Canada tax filing help
The following info about filing a Canadian tax return only applies to very simple tax situations of IEC participants who entered Canada and became tax residents in the tax year. If you entered Canada on an IEC in another tax year, or are a non-resident for tax purposes, this info is not for you.
In other words, it also means IEC participants with only regular employment income to report in the tax return.
If you had foreign income WHILE in Canada for example with remote work for the employer in your home country, it is a bit more complicated because that income must be reported as taxable income in the Canadian tax return and you can claim already paid taxes as a foreign tax credit.
Talk to a tax professional as you could be filing incorrectly due to the tax treaty rules of each country (double taxation rules).
The same applies to situations with self employment income. That is even more complicated because of all the deductions you can claim as a business.
If you were a “non-resident for tax purposes”, or if you left Canada permanently during the tax year, you cannot file the tax return online because there is no online software for this tax situation.
You must file on paper.
Until when do I need to file Canadian taxes?
Filing deadline:
- April 30, if you owe money
- June 15 if you are self-employed
- 10 years time to file if you expect a refund
Around February/March time you will get your T4 slips from your employers. The T4 is a summary of your earnings and deductions.
You need all T4 slips to file the tax return.
Wait for all T4 slips if you had more than one employer in the tax year, or you received employment insurance benefits (T4E) or had interest income (T5).
Online filing opens on February 24, 2025 for the tax year 2024
The Canadian tax year is from January 1 - December 31
Let’s start
If you are still in Canada and with a Canadian address, it is easy to file the taxes yourself with a free tax software like Wealthsimple if you have a simple tax situation (only employment income)
> Here is the list of more tax software options.
You do not have to be registered for the CRA account to be able to file online.
In the tax software ignore the links to import T4, or links to register for the CRA account, or any links to the CRA website. As a first-time filer, you cannot use those. Skip all those steps and enter everything manually.
How do I know I am a resident for tax purposes?
There is no one size fits all, because there are many factors to take into consideration that determine your tax residency. The ‘more than 183-days in Canada’ factor is one of them, but not the only one that needs to be looked at. More importantly it is necessary to look at the residential ties in Canada and in your home country.
It is important to note, the Canadian tax system is based on your residency status, not your immigration status.
In short, and to help you with the decision:
- Did your spouse/common-law partner and/or children accompany you to Canada?
- Did you buy or rent a home with a rental contract? (not as a roommate or in staff accommodation)
- Did you open a Canadian bank account?
- Did you buy a car?
- Did you exchange your driver’s licence in the tax year?
- Did you get health insurance with a Canadian province or territory?
If you can answer the first two questions with ‘yes’, you have established enough residential ties and would most likely be considered a resident of Canada from the date of entry to Canada (meaning a part-year resident).
The rest of the questions above are ‘secondary residential ties’ that can additionally prove your tax residency.
In other words, from this date you entered Canada and activated the IEC work permit; you are tax liable for the worldwide income (meaning, all earnings from inside and outside of Canada must be taxed in Canada).
Here are some important links from the Canadian government you can use to determine your tax residency:
- The CRA has a guidance on tax residency determination > here <
- For more information on residential ties, see Income Tax Folio S5-F1-C1, Determining an Individual’s Residence Status
- If you are still unsure, you can fill out a form to get the CRA’s opinion on your tax situation (processing of this form could take a few months): Form NR74, Determination of Residency Status (entering Canada)
What is important to know as a first-time filer who entered Canada in the tax year?
In the tax software, just make sure you answer all the questions correctly. The most important question for you is:
“Did you become a resident of Canada for income tax purposes in [the tax year]?”
(See screenshot below)
If you entered Canada during the tax year,
- you answer “yes”
- then you enter the entry date
- Then it asks you to report your income from the time before you entered Canada (the time you were not a resident):
- Enter the income in the “Foreign-source income” spot if it applies to you.
- If you didn’t have income from January until the date you entered Canada, enter the amount of $0 in the “Foreign-source income” spot
You must enter the amount converted into Canadian Dollars, so you need to convert the foreign income to Canadian Dollars by taking the yearly average exchange rate from the Bank of Canada > here <

