Oct 6, 2026
For many lower-income Canadians, the hardest part of getting government benefits they are entitled to isn’t qualifying — it’s filing the tax return that unlocks them.
That’s about to get easier, at least for some Canadians. Beginning March 2027, 1 million eligible individuals will receive an invitation to file their 2026 taxes using a pre-filled return. By 2029, that number is set to grow to 5.5 million.
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But there’s a catch, and a deadline. To be eligible for that invitation, you need to have a few things in place by Oct. 31, 2026, which is less than four weeks away. Here’s who could qualify, what’s at stake and what to do now.
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What is a CRA pre-filled tax return?
The free service offered by the CRA uses information that is already on file to fill in a return for you. Then you review it, fix or add anything that’s missing, and submit
That sets it apart from a track announced in the 2025 federal budget, where the CRA would file returns on behalf of a small group of eligible low-income non-filers. The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO), an independent fiscal watchdog, reports that the CRA is targeting just 3,000 of non-filers for the 2025 tax year, rising to 50,000 for the 2027 tax year and thereafter. The pre-filled return is the larger, second step — aimed at people who already have a filing history and a simple tax situation.
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Who could get an invitation?
According to the CRA, you may be invited if you have:
- filed your 2025 tax return by Oct. 31, 2026
- a lower income and a simple, non-taxable situation
- a CRA account
- your correspondence preference set to ‘electronic mail’
Pay close attention to the wording: meeting the criteria means you may be invited, not that you will be. The CRA’s campaign page also doesn’t list a specific income cutoff. If your income is modest and your return is straightforward — no self-employment income, rental properties or complex investments — it’s worth getting ready anyway.
What if you owe nothing?
You still need to file, because the CRA uses your tax return to determine your eligibility for any benefit and credit payments. Skip the return and miss out on those.
When Prime Minister Mark Carney previewed the plan in October 2025, he said that millions of lower-income Canadians don’t file their taxes and that “too often” those who need benefits the most don’t get them. According to the Canadian Press at the time, he cited programs such as the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) and the disability benefit.
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The money at stake here isn’t trivial. The PBO estimates that non-filers who owe nothing and have their taxes filed automatically would receive an average of $2,212 in benefits for the 2025 tax year, and amounts will rise with inflation after that. That figure applies to the automatic-filing group, not to people who use a pre-filled return, but it shows how much money can go unclaimed when a return doesn’t get filed.
What if you don’t get invited?
You’ll still need to file your 2026 return by the usual April 30, 2027, deadline. For lower-income Canadians with simple taxes, the CRA offers other free options to file:
- SimpleFile, which lets eligible individuals file digitally, by phone or on paper
- Free tax clinics, where a volunteer completes your return
- The Indigenous credit and benefit short return, a simplified paper option
Those same options are available now to help you file a late 2025 return before Oct. 31.
What to do now
If you think you might qualify to get the pre-filled tax return from the CRA, use this checklist:
- File your 2025 tax return if you haven’t already
- Sign in to your CRA account, or register for one — leave extra time in case the CRA needs to mail you a security code
- Update your personal information, including your address, if anything has changed
- Change your correspondence preference to electronic mail if it’s not already set
- Starting March 2027, check your CRA account for an invitation
A pre-filled return won’t change how much you’re owed — what it will affect is how easily you claim it. If setting a few minutes aside this month gets your account and settings in order, you could spare yourself a stack of paperwork next spring — and make sure your benefit payments keep arriving.
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Leslie Kennedy served as an editor at Thomson Reuters and for Star Media Group, followed by a number of years as a writer and editor and content manager in marketing communications, before returning to her editorial roots. She is a graduate of Humber College’s post-graduate journalism program and has been a professional writer and editor ever since.
