Most Canadians have yet to file taxes, CRA data show. Here are five tips to get you going

From pension splitting to pooling donations, here are some ways to motivate taxpayers to file on time and get their best returns. Photo by Pra-chid/Getty Images

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Tax filing season officially began just over three weeks ago, and according to the latest individual income tax return statistics for the 2026 tax-filing season, as of March 15 the Canada Revenue Agency has received 5.5 million returns, nearly all of which (96 per cent) were filed electronically. Of the returns processed by the CRA so far, two-thirds of them claimed a refund, with the average refund being $2,000. Given that last tax filing season, nearly 32 million personal T1 returns were filed for the 2024 tax year, most of us have yet to file.

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So, as you sit down this weekend to gather your slips, receipts and other tax information to begin the annual filing process, here are five tax tips to consider.

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Report foreign exchange gains

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If you sold shares denominated in foreign currency, or perhaps foreign real estate, in 2025, your capital gain (or loss) on disposition would include a foreign currency component. For these transactions, you should use the actual foreign exchange rate that was in effect on the day of the transaction. So, you would convert the proceeds to Canadian dollars using the exchange rate on the date of sale, and compare that to the adjusted cost base (ACB) or tax cost of the property using the foreign exchange rate on the date of purchase of the property.

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For example, let’s say Isaac bought 1,000 shares of a U.S. stock on Nov. 8, 2012, when the price was US$10 per share, and the U.S. dollar was at par with the Canadian dollar. By November 2025, the price of the shares had fallen to US$8 per share, and Isaac decided to sell his position with a view to using this loss against other realized gains.

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So, on November 25, 2025, when the U.S. dollar was trading at $1.41, Isaac sold his U.S. shares for US$8,000, yielding proceeds of $11,280. So, what initially appeared to be an accrued capital loss of US$2,000 (US$10,000 – US$8,000) turned out to be a capital gain of $1,280 ($11,280 – $10,000) for Canadian tax purposes.

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Note that Isaac is required to report the foreign exchange component of the disposition on his 2025 return even if he doesn’t actually convert the US$8,000 back to Canadian dollars, which may be the case if he has a U.S. dollar non-registered trading account, and he leaves the funds in that account in U.S. dollars for future trades.

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Declare foreign assets

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If you owned “specified foreign property” where the total cost at any time in 2025 was more than $100,000, you’re required to complete and file Form T1135, Foreign Income Verification Statement.

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Remember that shares of foreign corporations such as Apple Inc. or Nvidia Corp. must also be disclosed, even if held in a Canadian non-registered brokerage account. Failure to report foreign property on the T1135 can lead to late-filing penalties of $25 per day to a maximum of $2,500, plus arrears interest, for each taxation year in which you fail to file the form.

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Split your pension income

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Pension splitting allows you to save income tax where one spouse is in a lower tax bracket upon retirement than the other, and may also allow you to preserve income-tested government benefits and credits, such as your Old Age Security (OAS) pension or the age credit. Any pension income that qualifies for the federal pension income credit also qualifies to be split. This includes withdrawals from your registered retirement income fund (RRIF) once you’re over 65.