Your first Canadian tax return covers only part of the year, and residency for tax purposes is not the same as immigration status. This guide covers the date that starts your tax residency, the world-income rule for the resident part of the year, prorated credits, and how to file online or on paper.
Applies in: across Canada
Filing a tax return in Canada is based on residency for tax purposes, not on immigration status. A work permit holder, a study permit holder, and a new permanent resident can all be residents for tax purposes in their first year, and a permanent resident who has not yet established residential ties may not be. The Canada Revenue Agency considers you a newcomer for the first year you are a resident of Canada for income tax purposes. That first return is different from every return that follows it, because it covers only part of the year: the part after you became a resident is treated one way, and the part before it another. Getting the date right, and splitting your income at that date, is most of the work.
This guide is about a personal income tax and benefit return for a newcomer. It is not about a business return, a GST/HST return, or a non-resident return. The GST/HST filing walkthrough is a different return with different forms, and it is covered in our GST/HST return guide. If you have not established significant residential ties and are not a deemed resident, the non-resident filing rules apply instead of this guide. This guide also gives no personalized tax advice: it states what the Canada Revenue Agency pages say, and where a figure depends on your own facts, it tells you to work it out on the return or ask the Agency.
The most important factor is whether you established residential ties with Canada. Significant residential ties are a home in Canada, a spouse or common-law partner in Canada, and dependants in Canada. Where a person entering Canada applies for and obtains landed immigrant status and provincial health coverage, those ties will usually constitute significant residential ties as well. Secondary ties matter when no significant tie exists: furniture, utility bills in your name, a car or home insurance, credit cards, Canadian bank accounts, provincial health coverage, and social ties are among the ties the Agency's folio lists. The folio is explicit that residence status is always a question of fact on all of the circumstances, and that the ties analysis for a person entering Canada follows the same comments that apply to a person leaving.
Enter the date you became a resident on page 1 of the return, in the residence information area. The newcomers page gives the example of arriving and establishing significant residential ties on June 8, entered as "0608". That date does two jobs. It starts the resident part of the year for the world-income rule, and it is the date used to calculate the number of days you were a resident when prorating certain credits. If you are unsure whether you became a resident, the Agency will give an opinion: complete Form NR74, Determination of Residency Status (entering Canada), and send it to the address or fax number on the form. Do not guess the date from your landing date alone if your ties were established on a different day; the date is the day the ties were established, and the return asks for that date.
For most newcomers, residency starts on the first day you live in Canada. The Agency's newcomers page puts it that way, and adds that residency status can change from year to year with the length and reason for a stay, a temporary or permanent departure, or living outside Canada for part of a year. Keep the Agency up to date on residency status, because it affects both tax and benefit eligibility. One practical consequence belongs in this step: the province or territory where you lived on December 31 of the tax year decides which income tax package and which provincial tax calculation apply, and Quebec residents file a separate Revenu Quebec return for provincial tax.
Start with identification. Your Social Insurance Number is a nine-digit number that must be provided on the return. Apply for one through Service Canada if you do not have one; our newcomer Social Insurance Number guide covers the documents and the online, mail, and in-person routes. If Service Canada cannot issue you a number, you may get a temporary tax number from the Canada Revenue Agency. A temporary tax number starting with 01 or 03 is one of the numbers the Agency names as sufficient for online filing with certified software.
Next, gather the income slips. Tax slips such as a T4, T4A, T5, or T5007 are normally provided by an employer or financial institution by the end of February, and they cover Canadian income. They do not cover everything the first return needs. For the resident part of the year, you need records of income from every source, inside and outside Canada, converted to Canadian dollars. That includes pay records from work done for an employer outside Canada after your date of entry, investment income, and any pension income from outside Canada. Pension income from outside Canada may be exempt from Canadian tax under a tax treaty, but it must still be reported, with the exempt part deducted on line 25600 of the return.
Three more records belong in the same folder. First, your spouse's or common-law partner's net world income for the year, and the portion of it for the period you were a resident, as described in the frequently asked questions. Second, the fair market value, on your date of entry, of property you owned when you immigrated, such as shares or a collection, so the deemed disposition cost is recorded while the value can still be established. Third, receipts for expenses you may claim, including childcare, medical expenses, and charitable donations, plus business receipts if you are self-employed. Keep the whole file for at least six years: the Agency's tax tip gives six years as the period to keep a notice of assessment and supporting records, and the notice itself is useful for citizenship or sponsorship applications and for a mortgage or loan.
The split is the heart of the first return. For the part of the year you were a resident, report world income in Canadian dollars. For the part of the year you were not a resident, report only certain Canadian-source income: employment income earned in Canada or business income from a business carried on in Canada, taxable capital gains from disposing of taxable Canadian property, and the taxable part of scholarships, bursaries, fellowships, and research grants received from Canadian sources. A gain, loss, or income that would be exempt from Canadian tax under a tax treaty is left out of the non-resident part on that basis.
