Key 2026 Tax Season Updates

Key 2026 Tax Season Updates

• Lower Tax Rates: The lowest federal income tax rate dropped to 14% (down from 15%) effective January 1, 2026.

• Bracket Indexation: All five federal tax brackets are adjusted upward by a 2% indexation factor for inflation.

• Basic Personal Amount:

  The amount you can earn before paying federal tax increased to $16,452.

• CRA Security & Services: Starting February 2026, users must set up a backup multi-factor authentication (MFA) option (such as a passkey or authenticator app) to access their CRA accounts.

• Drop Box Closure: The CRA will permanently close all in-person document drop boxes at 45 locations across Canada on May 29, 2026.

• Pre-Filled Returns: The CRA is expanding "simple-return" services to allow more vulnerable Canadians to easily file and access benefits.

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Important 2026 Dates

• February 9, 2026: Auto-fill my return service becomes available.

• February 23, 2026: EFILE service opens for online filing.

• April 30, 2026: Deadline for most individuals to file tax returns and pay any outstanding taxes.

• June 15, 2026: Deadline for self-employed individuals and their spouses to file returns