Who has to file a return
File a 2025 return if:
- The CRA sent you a request to file a return
- You have to pay tax or want to claim a refund
- You or your spouse or common-law partner want to begin or continue receiving credits and benefits, such as:
- the Canada child benefit (CCB) and related provincial and territorial benefits
- the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit and related provincial and territorial credits and benefits
- the guaranteed income supplement (GIS)
Notes
If you have a spouse or common-law partner, they also have to file a return.
For more information about the CCB and Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, go to Tax credits and benefits for individuals.
- You want to claim the Canada workers benefit (CWB) and receive advanced Canada workers benefit (ACWB) payments
- You and your spouse or common-law partner are jointly electing to split pension income
- You disposed of capital property (which may be a principal residence) or realized a taxable capital gain in 2025
- You have to repay all or part of your old age security (OAS) benefits or employment insurance (EI) benefits
- You have not repaid all of the amounts that you withdrew from your registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) under the Home Buyers' Plan (HBP) or Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP)
- You have to contribute to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) for 2025 since the total of your net self-employment income plus pensionable employment income is more than $3,500
- You are paying EI premiums on self-employment income or other eligible earnings
- You incurred a non-capital loss in 2025 that you want to be able to apply to other years
- You want to transfer unused tuition fees or carry forward an unused tuition amount to a future year
- You want to report income that would allow you to contribute to an RRSP, a pooled registered pension plan (PRPP) or a specified pension plan (SPP) to keep your RRSP deduction limit for future years up to date (see Schedule 7)
- You opened a First home savings account (FHSA) in 2025 or a previous year and want to keep your FHSA participation room up to date (see Schedule 15)
- You want to carry forward the unused investment tax credit on expenditures that you incurred in 2025
- You want to report income that will allow you to increase your Canada training credit limit
Deceased persons
If you are the legal representative (executor, administrator or liquidator) for the estate of a person who died in 2025, you may have to file a 2025 return for that person.
Send the legal document that names you as the legal representative, such as a complete copy of the will, grant of probate or letters of administration, to the CRA.
If there is no legal document naming a legal representative, you may request to be the representative by completing Form RC552, Register as Representative for a Deceased Person.
Send the document to the CRA online using Represent a Client or by mail to the tax centre of the person who died.
For more information, go to Doing taxes for someone who died.