For most people the 2025 return was due 30 April 2026, and payment was due the same day. If you or your spouse or common-law partner were self-employed, you had until 15 June 2026 to file — but any balance owing was still due 30 April 2026.
The two dates are not the same date
This is the single most common misunderstanding about the self-employed deadline. The extension is on filing, not on paying. Interest starts accruing on an unpaid balance from 1 May regardless of when the return is due.
In practice that means a self-employed person who waits until June to think about tax has already been charged interest for six weeks. The useful move is to estimate what is owed before the end of April and pay it, even if the return itself is finished later.
Who the June date actually covers
It applies if you carried on a business in the year, and it extends to your spouse or common-law partner even if only one of you was self-employed. It does not apply if the business expenditures were primarily the cost of a tax shelter investment — in that case the return is due 30 April like everyone else's.
Weekends, holidays, and filing late anyway
If a deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday the CRA recognises, your return counts as on time if the CRA receives it, or it is postmarked, on or before the next business day.
If you are late, file anyway and file soon. The late-filing penalty is a percentage of what you owe plus a monthly amount, so it grows with delay — and if you are owed a refund rather than owing tax, there is no late-filing penalty at all. A surprising number of unfiled returns are refunds sitting unclaimed.
Sources
- CRA — Filing due dates for the 2025 tax return — modified 20 January 2026
This guide explains published CRA rules. It is general information, not advice about your situation. Rules change — check the CRA page before acting on anything here.
