The top tax changes to know about when filing your return this year

This year’s general tax filing deadline is April 30, 2025. If you or your spouse or partner have self-employment income, your filing deadline, which is normally June 15, is extended by an extra day in 2025 to June 16, since June 15 falls on a Sunday this year.

In either case, if you owe tax for 2024, any balance due must be paid by April 30, 2025. After that date, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) charges non-deductible arrears interest, and the current rate is 8%, compounded daily.

Note that if you realized a capital gain or loss in 2024, the CRA has indicated that no interest or penalties will be charged as long as you file by June 2, 2025.

For 2024, the Schedule 3 used to report capital gains and losses has two separate reporting periods: January 1 to June 24, and June 25 and December 31. The government had proposed to increase the capital gains inclusion rate effective June 25, 2024. Although the government later withdrew this proposal for 2024, the CRA said reporting for 2 periods was “maintained to ensure continued alignment with the tax slips that have already been published and are currently being issued to Canadians and filed with the CRA.”  

In the end, capital gains and losses from the 2 periods are added together and a 50% inclusion rate applies to the total. Capital gains information should be sent to the proper sections of Schedule 3 by correctly inputting the boxes from the various T-slips into certified tax software Opens a new window..

New for 2024, you cannot deduct expenses, including interest expenses, for a non-compliant residential property that you used for short-term rentals (less than 90 consecutive days in the year.) The property is non-compliant if it’s located in a province or municipality that doesn’t permit short-term rentals at that location, or if it doesn’t comply with provincial or municipal registration, licensing and permit requirements for short-term rentals.

You can claim a tax deduction for your additional contributions to the CPP and QPP. New for 2024, second additional contributions were added and equal 4% of your pensionable earnings between the $68,500 and $73,200. You can claim a deduction of up to $838 ($650 for first additional contributions and $188 for second additional contributions). If you’re self-employed you would pay double the amount, and can claim a deduction for the total amount paid.

The AMT system imposes a minimum level of tax on taxpayers who claim certain tax deductions, exemptions or credits to reduce the tax that they owe to very low levels.

Changes to AMT for 2024 include: increasing the AMT exemption (so AMT may apply with taxable income over $173,205), raising the AMT rate, and broadening the AMT base by limiting certain exemptions, deductions, and credits. AMT calculations are complex and more information is available in the CIBC report The New Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) (PDF, 375 KB) Opens a new window..

In late December 2024, the federal government announced an extension of the 2024 charitable donation deadline Opens a new window.. It goes until February 28, 2025 and is meant to mitigate the impact of the postal strike. Only donations made in the form of cash or cheque, credit card, money order or electronic payment qualify for the extension, and can be claimed on the 2024 return, or saved for 2025 (or for up the normal five year carryforward period).

Whether you use a simplified filing method, online filing or regular paper, be sure to submit your 2024 tax return to be eligible for valuable benefits in 2025, including the Canada Child Benefit (worth up to almost $8,000 per child) and the GST/HST refundable tax credit (worth up to $500 for a single individual).

For more information about preparing your 2024 personal tax return, review the CIBC report Tax filing in the ’20s: Mining the new tax return for extra money this spring (PDF, 290 KB) Opens a new window.. You can also review Doing it right the first time! Avoiding the most common tax return errors (PDF, 330 KB) Opens a new window..