Blog · Tax · Budget 2026 · November 2026
For your 2026 return, almost nothing changes: deadlines stay at April 30, or June 15 if you or your spouse are self-employed. The one change you will notice is less paperwork for some medical expenses.
The bigger changes come later: a single May 15 deadline from 2027, simpler claims, and fewer people paying instalments from 2028.
This post is part of our Budget 2026 Insights series. Everything here is proposed, not yet law, and the details could change.
The medical expense credit is getting simpler, and some of it applies to the return you file next spring.
Two more flat amounts start in 2027: $500 a year for incontinence products, and $2,000 a year for the care of a service dog. The cost of buying the dog can still be claimed on top.
A few things don't change. The usual threshold still applies (for 2026, the lesser of $2,890 and 3% of net income). CRA can still ask for supporting documents, so keep your receipts. And a flat amount can only be claimed by one person for the same individual and type of expense.
Services from a qualifying massage therapist would no longer be subject to GST/HST, for services provided after November 5, 2026. Massage therapists would join doctors, dentists and physiotherapists on the list of health care practitioners whose services are exempt.
To qualify, the therapist must be licensed or certified where their province requires it. In a province that does not regulate massage therapy, they must have qualifications equivalent to those needed to be licensed in another province. If your massage therapist has been charging GST/HST, those charges should stop: 5% GST, or the full HST in provinces that charge it.
Starting with 2027 returns (filed in 2028), every individual would file and pay by May 15.
| Filing today | Payment today | 2027 returns onward | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employees and investors | April 30 | April 30 | May 15 |
| Self-employed and spouses | June 15 | April 30 | May 15 |
Employees get two extra weeks. Self-employed individuals would lose a month to file, although they gain two weeks to pay. If you are self-employed, plan to get your records to us earlier from 2028 on.
From 2027, optional flat amounts could replace receipts for several claims, such as $1,000 for moving expenses, $1,200 per child for adoption, and $1,000 once in a lifetime for the home accessibility credit. You can still claim actual expenses if they are higher, and you still need to qualify.
The caregiver credit also becomes refundable, so caregivers with little or no tax owing would get the full benefit.
If you hold foreign investments, such as a US brokerage account or foreign shares, you file Form T1135 once their total cost passes $100,000. The budget would raise that to $200,000, and the simplified version of the form would be available up to $500,000, from $250,000. This starts with 2027 returns; your 2026 return still uses the current thresholds.
From 2028, you would only need to pay instalments if you owe more than $7,500 in tax for the year, up from $3,000, and the threshold would rise with inflation. Until then, the current $3,000 threshold and quarterly dates still apply.
If you earn most of your income personally from a business, you could also skip quarterly payments. That means sole proprietors, partners in a partnership, self-employed professionals and commission salespeople. It does not cover owners paid salary or dividends from their own company. Instead, you would make one payment by December 31 of two-thirds of your tax for the year, with the rest due on May 15.
The budget does not define how much of your income must come from the business to qualify. It extends a rule that farmers and fishers already use, which applies when farming or fishing is their chief source of income, so we expect a similar test. We will confirm once the legislation is released.
The government is consulting on an "RRSP for life" that would remove the requirement to convert an RRSP to a RRIF at 71. Minimum withdrawals would still start at 72. There is no start date yet, so plan around today's rules for now.
For the changes to objection deadlines and penalties, see the other posts in our Budget 2026 Insights series.
Michael Sadovnick, CPA
This post is general information based on the 2026 federal budget proposals, which may change before becoming law. It is not tax advice for your situation. Please contact us before acting.