Canada's tax deadline is next week — Here are the penalties & fines for filing late

The tax deadline in Canada is right around the corner, and if you've been procrastinating filing your 2024 income tax return, it might be time to get on it.

According to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), as of last week, just 16.8 million Canadians had filed a return so far this tax season — about half the 33.5 million who filed last year. If you're one of the many Canadians who still hasn't filed, now's the time to act.

The deadline to file and pay your 2024 taxes for most Canadians is April 30, 2025. That's the key date to mark on your calendar if you're cutting it close.

The CRA is serious about this — missing the tax deadline in Canada can lead to some not-so-fun consequences, especially if you owe money. And spoiler alert: The penalties can stack up quickly.

So whether you're dealing with a shoebox full of receipts or just haven't gotten around to logging into your CRA account, here's what you need to know.

If you file late and have a balance owing, the CRA will hit you with a late-filing penalty. That means 5% of whatever you owe as of April 30, plus an extra 1% for each full month your return is late — up to a max of 12 months.

But it gets worse if this isn't your first rodeo. If you've been charged a late-filing penalty for the 2021, 2022 or 2023 tax years and still don't file on time this year, the penalty jumps to 10%, with an added 2% for every month it's late — for up to 20 months. Ouch.

On top of that, the CRA will charge compound daily interest on any unpaid balance starting May 1. That includes taxes you owe, interest on those taxes and even amounts that come from reassessments. As of the second quarter of 2025, the interest rate for overdue taxes is 8%, but rates change as time goes on. So yeah — this stuff adds up fast.

Even if you don't owe money, filing late can mess with your cash flow. While you won't be directly charged a penalty for filing late without a balance owing, the CRA uses your tax return to figure out if you're eligible for benefits like the final Canada Carbon Rebate payment, the Canada Child Benefit, the GST/HST Credit, your Old Age Security payments and the Canada Workers Benefit.

Miss the deadline, and those government payments could get delayed or stop altogether.

If you're self-employed, you get a tiny bit of breathing room — until June 16, 2025 — but only for filing. If you owe taxes, your payment is still due by April 30.

The CRA recommends filing early, even if you can't pay everything right away. That way, you dodge the late-filing penalty and can make a plan to deal with the rest. There's even an option to request relief if your late filing is due to something beyond your control.

Bottom line: Waiting until the last minute isn't just stressful — it could cost you big time.

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