How to file your taxes for the first time in Canada

March 6, 2025 E Jazz Reporter

Newcomers gain many benefits from filing Canadian income taxes.

Filing taxes, even without any income, may allow you to receive money from the Canadian government.

You could also be legally required to file taxes. And if you wish to be eligible for Canadian citizenship, you’re required to have met your tax filing obligations.

In this article, we’ll explain:

Who needs to file Canadian income taxes;
The benefits of filing taxes;
How to reduce your tax bill, or even get a tax refund;
How to file;
Tax deadlines;
How to avoid common mistakes on your tax return.

Click here for help filing your taxes

Who must file?

Most people living in Canada are either legally required to file taxes or will benefit from filing taxes, even if they are not required to do so.

Whether you are a permanent resident, temporary foreign worker, international student, or even a visitor, you will have tax filing obligations so long as you qualify as a resident of Canada for tax purposes.

If you maintain a residence in Canada, you will likely be a resident for tax purposes.

The CRA considers elements of your situation such as whether you have:

A home in Canada;
A spouse or common-law partner in Canada;
Dependents in Canada;
Personal property in Canada;
Social ties with Canada;
Economic ties with Canada; and/or
Health insurance from a Canadian province or territory.

Being a resident of Canada for tax purposes means you:

May have a legal obligation to file taxes; and
May gain benefits, such as money from the government, when filing taxes.

Dual residents: It is possible to be a resident of more than one country at a time. If Canada has a tax treaty with your other country, you’ll be considered a resident for tax purposes of the country in which you have the strongest social and economic ties.

If in doubt as to whether you count as a resident of Canada for tax purposes, you can call the CRA at 1-800-959-8281. You can also file form NR73 or NR74 to have the CRA determine your tax residency.

If in doubt as to your tax filing obligations, it may also be beneficial to consult a tax professional who can support you throughout the process.

Click here to consult a Tax Expert today

Benefits of filing

You can benefit from filing taxes even if you have no income because you may get money from the government through refundable tax credits. For example, an eligible single person can receive a total of $519 for the GST/HST credit, in quarterly payments from July 2024 to June 2025 (for the 2023 base tax year).

How to maximize your tax refund

There are many other benefits and credits for which you may be eligible:

Benefit/Credit	Who is eligible	Maximum amount of benefit	Refundable?
GST/HST credit	Individuals 19 years or older at the time of receiving the credit	$519 (single) $680 (married) $179 for each child under 19	Yes
Canada Child Care Benefit (CCB)	Individuals with children under age 18, including temporary residents who have lived in Canada for the past 18 months	$7,787 per child under 6 $6,570 per child aged 6 to 17	Yes
Canada Carbon Rebate (CCR)	Individuals 19 years or older, who are residents of any province, except BC, The Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Quebec, and Yukon	For single individuals with no children: -Alberta: $900 -Manitoba: $600 -New Brunswick: $380 -Newfoundland and Labrador: $596 -Nova Scotia: $412 -Ontario: $560 -PEI: $440 -Saskatchewan: $752	Yes
Canada Workers Benefit (CWB)	Low-income workers 19 years or older (full-time students not eligible)	Basic benefit: Single: $1,590 Family: $2,739	Yes
Tuition tax credit	Post-secondary students	15% of tuition fees paid	No (but unused credits can be carried over for future years)
Moving expenses	Workers who moved 40km closer to work	Varies (based on expenses paid – can be deducted from your taxable wages)	No
RRSP contributions	Individuals with earned income in previous years	Based on the amount you deduct and on your marginal tax rate. A lower taxable income may also unlock additional credits and benefits.	No

If you have a negative balance owing when you file your tax return, the government will refund you that money.

In the case of refundable credits, you can get a refund from the government even if you didn’t pay any taxes.

Non-refundable credits or deductions can only result in a refund if you have paid taxes, but if unused, they can often be carried over for future tax years.

To reduce your tax owing and/or maximize your tax refund, you should make the best possible use of all your available deductions and credits.

Click here for help filing your taxes

How to file

You have the option of filing your taxes yourself, but you may wish to consult Tax Experts.

Canadian income tax legislation is complicated and may be difficult to navigate yourself as a newcomer, so whether you’re filing your income taxes for the first time or looking to better understand your tax situation, the experts at H&R Block can help.

Hiring tax professionals can:

Save you time;
Reduce the risk of errors or mistakes on your return; and
Help maximize your tax refund or minimize your balance owing.

