Your first tax return

Why file even with no income?

1. Support depends on it: The CRA works out the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB) and the provincial programs from your return. All you have to do is file every year, even with no income. The benefit page
2. Late means paused: File after April 30 and payments may stop for a while; once your return is assessed, missed amounts are paid back. Not lost, but late when you need them.
3. Provincial benefits too: In Ontario the provincial child benefit needs a return every year, even with no income. In Quebec, Family Allowance needs your and your spouse’s returns every year. Ontario · Retraite Québec

When? The deadlines

1. Your first return: You do not have to file until the year after you arrive. For example: you arrived in 2026, so your first return is for 2026, filed by April 30, 2027. Newcomers page
2. Every year: The deadline is April 30 for the year before. If you or your spouse are self-employed it is June 15, but any balance owing must be paid by April 30 to avoid interest and penalties. Important dates

Things only newcomers need

1. Date of entry: You write the day you became a resident of Canada for tax purposes (month and day); June 8 is written “0608”. Completing your return
2. Income from outside Canada: From the day you became a resident, you report your income from everywhere, in Canadian dollars. Money earned outside Canada before you became a resident is not taxed in Canada, but the CRA may ask about it (up to two years before arrival) when you apply for support. Newcomers page
3. No SIN yet? If you asked for it and it has not come and the deadline is near, file on paper without a SIN with a note saying why, to avoid a late-filing penalty. You cannot file online without a SIN. Source
4. What you owned before arriving: Write down the value of shares, gold and the like on the day you arrived and keep it; it becomes their cost if you sell them later. Source
5. Usually not deductible in the first year: RRSP contributions in your first filing year, and the cost of moving to Canada (except some students, under conditions). Source

By your status

• Protected person or accepted refugee: Help you got from a charity or a person before you became a resident is generally not reported; but pay from a charity that hired you is taxable. Source
• International student: The CRA has its own page for international students. Taxes for international students
• Not sure you are a resident for tax purposes? Check the residency page; it decides your return and your support. Determining residency

Free tax clinics (CVITP)

1. Community organizations host free clinics where volunteers do your return, if your income is modest and your tax situation is simple.
2. A “modest” income in the official guide (an organization may adjust it for its area):

   Suggested income limits for free tax clinics

   Family size	Family income up to
   1	⁦$40,000⁩
   2	⁦$55,000⁩
   3	⁦$60,000⁩
   4	⁦$65,000⁩
   5	⁦$70,000⁩
   More than 5	⁦$70,000⁩ + ⁦$5,000⁩ for each extra person

3. “Simple” means no income, or income from a job, pension, Employment Insurance, social assistance, scholarships, or interest under ⁦$1,200⁩. Volunteers do not do returns with self-employment, business or rental income.
4. In Quebec, clinics are run through Revenu Québec’s volunteer program (ITAVP) instead of CVITP. Quebec clinics

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