Two treaty points follow from the split. If Canada has a tax treaty with the country where income was earned and a provision in the treaty prevents Canada from taxing that type of income, the exempt part is deducted on line 25600. Tax treaties are designed to avoid double taxation, and they generally determine how much each country can tax the same income. If no treaty exists, or no provision prevents both countries from taxing the income, you may be able to reduce Canadian federal tax by claiming a federal foreign tax credit for the foreign tax paid, on Form T2209, Federal Foreign Tax Credits. Your province or territory of residence may offer a similar credit, described in that province's or territory's income tax package. If you are not sure whether a treaty provision makes income from outside Canada exempt, the newcomers page says to contact the Agency rather than deciding it yourself.
As a newcomer, you may be limited in the amount you can claim for certain federal non-refundable tax credits. The rule is mechanical. Work out the amount for each credit for the part of the year you were a non-resident and for the part you were a resident, and the total for any one credit cannot be more than the amount you could have claimed if you had been a resident for the whole year. For the non-resident part, the credits available where Canadian-source income is reported include Canada Pension Plan or Quebec Pension Plan contributions, social security arrangement contributions, employment insurance premiums, the disability amount for yourself or transferred from a dependant, interest paid on post-secondary student loans, tuition fees, and donations and gifts. The remaining federal credits can be claimed in full for the non-resident part only if the Canadian-source income reported for that part is 90 percent or more of your net world income for that part of the year. Claiming the full amount on that basis requires a note on a paper return stating net world income in Canadian dollars for the non-resident part, showing inside-Canada and outside-Canada amounts separately, or the equivalent entry in certified software or through a preparer for an electronic return.
For the resident part, the available credits include the same contribution, premium, tuition, medical, donation, and pension items, plus the Canada employment amount, home accessibility expenses, the home buyers' amount, adoption expenses, the digital news subscription tax credit, and the pension income amount. The other remaining credits are claimed on the basis of the number of days you were a resident, calculated from your date of entry. The newcomers page works the arithmetic for a basic personal amount, an age amount, and a spouse amount by prorating the maximum by days resident divided by days in the year, and this guide states no dollar figure for those amounts because the maximums change by tax year and the page's examples are for the 2025 tax year. Use the maximums in the income tax package for the year you are filing, and let the software or the package do the prorating from your date of entry.
Provincial and territorial non-refundable credits follow the same general pattern, with different amounts for most credits, and the provincial tax itself is calculated on Form 428 for the province or territory where you resided on December 31, except in Quebec, where Revenu Quebec governs. The retirement savings and moving expense limits from the frequently asked questions belong in this step as well: a first-year filer generally cannot deduct registered retirement savings plan contributions, and moving to Canada is generally not deductible, with the student exception stated there.
The return for the year you became a resident is due April 30 of the following year. The Agency's tax tip gives the pattern plainly: arrive in 2025 and file the 2025 return by April 30, 2026; arrive in 2026 and file the 2026 return by April 30, 2027. If you or your spouse or common-law partner were self-employed in the tax year, the filing deadline is June 15 of the following year, but any amount owed must still be paid by April 30. File and pay on time even if you cannot pay in full; the deadline for filing without a number, described in Step 2, exists to avoid a late-filing penalty and interest.
Three filing routes are available. Certified tax software, sent online, is the route the Agency describes as fastest and easiest for most taxpayers, including first-time filers with a Social Insurance Number or a qualifying temporary tax number. You do not need a Canada Revenue Agency account to file online, and signing up for direct deposit can bring a refund in as little as eight business days after the return is processed, according to the tax tip. The paper route uses the T1 package for the province or territory where you resided on December 31; it is the route to use if you have no number yet, if online filing is not available to you, or if the software cannot match the Agency's records. The third route is a registered tax preparer, for a fee. Some preparers are discounters who calculate an expected refund and pay part of it up front, taking their fee from the refund first under regulated fees. If you use a discounter, give them your address so refunds can be mailed to you, and check the refund against your notice of assessment afterward.
Free help exists for a modest income and a simple tax situation: a free tax clinic hosted by a community organization under the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program. If you are self-employed, have rental income, or own a small business, the Agency points to its liaison officers instead. The Agency also offers a free online learning tool, Learn About Your Taxes, and webinars for newcomers and international students. Whichever route you choose, do not treat a commercial preparer's fee, a discounter's advance, or a software upsell as part of the filing requirement. The requirement is the return itself, filed by the deadline, with the split in Step 3 done correctly.
After filing, you will get a notice of assessment, in your Canada Revenue Agency account or by mail. It states how much you owe or will get back, and any registered retirement savings plan contribution room that applies. Once you have the notice from a first filing, you can register for a Canada Revenue Agency account to view and manage your tax information online. If you find a mistake or an omission after filing, you can submit a request to change the return. Keep the notice and the supporting records for at least six years.
Newcomers are a target for tax scams, and the Agency's tax tip lists what it will never do when contacting a taxpayer. It will not demand or pressure immediate payment by Interac e-transfer, cryptocurrency, prepaid credit cards, or gift cards from any retailer. It will not threaten deportation, arrest, or prison, use aggressive or threatening language, set up an in-person meeting in a public location to collect a payment, charge a fee to speak with a contact centre representative, or ask for personal or financial information in a voicemail or email. If a call claims you owe money, verify what you owe against your notice of assessment or your Canada Revenue Agency account before paying anything. The Agency's scam page is the place to check the latest benefit and tax-related scams.
