With the advent of online tax filing, filing income tax in Canada is easier than it's ever been.
If you are filing income tax as an individual (filing a T1 tax return), you can:
- Netfile – The do-it-yourself option for Canadian tax filing online.
- Efile – the Canadian tax filing online option for tax service providers. So if you get your income tax done by a tax professional, they can use Efile to electronically file your tax return with the Canada Revenue Agency.
- Telefile - A service for filing income tax in Canada by phone. Generally, Telefile is for individuals with less-complicated tax situations.
- You can still file a Canadian income tax paper return if you are filing a T1 Tax Return (i.e. non-corporate tax return) - but this will slow down your return assessment process and delay your tax refund if you're expecting one. (See How Long Does a Tax Refund Take?)
If you are filing income tax in Canada by mailing in a paper tax return, you should send it to the tax centre in your region, or, if you are a non-resident individual, to the International Tax Centre in Ottawa. Where to send your T1 Return provides the mailing addresses of the various tax centres.
People filing corporate tax returns (T2 corporate tax returns) have the same options for filing income tax in Canada. However, Canadian tax filing online is becoming mandatory for more corporations every year.
Currently, filing Canadian taxes online is mandatory for all corporations with annual gross revenue of more than $1 million "except for insurance corporations, non-resident corporations, corporations reporting in functional currency and corporations that are exempt from tax payable under section 149 of the Income Tax Act" (Canada Revenue Agency).
If the corporation is required to file Canadian taxes online and doesn't, there are fines for non-compliance. See the Canada Revenue Agency's Mandatory Internet Filing for T2 Corporation Tax Returns.
If you are filing a T2 Corporate Tax Return for a resident corporation, the mailing location for filing income tax in Canada depends on where the resident corporation is located. The Canada Revenue Agency's Where to send your corporation income tax (T2) return provides a list of mailing addresses for the different regions and tax centres.
The same page also provides the mailing address of the International Tax Services Office in Ottawa, for filing paper returns for non-resident corporations.
Read more about Canadian tax filing online for both individuals and corporations in Can I File Canadian Taxes Online.
