Canadian Tax Deadlines 2026
Every important CRA deadline for 2026 — personal returns, self-employed, RRSP, instalments, corporations, and year-end planning. Filing your 2025 tax return.
March 2: RRSP contribution deadline for the 2025 tax year
April 30: Personal tax return filing AND payment deadline
June 15: Self-employed filing deadline (payment still due Apr 30)
Dec 31: TFSA, FHSA, tax-loss selling, and RRIF withdrawal deadline
2026 Tax Calendar
T4, T4A, T5 Slips Due to CRA
Employers must file all T4 (employment income), T4A (pension/other income), and T5 (investment income) information returns with CRA and distribute copies to employees and recipients by the last day of February.
RRSP Contribution Deadline (2025 Tax Year)
Last day to make RRSP contributions that can be deducted on your 2025 tax return. The deadline is always 60 days after December 31 — falling on March 2 in 2026. Contributions made between January 1 and March 2, 2026 can be claimed on either your 2025 or 2026 return.
Q1 Tax Instalment Due
First quarterly instalment payment for individuals required to pay instalments. Applies to self-employed, rental income earners, and investors whose net tax owing exceeds $3,000 in the current year and either of the two preceding years. March 15 falls on a Sunday in 2026, so the deadline moves to March 16.
Personal Tax Return Filing & Payment Deadline
The most important tax deadline for most Canadians. Your 2025 T1 personal income tax return must be filed AND any balance owing must be paid by April 30 to avoid interest and late-filing penalties. This single date covers both filing and payment for employed individuals.
Deadline to File to Receive Benefits Without Interruption
Filing by April 30 ensures uninterrupted Canada Child Benefit (CCB), GST/HST credit, Ontario Trillium Benefit, and other income-tested benefits. Late filing can cause benefit payments to stop from July onward until your return is assessed.
Self-Employed Tax Return Filing Deadline
Self-employed individuals and their spouses or common-law partners have until June 15 to FILE their 2025 return. However, any taxes owing must still be PAID by April 30 to avoid interest charges. This is the most common source of unexpected CRA interest for self-employed Canadians.
Q2 Tax Instalment Due
Second quarterly instalment payment for individuals required to pay instalments. You can use the no-calculation method, prior-year method, or current-year method — whichever results in the lowest payment without triggering interest.
Corporate Tax Return (December Year-End)
Corporations with a December 31 fiscal year-end must file their T2 corporate income tax return within 6 months of year-end. Note: the balance owing for most CCPCs must be paid within 2 months of year-end (by February 28, 2026) — well before the filing deadline.
Q3 Tax Instalment Due
Third quarterly instalment. Under the prior-year method, Q3 and Q4 are adjusted to cover the remainder of last year's total tax after Q1 and Q2 payments. Under the current-year method, all four payments are equal at 25% of estimated current-year tax.
Q4 Tax Instalment Due
Final quarterly instalment for 2026. After this payment, any remaining balance for 2026 is due on April 30, 2027 when you file your 2026 return. If you've overpaid through instalments, the excess will be refunded after filing.
TFSA Contribution & Withdrawal Deadline
TFSA contributions must be made by December 31 to count toward your 2026 room. Withdrawals made in 2026 create new contribution room — but only as of January 1, 2027, not immediately. The 2026 TFSA annual limit is expected to be $7,000 (subject to CRA confirmation).
Tax-Loss Selling Deadline
Last day for investment losses to count against 2026 capital gains. The settlement date — not the trade date — must be on or before December 31. For most Canadian equities settling T+1, you need to sell by approximately December 30. For T+2 markets, sell by December 29.
FHSA Annual Contribution Deadline
First Home Savings Account contributions must be made by December 31 to be deductible on your 2026 return. Annual limit is $8,000; lifetime limit is $40,000. Unused annual room carries forward one year only.
RRIF Minimum Withdrawal Deadline
All RRIF holders must take their minimum annual withdrawal by December 31. Failure to withdraw the minimum results in a tax equal to 100% of the shortfall. Minimum rates increase with age — from 5.28% at age 71 to 20% at age 95+.
Ongoing CRA Obligations
These deadlines recur throughout the year and don't have a single annual date.
RRSP Deadline: March 2, 2026
The RRSP deadline is always 60 days after December 31 — falling on March 2 in 2026. Contributions made in the first 60 days of 2026 can be applied to either your 2025 or 2026 return. Your 2025 contribution room is 18% of your 2024 earned income up to a maximum of $32,490.
Self-Employed? Read This Carefully
Self-employed Canadians have a June 15 filing deadline but an April 30 payment deadline. If you owe tax and don't pay by April 30, interest accrues from May 1 — even if you file on time by June 15. This trips up thousands of Canadians every year.
CRA Penalties & Interest
| Situation | Penalty / Interest |
|---|---|
| Late filing with balance owing | 5% of balance + 1%/month up to 12 months |
| Repeated late filing (within 3 years) | 10% of balance + 2%/month up to 20 months |
| Unpaid balance owing | Prescribed interest rate, compounded daily from May 1 |
| Late or insufficient instalments | Prescribed rate on shortfall, compounded daily |
| TFSA over-contribution | 1% per month on excess amount |
| RRSP over-contribution (above $2,000 buffer) | 1% per month on excess amount |
| Failure to report income (repeated) | 10% of unreported amount |
| RRIF minimum withdrawal shortfall | Tax equal to 100% of the shortfall |
Tips to Never Miss a CRA Deadline
Sign up for CRA My Account to view your RRSP room, benefit amounts, and prior year returns at canada.ca/my-cra-account.
Set calendar reminders now: March 2 (RRSP), April 30 (filing/payment), June 15 (self-employed), and the four instalment dates.
If you expect to owe tax, pay by April 30 even if you haven't filed yet — this stops interest from accruing immediately.
Add 'CRA – Tax Instalments' or 'Receiver General for Canada' as a payee in online banking for quick same-day payment.
Estimate your 2025 taxes early using our income tax calculator so you know what you'll owe well before April 30.
Collect all slips (T4, T5, T3, T4A, T4RSP) before filing. CRA's Auto-fill My Return imports slips directly into tax software.
Prepare for Tax Season
Use our free Canadian tax calculators to estimate what you'll owe before the deadline.