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Mark your calendar – The deadline for most Canadians to file their federal income tax and benefit return for their 2021 taxes is April 30, 2022. Because this date is a Saturday, your return will be considered filed on time if the CRA receives it or it is postmarked on or before May 2, 2022. Similarly, your payment will be considered made on time if it is received by the CRA or processed at a Canadian financial institution on or before May 2, 2022.

Get ready – Visit our Get ready to do your taxes webpage for the latest tax and COVID-19 benefit information that you need to file your income tax and benefit return. Last year, it was visited by over one million taxpayers and was our most viewed webpage.

Register for My Account – Over 2.7 million Quebec residents are already registered with My Account. This secure portal lets you update your personal information, such as home address, direct deposit information, marital status, and more. If you are registered for My Account, you can also use digital services such as Auto-fill my return and Express NOA (Notice of Assessment) in certified tax-filing software. Business owners can also sign up for My Business Account.

As of February 7, 2022, you are required to provide an email address to use My Account. You will receive an email notification if important information, such as your address or direct deposit information, has been changed on CRA records. These notifications can act as an early warning about potential fraudulent activity.

Learn about your taxes – Questions about the filing of your return? Don’t worry! We have launched a new online tool to help you learn about taxes so you can do them on your own. Go to Learn about your taxes for more information.

Need help filing your taxes? – If you have a modest income, a simple tax situation, and require assistance, a volunteer from the Income Tax Assistance – Volunteer Program may be able to complete and file your federal and provincial tax returns for free. Services are currently being offered both in-person and through virtual means such as video-conferencing. To find a clinic, please visit the Income Tax Assistance – Volunteer Program web page. The Program helped over 147,000 Quebec residents file last year.

COVID-19 benefits

T4A information slips – If you received taxable COVID-19 benefits in 2021, such as the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB), Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) and Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB), you will need to enter the total amount you received on your return. A T4A information slip will be mailed to you by the end of February 2022. T4A information slips from the Government of Canada for COVID-19-related benefits will also be provided online if you’re registered for My Account and have full access. T4A information slips, including information for COVID-19-related benefits, are also available through the Auto-fill my return service in certified tax filing software. You will also receive a provincial RL-1 slip for your Quebec provincial tax return.

Targeted interest relief – If you received COVID-related income support benefits in 2020 and owed money to the CRA after filing your 2020 income tax and benefit return, you were not required to pay interest on any outstanding income tax debt for the 2020 tax year until April 30, 2022. This was intended to give you more time and flexibility to pay if you had an amount owing.

To qualify for targeted interest relief, individuals must have had a total taxable income of $75,000 or less in 2020 and received income support in 2020 through one or more COVID-19 measures.

Therefore, if you filed your 2020 return and qualified for interest relief, you have until April 30, 2022, to pay any outstanding income tax debt for the 2020 tax year and avoid future interest charges. This applies to the tax owing for the 2020 tax year only, and not for any previous tax year.

If you cannot pay your balance owing, we can work with you on a payment arrangement.

Updates to benefits and credits from the CRA

Canada workers benefit – The Canada workers benefit (CWB) is a refundable tax credit to help individuals and families who are working and earning a low income. The CWB rates and income thresholds have changed for 2021. A new “secondary earner exemption” has also been introduced.

Support for farmers – Beginning in the 2021 year, the Government of Canada proposes a new refundable tax credit, the Return of Fuel Charge Proceeds to Farmers Tax Credit, as a means to return a portion of the fuel charge proceeds from the federal carbon pollution pricing system directly to farming businesses in provinces that do not currently have a system that meets the federal requirements. These designated provinces are Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan. The credit amount is proportional to the amount of eligible farming expenses attributable to the designated provinces. For 2021, if you’re a farmer in a designated province with eligible farming expenses of $25,000 or more, you can expect to receive a credit of $1.47 per $1,000 in eligible farming expenses increasing to $1.73 in 2022. Form T2043, Return of Fuel Charge Proceeds to Farmers Tax Credit, would need to be completed in order to calculate the amount of the credit.

Educator School Supply Tax Credit – To support teachers and early childhood educators in Canada, the government proposes to expand and enrich the Eligible Educator School Supply Tax Credit. The expansion of this credit will allow teachers and early childhood educators to claim a 25 per cent refundable tax credit, an increase from the previous 15 percent, for purchases up to $1,000 on eligible teaching supplies bought during the tax year. The government also proposes to expand the list of eligible teaching supplies to include electronic devices such as graphing calculators, digital timers, and tools for remote learning. These enhancements would take effect starting in the 2021 tax year.

Northern residents deductions – As a resident of Quebec, you may live in a prescribed zone and be eligible to claim a residency deduction and a travel deduction. To find out if you live in a prescribed zone, visit Line 25500 – Places located in prescribed zones. The northern residents deductions are available to those who permanently live in one or more prescribed zones for a continuous period of at least six consecutive months, beginning or ending in the tax year. Eligible individuals living in a prescribed northern zone can claim the full amount of these deductions, and those living in a prescribed intermediate zone can claim 50% of these deductions. The residency deduction is based on how many days you lived in a prescribed zone during the tax year. The government has proposed changes to the travel deduction. Under proposed changes, the travel deduction will be expanded and be available to eligible northern residents, including eligible family members, who take a personal trip even if no taxable travel benefit was received for that trip. For more information, visit Northern Residents Deductions for 2021.

