Personal Tax Return (T1) in Canada

What is a T1 tax return

The T1 is the personal income tax return Canadian residents file each year. It reports your income from employment, self-employment, investments and other sources, calculates the tax you owe or the refund you're due, and is how you claim deductions and credits — from RRSP contributions to home office expenses.

Who needs to file a T1 return

• Residents of Canada with tax owing for the year.
• Anyone who wants to receive refundable benefits and credits such as the GST/HST credit or the Canada Child Benefit.
• Self-employed people reporting business income and claiming business expenses.
• People who sold investments, rental property or other capital assets during the year.
• Those asked to file by the CRA, including most new residents.

T1 deadlines and penalties

Most individuals must file and pay any balance owing by April 30. Self-employed individuals and their spouse or common-law partner have until June 15 to file, but any balance owing is still due April 30. If a deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, the CRA moves it to the next business day.

The standard late-filing penalty is 5% of the balance owing plus 1% per complete month late, up to 12 months. If the CRA issued a demand to file and assessed a late-filing penalty for one of the previous three years, the repeat penalty is 10% plus 2% per complete month late, up to 20 months.

Documents you need

• T4 slips (employment income), T4A slips (pensions, contracts, other income)
• T5 and T3 slips (investment income)
• RRSP contribution receipts
• T2202 tuition slips and student loan interest statements
• Medical expense and charitable donation receipts
• For the self-employed: income records, expense receipts and vehicle logs (Form T2125)
• Prior-year Notice of Assessment, if available

How online T1 filing works

• Book a free consultation and receive a flat-rate quote in writing.
• Upload your slips and receipts through the secure client portal.
• We prepare your T1, check every deduction and credit, and send you the draft to review.
• You approve the return and authorize filing; we confirm the appropriate filing method and provide a copy. CRA EFILE is for approved tax preparers filing clients' returns, while NETFILE is for individuals filing their own returns.

Pricing

Personal tax returns start at $299 plus tax, with a flat rate confirmed before any work begins. Self-employed returns with business statements are quoted based on the state of your records. See the Pricing page for current plans.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Missing the April 30 payment deadline even when filing by June 15 as self-employed.
• Claiming expenses without receipts to support them.
• Forgetting to report all investment income, including foreign income.
• Missing RRSP contributions made in the first 60 days of the year, which apply to the previous tax year.