. The usual causes and how to fix each one.
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Deadlines for 2026 returns
Most people must file and pay by Friday, April 30, 2027.
Self-employed people and their spouse or partner have until Tuesday, June 15, 2027 to file.
But any balance owing is still due April 30, whichever deadline you file by.
Late filing costs 5% of the balance, plus 1% for each full month, up to twelve months.
RRSP contributions for the 2026 tax year are expected to close on Monday, March 1, 2027.
The CRA does not grant general extensions. File on time even if you cannot pay.
April 30, June 15 and the payment date that does not move, plus what late filing costs.
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Tax slips in Canada: which ones you get and what to do with them
Tax slips in Canada are information returns that employers, payers, banks, schools and governments send to you and to the CRA.
Deadline for most 2026 slips: Last day of February 2027 (February 28 falls on a Sunday).
Slips that can arrive later: T3, T5013 and NR4, up to the end of March.
Where to see copies: CRA My Account, once the issuer has filed the slip.
Most Canadians only deal with two or three slips a year. The table below covers the common ones and the return line each one mainly feeds.
Issuers of T4, T4A, T5 and T2202 slips must give them to you by the last day of February after the tax year.
Tax slips from the CRA are available in My Account after the issuer files them.
What tax slips do I need to file my return? You need every slip issued in your name for the year: one T4 per employer, plus any T4A, T4E, T5, T3, T5007 or other slips.
Tax slips in Canada explained: which slips you should expect, when they arrive, how to find them in CRA My Account and what to do if one is missing.
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After you file: the CRA tax return timeline from send to refund
The CRA tax return timeline starts the moment your return is received.
Online return, notice of assessment: Within 2 weeks (CRA service standard).
Paper return, notice of assessment: Within 12 weeks (CRA service standard).
Non-resident return: Up to 16 weeks.
When certified software transmits a return through NETFILE, the CRA sends back a confirmation number within seconds.
The CRA publishes service standards, which are targets it aims to meet for most returns filed on time.
The notice of assessment is the CRA's official answer to your return.
What happens after I file my tax return in Canada? The CRA confirms receipt, runs automated checks against your slips, and then assesses the return.
The CRA tax return timeline after you file: 2-week online and 12-week paper standards, your notice of assessment, refunds, reviews and changing a return.
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Change my return CRA: correct an assessed return in My Account
Change my return is the CRA's online service in My Account for correcting a personal tax return that has already been assessed.
Where to find it: My Account, Tax returns section.
Years accepted in 2026: 2016 to 2025 (10 previous calendar years).
Earliest you can use it: After your notice of assessment is issued.
Have your notice of assessment and the corrected figures in front of you before you start.
When the option is greyed out, missing or refuses your year, the cause is almost always one of the rules below rather than a technical fault.
The CRA's target for online requests is 2 weeks, counted from the day it receives a complete request.
Change my return CRA guide: who can use it, the exact steps in My Account, why it may be unavailable, the 2-week processing target and what to do instead.
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CRA payment arrangements: setting up a plan to pay tax over time
CRA payment arrangements let you pay a tax debt in instalments you agree with the CRA.
Online self-service threshold: $1,000 or more of personal tax or COVID-19 benefit debt.
Where: Manage balance in My Account.
Interest during the plan: Continues, compounded daily (7% Oct to Dec 2026).
Before proposing anything, work out a monthly figure you can keep up for the whole plan.
An arrangement holds off collection action as long as you keep to it; it does not stop interest.
The CRA's terms are simple: make each payment on the agreed date, file all future returns on time and keep up with new obligations.
Can I set up a payment plan with the CRA? Yes. Anyone who owes the CRA can ask for a payment arrangement.
CRA payment arrangements explained: using Manage balance for debts of $1,000 or more, the interest that keeps running, missed payments and refund offsets.
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Paper tax return in Canada: how to get the forms, where to mail them and how long it takes
Can you still file on paper?: Yes, by mail only.
Processing time: Usually within 12 weeks.
Packages mailed automatically?: No, not since the 2025 tax year.
Starting with the 2025 tax year, the CRA stopped automatically mailing the income tax package to people who used to receive it.
Resident individuals mail their paper return to one of three tax centres.
Set up direct deposit before you file, through My Account or your bank.
Paper tax return Canada guide: how to get the T1 package now that it is not mailed automatically, which tax centre to mail it to, and the 12-week wait.
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CRA automatic filing: who may qualify and how it will work
CRA automatic filing is a plan, announced in Budget 2025, for the CRA to file returns for some lower-income people who owe no tax and have not filed.
Announced in: Budget 2025 (proposed Income Tax Act amendment).
Deemed filing pilot: Fall 2026, small scale, pending royal assent.
Pre-filled returns in CRA account: From March 2027.
The Budget 2025 measure lists conditions a person would have to meet before the CRA could file for them.
The normal assessment, objection and appeal rules apply to a return the CRA files this way.
A second track is aimed at people who can file but find it hard.
Will the CRA file my taxes automatically? Only if you fit a narrow group: lower income, no tax owing, all income on slips the CRA receives, and a history of not filing.
CRA automatic filing explained: who the deemed filing pilot and March 2027 pre-filled returns target, the 90-day review window, opting out, and vs SimpleFile.
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CRA My Account: what it does and how to use it safely
CRA My Account is the Canada Revenue Agency's secure online portal for individuals.
Who runs it: The Canada Revenue Agency, through canada.ca.
Sign-in methods: CRA user ID and password, Sign-In Partner (online banking), provincial partner (BC, Alberta).
To register you need: SIN, date of birth, and amounts from an assessed return filed in the last 2 years.
The official sign-in page on canada.ca offers three routes. You pick one when you register, and you can add or switch later.
Registration is a one-time setup that ties a sign-in method to your social insurance number.
Most people log in a few times a year: once to check that a return was received, once to read the assessment and again when a slip or letter needs attention.
What can I do in CRA My Account? You can check return status, read notices of assessment, view slips, see RRSP and TFSA limits, change a filed return, update your address and set up direct deposit.
CRA My Account is the free online portal for your tax file. See how to sign in, register, keep it secure with backup MFA and fix common access problems.