Although it’s technically possible to file a paper tax return, most tax returns in Canada are filed online, either by individuals or professionals using specialized tax return software.

To file, you’ll need a Canadian Social Insurance Number (SIN). You will also want to refer to various documents to input into your tax return, or to provide to your tax professional, including forms such as the T4, T4A, and T5.

You can usually expect to receive these forms from your employer(s) and/or financial institutions by the end of February. Ensure you keep records of these documents in case you are audited later.

Click here to consult a Tax Expert today

Tax deadlines

In the spring of 2025, residents of Canada will file their taxes for the 2024 tax year—meaning on the income they earned in 2024.

For the upcoming tax season, the deadlines to file taxes are as follows:

April 30, 2025, for individuals; and
June 16, 2025, for self-employed individuals.

Self-employed individuals must still pay any balance owing by April 30, 2025, to avoid interest.

If you do not file your taxes on time, the CRA may charge you a late filing penalty of 5% of your balance owing, plus 1% for each additional month late.

So, you should still file your taxes on time, even if you can’t afford to pay your full balance owing by the deadline.

If you cannot afford to pay the full balance owing, you can contact the CRA to set up a payment arrangement.

Filing without Canadian Income

Most people living in Canada will be residents of Canada for tax purposes. If you have no income, you might not legally be required to file taxes, but you can gain many benefits from filing anyway.

As a resident of Canada, you are legally subject to income tax on your worldwide income, meaning that you must pay tax on all your earnings, regardless of whether they come from within Canada or outside Canada.

Avoiding common mistakes

Let’s look at some common tax pitfalls that should be avoided. We’ll discuss:

Not filing when you should have filed;
Filing with the wrong residency status;
Filing late;
Missing deductions and/or credits;
Not getting professional help.

Not filing: If you are legally required to file taxes and fail to file, you may be subject to fees, which could jeopardize your ability to gain Canadian citizenship later. Even if you’re not legally required to file, you could miss out on hundreds or even thousands of dollars of refundable tax credits by failing to file.

Filing with the wrong residency status: Depending on your situation, you may be a resident (factual resident) or deemed resident. Your tax obligations will differ depending on which residency status you have. Ensure that you file with the correct residency status.

Filing late: If you file late, you can be subject to hefty penalties. File your taxes on time, even if you cannot immediately afford to pay your entire balance owing.

Missing deductions and/or credits: If you don’t use all your available credits and/or deductions, you are leaving money on the table. Ensure that you claim all eligible medical expenses, charitable contributions, moving expenses, employment expenses, and business expenses (if self-employed). Missing deductions or credits could cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars. With Free Second Look, H&R Block’s Tax Experts can help you reclaim lost dollars from your earlier years’ Canadian tax returns.

Not getting professional help: Canada has one of the most complex tax systems in the world. It can be incredibly challenging to navigate, even for Canadian citizens or permanent residents who have been living in Canada for decades.

Hiring a tax professional can save you time, reduce the risk of errors on your return, and even save you hundreds or thousands of dollars in income taxes.

Why Choose H&R Block?

H&R block has been Canada’s leading tax preparation firm for more than 60 years. The fine people at H&R Block have the expertise to handle all tax situations.

Over the last 60 years, H&R Block’s growth in Canada has been tremendous. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, H&R Block serves taxpayers in nearly 1,000 offices across the country.

H&R Block’s dedicated team of Tax Experts use the latest in electronic processing and filing technology to prepare all types of returns, including personal, small business, corporate, farm, trucker, fishing, U.S., rental and estate.

With offices located across North America and in 13 foreign countries, H&R Block is able to prepare tax returns for all Canadians no matter where they are.

If you’ve already filed your Canadian tax return for this year elsewhere, or if you’ve filed Canadian returns elsewhere in previous years, you can take advantage of H&R Block’s Free Second Look**. When their Tax Experts reviewed client returns filed elsewhere, they helped more than half of those clients get an additional $2,900 in refunds on average*.

Get a Free Second Look** at H&R Block

*The average refund amount is based on 2,877 T1 Adjustments originally prepared outside of H&R Block and reassessed at H&R Block company-owned locations in Canada between January 1, 2024, and August 5, 2024. Of the 2,877 returns reassessed, 1,447 received a positive refund adjustment of an average of $2,941. Amount cannot be guaranteed and varies based on each individual tax situation.

**Valid only for a Second Look® review on an individual tax return for the current year and previous three years. Excludes returns prepared by H&R Block. Additional fees apply if you have us prepare a corrected or amended return.