The T1 General is the Canada Revenue Agency's Income Tax and Benefit Return, the return every individual files to report the year's income, claim deductions and credits, and qualify for benefits. You use the package for the province or territory where you lived on December 31. For 2025 income, the filing and payment deadline was April 30, 2026, or June 15, 2026, to file if you or your spouse or common-law partner is self-employed.
If you file with tax software, you don't need the paper package at all; the software produces the same return. The package matters if you're filing on paper or need specific forms and schedules. Everything below comes from the CRA's tax package, due date and penalty pages, as of October 2026.
Which T1 package to use
| Your situation on December 31 | Package |
|---|---|
| Lived in a province or territory | That province or territory's package, even if you moved there late in the year |
| Lived outside Canada as a non-resident or deemed resident | The package for non-residents and deemed residents of Canada |
| Newcomer, or in Canada temporarily | Use the CRA's special situations questions, which look at your residential ties |
Residential ties decide a lot. The CRA treats a home in Canada, a spouse or common-law partner in Canada and dependants in Canada as significant ties; a car or furniture, social memberships, Canadian bank accounts or credit cards and a Canadian driver's licence are secondary ties.
What changed for paper filers
This is the change most people haven't noticed. Starting with the 2025 tax year, the CRA no longer automatically mails the income tax package to certain individuals, and it has removed several schedules from the mailed package. If you file on paper, you may need to download or order them.
- Schedule 3, Capital Gains or Losses
- Schedule 5, Amounts for Spouse or Common-Law Partner and Dependants
- Schedule 6, Canada Workers Benefit
- Schedule 7, RRSP, PRPP and SPP Contributions and Transfers, and HBP and LLP Activities
- Schedule 9, Donations and Gifts
- Schedule 11, Federal Tuition Amounts and Canada Training Credit
- Schedule 15, FHSA Contributions, Transfers and Activities
You can request a package or missing schedule through the CRA's online order form or its automated phone service, which needs your social insurance number. Alternate formats such as large print, braille, e-text and MP3 are available too.
Key dates for 2025 returns
| Date | What's due |
|---|---|
| March 2, 2026 | Deadline to contribute to an RRSP, PRPP or SPP for 2025 |
| April 30, 2026 | Deadline to file and to pay any balance owing |
| June 15, 2026 | Filing deadline if you or your spouse or common-law partner is self-employed |
The June date only extends filing. Any balance is still due April 30, and the CRA charges compound daily interest from the day after the due date. If a due date falls on a weekend or public holiday, your return is on time if it's received or postmarked by the next business day.
The late-filing penalty
If you owe tax and file late, the penalty is 5% of your balance owing plus 1% for each full month late, up to 12 months. If you were penalized for 2022, 2023 or 2024 and received a demand to file, it rises to 10% plus 2% a month for up to 20 months.
The insight most people miss: the penalty is based on tax owing, so if you can't pay, file on time anyway. Filing late can also delay your benefit and credit payments, which are worked out from your return.
What goes into a T1
- Your slips: employment income from your T4 slip, investment income from T5 slips, and any others you received.
- Self-employment income and expenses, if you have them, on a separate statement.
- Deductions, such as RRSP contributions, and credits, such as tuition and donations.
- Contributions such as CPP contributions on self-employment earnings.
- Your provincial or territorial tax, worked out in the same package.
Getting the return right the first time
- Use the package for the province or territory where you lived on December 31, even if you moved during the year, because it decides which provincial tax applies.
- Check you have every slip before you file; a slip that arrives after you've filed means a change to your return.
- If you lived outside Canada all year, don't use a provincial package. The CRA's special situations questions point non-residents and deemed residents to their own package.
- Keep receipts for credits and deductions even when you don't send them, because the CRA can ask for them later.
If the CRA charged a penalty or interest because of circumstances beyond your control, you can ask it to cancel or waive them. The penalty page links to that request, and it's worth making if illness or a disaster caused the delay.
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Instalments and other deadlines
If you're required to pay instalments for 2026, missing a due date can mean instalment interest, and the CRA adds an instalment penalty only if that interest is more than $1,000 for the year, as of October 2026. Other dates sit outside the T1 itself: a T1-OVP return for excess RRSP, PRPP or SPP contributions is due by March 31, and tax on a TFSA is due by June 30 of the following year.
The verdict
Most people will never see a paper T1 General, and that's fine. If you do file on paper, pick the package for where you lived on December 31, check that the schedules you need are in it, and file by April 30 even if you can't pay. If you're self-employed, use June 15 for the paperwork but pay by April 30.
Frequently asked questions
What is a T1 General?
It's the CRA's Income Tax and Benefit Return, the personal return individuals file to report income, claim deductions and credits, and get benefits.
Which T1 package should I use?
Use the income tax package for the province or territory where you lived on December 31, 2025.
Do I need the T1 package if I use tax software?
No. If you're filing with tax software, you don't have to get the income tax package.
When was the 2025 T1 return due?
April 30, 2026, for most people, or June 15, 2026, if you or your spouse or common-law partner is self-employed. Payment was due April 30.
What is the late-filing penalty in Canada?
5% of your balance owing plus 1% for each full month late, up to 12 months, rising to 10% plus 2% a month for repeat late filers.
