Personal Income Tax Returns in BC

Your 2025 return was due April 30, 2026, which is the usual date for most people. Even with little or no income it's worth filing, because your return is what the CRA uses to work out your benefits.

Who has to file

You have to file a 2025 return if you owe tax, if the CRA sent you a request to file, or if you sold capital property (your home included) or had a taxable capital gain. A few other situations also call for one:

• You have to repay some of your Old Age Security or Employment Insurance benefits.
• Money you took out of your RRSP under the Home Buyers' Plan or Lifelong Learning Plan hasn't all been paid back.
• Your net self-employment income plus pensionable employment income was over $3,500, so you owe Canada Pension Plan contributions for 2025.
• You and your spouse or partner are jointly electing to split pension income.

Why file with little or no income

The CRA works out most benefits from your return. That includes the Canada child benefit (CCB), the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (called the GST/HST credit until July 2026), the related provincial payments, and the guaranteed income supplement. Filing is how you're considered for the Groceries and Essentials Benefit. To get these benefits, a spouse or common-law partner has to file too.

A return also keeps your RRSP deduction limit and FHSA participation room up to date, lets you carry forward unused tuition, and records a loss you may want to use in another year. If you've missed a few years, our post on catching up on unfiled returns explains how that works.

When it's due

File late with a balance owing and the penalty is 5% of the balance plus 1% for each full month late, up to 12 months. Interest is compounded daily on unpaid amounts starting the day after the due date. Filing on time avoids the penalty even if you can't pay yet. Our tax due dates page lists the rest of the year's deadlines.

Slips, deductions and credits

Slips come from your employer or whoever paid you: a T4 for employment income, a T4A for pensions and other income, a T4E for EI benefits, a T5 for investment income. Most arrive by the end of February. T3 and T5013 slips can take until the end of March.

A deduction is an amount you subtract from your income, so the tax is worked out on a smaller number. A non-refundable credit, such as the basic personal amount or the age amount, lowers the tax itself. If your credits add up to more than the tax you owe, you don't get the difference back.

For 2026 income, the lowest federal rate is 14% on taxable income up to $58,523. The lowest rate for 2025 was 14.5%, because it dropped from 15% to 14% on July 1, 2025. BC tax goes on top, starting at 5.6% on the first $50,363 for 2026. Each rate applies only to the income inside its bracket.

Couples each file their own return

Each of you files your own return. Yours asks for your marital status on December 31, 2025, and for your partner's first name, social insurance number and net income (line 23600), even if that's zero. Entering their details on your return doesn't file one for them, and the CRA notes they may still have to file their own.

The CRA treats you as common-law partners if you live together in a conjugal relationship and you've done so for at least 12 continuous months, or they're the parent of your child by birth or adoption. (A third test covers a partner who has custody and control of your child.)

A few things link the two returns.

• Spouse or common-law partner amount. If you supported your partner and their net income was below your basic personal amount, you may be able to claim this credit on line 30300. Only one of you can claim it in a year.
• Unused credits. If your partner doesn't need all of certain credits (for example the age amount, pension income amount, disability amount or current-year tuition) to bring their federal tax to zero, you can claim the unused part on line 32600.
• Benefits use family income. The CCB is based on adjusted family net income, which starts from both of your line 23600 amounts. The Groceries and Essentials Benefit also looks at adjusted family net income and your marital status.
• Pension income. If one of you has a pension, you may be able to report up to half of the eligible part on the other's return. See pension income splitting.
• Status changes. Tell the CRA about a new marital status by the end of the month after it changes. If you separate, you have to wait at least 90 days before telling them.

Filing it

You can file it yourself with certified tax software through NETFILE, which opened for 2025 returns on February 23, 2026, or on paper. Or you can have a professional tax preparer, or a volunteer at a free tax clinic, do it for you. A return for someone who died can't be sent through NETFILE (see our post on final returns).

How we help

We prepare personal returns and explain what we did in plain English. Every tax client gets a CCNotes summary of what went into their return before they sign off. We also catch people up on unfiled years, and with your authorization we can answer CRA letters for you.