The 30 April personal tax deadline came and went, and if you are self-employed, you got an extra 45 days. Your filing deadline is 15 June 2026.
Here is the catch most people miss. Your payment was still due on 30 April, and the CRA started charging interest on 1 May. This guide walks you through filing in the last six weeks, the right way.
Key takeaways
- File deadline is 15 June 2026, but payment was due 30 April. Interest compounds daily from 1 May at the prescribed rate (currently 6%).
- 2026 CRA vehicle rate: 73 cents per km for the first 5,000 business kilometres, 67 cents per km after that. Up one cent from 2025.
- If your taxable sales crossed $30,000 over any four consecutive quarters in 2025, you were required to register for HST. If you missed that, the Voluntary Disclosures Program is still on the table.
- Self-employed CPP for 2026 is 11.9% on net business income above $3,500. Drops to 11.5% in 2027.
Two deadlines, not one.
The self-employed filing extension is one of the most misunderstood pieces of Canadian tax. If you, or your spouse or common-law partner, ran a business in 2025, your T1 return is due 15 June 2026.
Your tax payment was due 30 April.
If you owe a balance, the CRA charges interest at the prescribed rate (currently 6% on overdue taxes), compounded daily from 1 May until you pay. Filing on 15 June with a balance owing means you paid six weeks of interest. Filing on 15 June with no balance owing costs you nothing.
Quick tip
If you think you owe, send a payment now even before you file. You can pay through CRA My Account or your bank’s bill-payment service. The payment stops the interest clock.
What actually goes on your return.
Self-employment income from a sole proprietorship or a partnership reports on Form T2125, Statement of Business or Professional Activities. T2125 attaches to your T1 return.
The form looks long. The five sections you actually need are:
- Part 1: identification (name, address, business name, industry code).
- Part 3A: business income (gross sales, returns and allowances, HST collected).
- Part 4: expenses (rent, supplies, vehicle costs, professional fees, everything else).
- Part 7: business-use-of-home expenses.
- Area A: capital cost allowance for equipment, vehicles and tools.
If you keep your books in cloud software (QuickBooks Online, Wave, Xero), the year-end profit and loss report gives you most of the numbers. You will still need to allocate personal-use portions of your vehicle and home. If your books are a shoebox, we can clean them up before next year.
Vehicle expenses in 2026.
The CRA’s 2026 mileage rate is 73 cents for the first 5,000 business kilometres and 67 cents per kilometre after that. The rates went up 1 cent from 2025.
You can claim vehicle expenses two ways:
| Method | What you track | When it works |
|---|---|---|
| Simple per-kilometre | A logbook of business kilometres driven | You drive moderate business kilometres in a vehicle you do not own outright |
| Actual expenses | Fuel, insurance, maintenance, lease or loan interest, plus CCA | You own a vehicle used mostly for business |
Either way, you need a logbook. The CRA accepts paper or app-based logs as long as they show date, destination, purpose and kilometres for each trip.
Business-use-of-home.
If you work from a dedicated space at home and that space is either your principal place of business or used regularly to meet clients, you can claim a portion of your home costs. Eligible expenses include utilities, internet, home insurance, property tax, mortgage interest (not principal), rent if you rent, and routine maintenance.
The calculation is simple. Measure the square footage of your workspace, divide by the total square footage of your home, and apply that percentage to your eligible costs.
Worked example
A Pickering graphic designer with a 200-square-foot office in a 1,600-square-foot home claims 12.5% of eligible home costs.
Two cautions:
- You cannot use the home-office deduction to create or increase a business loss. If you have a loss before the deduction, you carry the home-office amount forward to a future year.
- If you own your home, claiming CCA on the business portion can trigger a partial capital gains tax when you sell. Most CPAs advise against claiming CCA on a principal residence for this reason.
The HST trap.
If your total taxable sales crossed $30,000 over any four consecutive calendar quarters, you were required to register for HST starting the month after you crossed. If you crossed the threshold in 2025 and never registered, you are now non-compliant.
The good news. Voluntary disclosure is still an option. The CRA’s Voluntary Disclosures Program can reduce penalties and waive interest if you come forward before the CRA contacts you.
If you are below $30,000, you do not have to register, but you cannot charge HST and you cannot claim input tax credits on your business expenses.
CPP on self-employment income.
Self-employed Canadians pay both the employer and employee share of base CPP on net business income above $3,500, up to the year’s maximum. The 2026 base CPP rate for self-employed earners is 11.9%.
On 1 January 2027, that rate drops to 11.5% under Bill C-30. A self-employed Bowmanville consultant who nets $70,000 in 2026 pays about $7,914 in CPP. The same net income in 2027 will cost about $7,648. Worth knowing when you set your 2027 instalments.
The 5-minute pre-filing checklist.
Before you hit submit:
- Reconcile your bank and credit card statements against your bookkeeping.
- Confirm all income slips (T4A, T5, T5018) match your records.
- Total your HST collected and check it against your HST return for the same period.
- Check your CPP and EI deductions if you also drew T4 wages from a corporation.
- Re-read your T2125 expenses for personal items that snuck into the business column.
When to call a CPA before you file.
Filing yourself works for many self-employed Durham Region owners. Call a CPA if any of these apply:
- Self-employment income above $80,000.
- Rental income on top of self-employment.
- Cryptocurrency activity (trading, mining, payments received).
- An open CRA letter, review or audit request.
- Year-over-year revenue swings of more than 50%.
- You are considering incorporating in 2026.
A CPA review before filing typically costs a few hundred dollars and routinely surfaces missed deductions worth more than the fee.
Ready for a stress-free filing?
If your 2025 books are a shoebox and the deadline is closing in, we can help. We work with self-employed business owners across Oshawa, Whitby, Ajax, Pickering, Clarington, Bowmanville and Uxbridge to get clean returns filed before 15 June.
Book a free 15-minute call and we’ll walk through where you stand and what filing right looks like for your situation.
This article is for general information only and doesn’t replace professional tax advice. Tax rules change, and your specific situation matters. Always confirm with a qualified CPA before making tax decisions.