This income from BEFORE you entered Canada will NOT be taxed in Canada;
the software only needs it to calculate your allowance on the amount of tax credits.
Tax filers who do not do this step end up creating false tax returns and claim tax credits they are not entitled to. And then end up having to repay the received money.
The purpose of this step is a very important one.
If you omit this step, the software calculates the taxes and considers you a “full year tax resident” as if you spent the entire tax year in Canada. Then it calculates the full amount of non-refundable tax credits which is incorrect because you are a part-time tax resident.
If you had income before you came to Canada, the non-refundable tax credits need to be prorated for the time you spent in Canada. That’s why the software asks for your entry date.
! The software will pro rate automatically, you do not have to do anything.
For presentation purposes, here a very simple example:
The federal tax credit for the tax year 2024 is $15,705
You entered Canada on October 1, 2024
You had foreign income before entering Canada, in this example in the time frame from January 1 – September 30, 2024
The amount of foreign income doesn’t matter. It can be $10 or $100,000 foreign income; the formula is the same. The tax credit will be prorated by the software:
($15,705 : 366 days) x 92 days spent in Canada = $3,947.70
The software will claim $3,947.70 in tax credits in your tax return.
Do you see the difference to the full tax credit of $15,705? Employers all use this full amount to calculate tax deductions from your pay slip.
Depending on the taxes you already paid from the earnings, you might get a refund or owe taxes back.
The same applies to the provincial tax credits. They will be pro-rated by the software as well. Each province has their own tax credits.

Common questions for the tax return
Is tax filing mandatory in Canada?
You have to file taxes if any of the following applies to you.
- You have to pay tax for the year
- You want to claim a refund
- You want to claim the Canada workers benefit (CWB) or you received CWB advance payments in the year
- You want to claim the GST⁄HST credit
- The CRA sent you a request to file a return
- You were self employed and your total income for the tax year was over $3,500
The entire list >> here << on the official government homepage
I entered Canada in the tax year, but I didn't earn money in Canada. Do I have to file taxes?
In general, if you didn’t earn any form of income in Canada in the tax year (until December 31st), you don’t have to file a Canadian tax return. For example you arrived in Canada in October but travelled first and started working in the next tax year.
However, you could be missing out on some extra money from the Canadian government. Did you establish residential ties to Canada, so you can be considered a “tax resident” in Canada? Then it is recommendable to file a tax return with $0 income in Canada and reporting the income from before you entered Canada, in the fields as explained above.
You should definitely not miss out on two of the very important credits from the Canadian government:
- You could be eligible for quarterly GST/HST credit. For this, the CRA needs your worldwide income in the entire 2024 tax year to calculate if you are eligible for this credit.
- In addition, you could be eligible for the Canada Carbon Rebate (CCR) if you live in the provinces that offers this. For example a single individual in Alberta got quarterly payments of $225 between April 2024 to January 2025 (based on the 2023 base year).

Can I file my Canada taxes online if I file for the first time?
Yes, even if you are a first-time filer, you should be able to file online. There are however circumstances where the database from the CRA does not match the info from the software you use. If this is the case, online filing is not possible and you must file on paper.
Don’t despair, if online filing is not possible; you can just print out the tax return you created in the tax software, sign it and send it via mail.
Mailing addresses > here < under “Resident individuals”
How long is the processing time for a Canadian tax return?
It depends on how you file your tax return.
- Online tax returns take about 8-10 business days.
- By regular mail as a resident: about 6-8 weeks
Does the CRA offer direct deposit to bank accounts?
Yes, the CRA offers direct deposit to Canadian bank accounts. However, the first tax refund is issued as a cheque. After the first tax return is processed, you can
to receive future tax refunds and other tax benefits into your Canadian bank account.
How do I get my T4 if my employer doesn't want to provide them?
Employers are required by law to issue a T4 by the deadline of “last day of February”. If you haven’t received a T4 by mid-March, contact the employers to provide you with a copy. Let them know there is a late filing penalty for employers, starting at $10 per day late. > Here is the link you can send them for more pressure. <
If you don’t get an answer, you have 2 more options that > are shown here. <
If I had a low interest income in my savings account and therefore never received a T5; should I still include it in my tax return?
T5 are only issued by the bank, if the amount is over $50 for the tax year. Nevertheless, you have to report all income sources in the tax return, including the interest.
How can I file my Canada taxes if I left Canada?
Canadataxback can help you with the Canadian tax return. With a special commercial tax software that is only programmed for tax preparers, it can capture all possible tax situations. Entry dates, exit dates, non residents and foreign addresses.
Canadataxback has been helping IEC participants since 2014. The fee is 10% of the calculated refund, min. $20, max. $60 per tax return. No other Internet taxback service can beat this price.