Yes, file for the year you became a resident for tax purposes, even if you had little or no income. The Canada Revenue Agency says so directly, and the reason is practical rather than punitive: filing is how the Agency considers you for benefit and credit payments, including the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit and the Canada child benefit, and it is how refundable amounts and future contribution room get established. A year with no Canadian earnings still has a filing obligation once you are a resident for tax purposes, and your spouse or common-law partner also needs to file every year if they have one. Benefits that start when you arrive can stop if the return for that year is never filed, so treat the first return as part of settling in, not as something to do only when tax is owed.
It depends on which part of the year the income belongs to. For the part of the year you were a resident of Canada, report your world income in Canadian dollars, meaning income from all sources inside and outside Canada. For the part of the year you were not a resident, report only certain types of Canadian-source income, such as employment income earned in Canada, business income from a business carried on in Canada, taxable capital gains from disposing of taxable Canadian property, and the taxable part of Canadian scholarships, bursaries, fellowships, and research grants. Income from outside Canada that you earned before you became a resident is not reported as resident-part income, but it still matters: your spouse's net world income and, for the full-credit route, your own net world income for the non-resident part of the year are figures the return asks for. Keep records that let you split the year cleanly at your date of entry, in Canadian dollars, rather than reconstructing the split from bank statements months later.
Most first-time filers can file online. The Canada Revenue Agency's 2026 tax tip for newcomers says most taxpayers, including first-time filers, who have a Social Insurance Number or a temporary tax number starting with 01 or 03 can use certified tax software to complete and send the return. You do not need a Canada Revenue Agency account to file online. Paper remains a normal accepted route: get the T1 income tax package for the province or territory where you resided on December 31 of the tax year, and mail it. Two situations push you toward paper. If you requested a Social Insurance Number but have not received it and the filing deadline is near, file without it to avoid a possible late-filing penalty and interest, attach a note to the paper return explaining why no number was entered, and note that you cannot file online without a Social Insurance Number. If certified software cannot match the information the Agency holds for you, print the return the software prepared, sign it, and mail it instead.
Enter your spouse's or common-law partner's net world income for the year, regardless of their residency status, and leave their Social Insurance Number field blank if they do not have one. Net world income means net income from all sources inside and outside Canada. In the space under that line, enter their net world income for the period that you were a resident of Canada. Your spouse does not need to submit a Canadian return solely because you are filing yours, but the Agency needs their income figure to calculate the benefits and credits that depend on family income, and to work out the spouse or common-law partner amount where it applies. If your marital status changes, tell the Agency by the end of the month following the month of the change, except that for a separation you do not notify the Agency until you have been separated for at least 90 days. A change can be reported by phone or on [Form RC65](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/forms/rc65.html), Marital Status Change.
Generally, no to both, with narrow exceptions the Canada Revenue Agency states on its newcomers page. For retirement savings, you generally cannot deduct contributions you made to a registered retirement savings plan in the tax year if it is the first year you will be filing a return in Canada. The exception the page gives is for someone who filed a return in Canada for an earlier tax year, in which case a deduction may be available within the limit the Agency determines from previous years' income. For moving expenses, you generally cannot deduct the cost of moving to Canada. The exception is for a person who came to Canada as a full-time student in a post-secondary program and received a taxable Canadian scholarship, bursary, fellowship, or research grant for that institution. Moving expenses cannot be deducted at all if the only income at the new location is scholarship, fellowship, or bursary income that is entirely exempt from tax. Keep the receipts anyway, and check the specific form the page names, [Form T1-M](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/forms/t1-m.html), before claiming either deduction.
Two different checks apply, and both are about records rather than extra tax on arrival. First, if you owned certain property when you immigrated, such as shares, jewellery, paintings, or a collection, the Canada Revenue Agency considers you to have sold it and immediately reacquired it at its fair market value on the date you became a resident. Keep a record of that fair market value, because it becomes your cost when you later work out a gain or loss on disposing of the property. Second, if at any time in the tax year you owned foreign property costing more than $100,000, visit the Agency's page on the Foreign income verification statement to determine whether you are required to report it. Do not assume either check is someone else's problem: the fair market value record can only be made reliably at arrival, and the foreign property check turns on cost, not on whether the property earned income.
No dollar figure for any federal or provincial non-refundable credit maximum is stated in this guide, because the maximums change by tax year and the worked examples on the Canada Revenue Agency newcomers page are for the 2025 tax year; use the maximums in the income tax package for the year you are filing. No processing time for a paper return is stated, because no official page states a paper processing time. No tax treaty, foreign tax credit amount, or foreign property reporting form is named beyond what the cited pages state, because treaty provisions and reporting obligations turn on the specific country and property involved. Re-check the Canada Revenue Agency newcomers and tax tip pages on the day you file: the Agency's pages govern over any summary, including this guide.