Lots of people find filing taxes stressful and worry about making mistakes. Missing a tax slip or typing a number wrong can delay a refund — a tax slip is the official form, like a T4, that shows the income you earned and the tax already taken off. CRA has announced a new service that could help: starting March 2027, CRA will pre-fill tax returns for eligible Canadians — meaning it fills in the return for you before you file.
What It Is
CRA’s pre-filled tax return service is launching in March 2027, with about one million invitations planned for the first year. It targets people with simpler returns. If you are invited, you log in, look over the return CRA prepared from the information it already has, and submit it. You do not have to build the return from a blank form. You stay in control: nothing is filed until you review and confirm it.
Who Qualifies
- Lower income and a simple, non-taxable situation
- An active CRA My Account (your online account with the tax agency)
- Electronic correspondence switched on so CRA emails you instead of mailing paper letters
Three Things to Do Before October 31, 2026
- File your 2025 tax return by October 31 — CRA says that is the cutoff to be considered for an invitation.
- Log in to CRA My Account and confirm your personal information is current.
- Switch your correspondence preference to electronic mail.
An Honest Caveat
Pre-filled does not mean error-free. CRA only knows the income reported to it by employers and banks. Cash income, income from another country, and things like foreign property reporting are still your responsibility. A bank slip CRA received in January can also be different from the corrected one sent in March, so check the numbers against your own records. Always review the return before filing.
Why It Matters
Even small filing errors can hold up a refund for weeks. By starting from a pre-filled return, most people will only need to confirm what is already there and add anything missing. It is a real time-saver — but the final check is still yours.
Need to file your 2025 return before the cutoff, or want someone to handle it for you? TFB Tax & Bookkeeping prepares personal tax returns from $89 — contact FEIFEI at 437-879-6899 or visit taxfinbiz.com.
