Table of Contents
The form you file in Canada depends on who is filing: an individual, a corporation, a partnership or a trust. Using the wrong return, or missing a slip, is one of the most common causes of a CRA reassessment. Here is the map.
Individuals: the T1
Individuals file a T1 General by April 30 (June 15 if you or your spouse had self-employment income, though any balance owing is still due April 30). The T1 pulls together the slips issued to you:
- T4 for employment income, T4A for pensions, commissions and self-employment,
- T5 for investment income and T3 for trust and mutual-fund distributions,
- T2202 for tuition, and T5008 for securities dispositions.
Self-employed individuals add Form T2125 to report business or professional income on the same return.
Corporations: the T2
Every incorporated business files a T2, due six months after its fiscal year-end, with GIFI financial statements and the reconciling schedules attached. This is separate from the owners' personal returns; salary and dividends the corporation pays flow to shareholders on T4 and T5 slips.
Partnerships and trusts
A partnership with six or more partners, or with a corporate partner, files a T5013 information return and issues T5013 slips allocating income to each partner, who then reports it on their own return. Trusts and estates file a T3, and since 2023 most trusts must file even with no income and complete the beneficial-ownership Schedule 15.
Sales tax and payroll
These sit alongside the income tax returns. A registrant files a GST/HST return on its assigned schedule. An employer files T4 and T4A slips with a T4 Summary by the last day of February, and remits source deductions throughout the year. Missing the slip deadlines carries per-slip penalties that add up quickly.
The rule of thumb
If a form has a number that starts with T, someone issued a copy to the CRA too. The safest return is one that reports every slip the CRA already has on file, then adds the deductions and credits you are entitled to. A mismatch between your return and the CRA's slip data is the fastest route to a review.