2025 tax credits, due dates, and when you can file: Your 2025 income tax return guide

Tax season is once again nigh. The Canada Revenue Agency’s deadline (for most of us) is fast approaching on April 30. Bookmark this page for easy access to key dates and deadlines, tax rates, tips, and links to help you prepare your 2025 personal income tax return. We will be updating it as new information becomes available and deadlines approach.

We also have answers from the experts you won’t find anywhere else, thanks to our back catalogue of Ask MoneySense columns. But first, let’s look at what’s different this year.

2025 income tax guide table of contents

• Tax-related dates to know
• How much tax will you pay for 2025?
• How to file an income tax return in Canada
• Ask MoneySense tax questions

Important dates and deadlines

Find out when you can expect your T4, your last chance to contribute to your registered retirement savings plan (RRSP), when to file your return and so much more. These are your 2025 income tax return deadlines.

What happens if you miss the income tax deadline in Canada?
If you owe income tax in Canada you have to pay interest on the balance owning. You begin incurring interest payable the day after the deadline: May 1, 2026. You could owe 5% of your balance owing, plus 1% for each full month you don’t file. Missed three years of income tax returns? You could owe 10% on your balance owed, plus an additional 2% for each month between the due dates and when you file your returns.

Read more on tax deadlines: 
Can you file multiple years of income taxes together in Canada?
Late filers: Get your back taxes sorted before year-end

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How much tax will you pay for 2025?

Though the bottom line on your tax return often comes as a surprise, there are ways you can estimate your taxes owing or refund based on what you’ve already paid (found on your T4 slip from your employer or installments if you are self-employed) and your tax bracket. In fact, this information can help you determine when and how much to contribute to your RRSP or donate to charity and ultimately minimize the taxes you pay. Here are the federal tax brackets:

* Following through on an election promise, the Liberal government lowered the tax rate on the lowest bracket to 14% from 15% previously, effective July 1, 2025. The applicable rate for all of 2025 is the average of the two for each half of the year, or 14.5%.

Note that all Canadians are eligible for a tax credit known as the basic personal amount. For 2025, the basic personal amount is set at $16,129 (it rises every year to account for inflation). There is no income tax on your first $16,129 of income for the year, in other words.

Provinces and territories have their own income tax brackets. Look up the additional income tax you owe based on where your primary residence is located using MoneySense’s guide to tax brackets in Canada.

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How to file an income tax return in Canada

There are multiple ways to prepare and file your personal income tax return. You can do it yourself, either in digital form or on paper, you can use an online tax prep tool or software, or you can hire a bookkeeper or accountant to do it for you. Whatever method you choose, make sure you understand the process, your claims and whether you have a balance owing or will be receiving a refund. 

If you haven’t done so already, sign up for the CRA’s My Account. This personalized portal keeps track of the returns you’ve already filed, notices of assessment, taxes owing, and upcoming deadlines. It also enables you to manage transfers of funds to and from the CRA. Use it to look up how much room you have to contribute to your RRSP or TFSA.

In addition, tax software platforms enable you, with your permission, to sync your T1 return with your CRA account page and populate it with information there, including all official documents for the current tax year—which can save you time and bother in preparing your taxes.

Read more about filing income taxes:
How to fill out a personal income tax return
How to file your taxes online in Canada
How to set up CRA direct deposit

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Business, investment, and other income

Conventional employment income is relatively easy to track—and for the CRA to track you. Your employer(s) is required to send you a T4 slip in the first two months of the year that records your earnings, income tax paid at source, Employment Insurance (EI), Canada Pension Plan (CPP), and other deductions. 

You will likewise receive T-slips for income from government departments and savings accounts or investments held with major financial institutions. It’s up to you to report these other forms of income, as well as business or self-employment income and taxable gains from the sale of real estate and other assets.

Read more about taxes for business owners, self-employed, and investors:
Do you have to make quarterly tax remittances in Canada?
Capital gains tax in Canada, explained
How income from digital platforms is taxed in Canada
How is investment income taxed in Canada?

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Ask MoneySense about taxes

We get emails daily from Canadians asking about their particular tax situations, and we share those questions with our team of experts. If you have a question, email it to AskMoneySense.ca.

And while everyone’s tax situation is unique to them, there are always other Canadians who can relate. Check out some of our most popular Ask MoneySense columns about taxes:

• How the GST/HST tax credit works
• What are the tax implications of donating to charity?
• What’s my RRSP contribution limit?
• Retirement taxes explained: Withholding, clawbacks, and other surprises
• RRIF and LIF withdrawal rates: Everything you need to know
• The tax implications of moving to Quebec

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