Have additional tax-filing questions?

We are dedicated to providing you with the highest quality service in the most efficient ways possible. Please keep in mind that tax-filing season is our busiest time of the year.

You can find most of the information you need online. We encourage you to find answers to your tax-filing questions through our digital services. For example, you can check out these resources:

• Benefit payment dates – Find out when you will receive your benefit payments.
• COVID-19 benefits and your taxes – View detailed information on how COVID-19 benefits affect your taxes and how to report the amounts on your tax return.
• Ways to do your taxes – View several ways to do your taxes, including options that are free!
• Questions and answers about filing your taxes – Find answers to common questions Canadians ask us at tax time.
• Tax tips and videos – Find information that could help you with your particular tax situation.
• Charlie the Chatbot – This service can be found on the CRA homepage and many other of our pages on Canada.ca to provide you with quick answers to your tax-filing questions.

Source: CRA

On this page

• Overview
• The CRA’s services
  • Electronic notices of assessment or reassessment for electronic filers
• COVID-19 benefits and your taxes
  • Amounts received related to COVID-19
    • If your income was tax exempt
  • Federal COVID-19 benefits repayment
• Individuals and families
  • Canada workers benefit
  • Zero-emission vehicles

Overview

Tax changes and improvements to services are noted on this page. Also noted are changes to income tax rules, including those that were announced but not yet law when the Income tax package was published in November 2021. If these changes become law as proposed or announced, they will be effective for 2021 or as of the dates given. New items are flagged with NEW! throughout the Federal Income Tax and Benefit Guide.

Several changes have been made to the Income tax package, such as making the Federal Income Tax and Benefit Guide easier to read and moving the text for some income, deductions, and credits to the Federal Worksheet and schedules.

You can also find more information about the lines of the Income Tax and Benefit Return by going to canada.ca/line-xxxxx and replacing “xxxxx” with any 5-digit line number from the return. For example, go to canada.ca/line-10100 for information about line 10100. If you need information that is not provided in your income tax package, call 1-800-959-8281.

The CRA’s services

Electronic notices of assessment or reassessment for electronic filers

Sometime in 2022, the CRA will start the process of switching to electronic notices of assessment or reassessment when you file your income tax and benefit return. For more information, see Notice of assessment.

COVID-19 benefits and your taxes

Amounts received related to COVID-19

If you received federal, provincial, or territorial government COVID-19 benefit payments, such as the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB), Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB), or Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB), you will receive a T4A slip with instructions on how to report these amounts on your return. These slips are also available in My Account for individuals.

If you are self-employed and received federal, provincial, or territorial government COVID-19 assistance for your business, such as the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS), Canada Recovery Hiring Program (CRHP) or Fish Harvester Benefit and Grant Program (FHBGP), you have to include these amounts in your business income or reduce your expenses by the amounts you received. If you received a government loan, the loan is not taxable but you have to include in your business income any portion of the loan that is forgivable.

If you received the CRB, you may have to repay all or part of the amount received if your net income after certain adjustments is more than $38,000. The repayment is calculated using the chart for line 23500 of the Federal Worksheet.

If your income was tax exempt

If your CRB, CRCB, or CRSB income is eligible for tax exemption under section 87 of the Indian Act, complete Form T90, Income Exempt from Tax under the Indian Act, and file your 2021 Income Tax and Benefit Return or simplified return to claim the tax withheld on your CRB, CRCB, and CRSB payments. For more information, see Taxes and benefits for Indigenous peoples.

Federal COVID-19 benefits repayment

If you repaid federal COVID-19 benefits (CERB, CESB, CRB, CRCB, or CRSB) in 2021 that you received in 2020, the amount repaid will be reported in box 201 of your T4A slip or on your T4E slip along with other employment insurance (EI) amounts repaid. You can choose to claim a deduction on your return for the repayment in the year that the benefit was received or in the year that the benefit was repaid. You may also choose to split the deduction between these two returns as long as the total deduction is not more than the amount repaid. For more information, see line 23210 or COVID-19 benefits and your taxes.

Individuals and families

Canada workers benefit

The Canada workers benefit (CWB) rates and income thresholds have changed for 2021. A new “secondary earner exemption” has also been introduced.

For more information, see Schedule 6, Canada Workers Benefit, for your province or territory.

Zero-emission vehicles

The definition of zero-emission vehicle has changed for vehicles acquired after March 1, 2020. A vehicle may still qualify as a zero-emission vehicle if the vehicle was subject to a prior capital cost allowance (CCA) or terminal loss claim provided that the vehicle was not acquired by the taxpayer on a tax-deferred “rollover” basis or previously owned or acquired by the taxpayer or a non-arm’s length person or partnership.

For more information, see Guide T4002, Self-employed Business, Professional, Commission, Farming, and Fishing Income, if you are self-employed, or Guide T4044, Employment Expenses, if you are claiming employment expenses.

Source: CRA