By Gillian Petit | Institute for Research on Public Policy
Budget 2025 built on a previous announcement to transition to “automated federal benefits” to make it easier for Canadians to file tax returns and access financial benefits. Starting in the 2026 tax year, pre-filled tax returns will be available on the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA’s) My Account online filing system and automatically filed for about one million lower-income individuals with simple tax situations. This offering will be scaled up to about 5.5 million individuals for the 2028 tax year.
This commentary addresses four questions:
- How is automatic tax filing different from the current regime?
- Why do we need automatic tax filing?
- Where do barriers and complexity remain?
- Where is there room for improvement?
Related reading
Mistrust of the CRA leaves low-income Canadians missing out on benefits
PM Mark Carney says he wants to issue pre-filled tax forms for those in “simple” tax situations. But “simple” is in the eye of the beholder. In financial terms, “simple” can mean you probably don’t have intricate investments. You likely don’t owe the government money. Nor do you draw your income from multiple sources.
November 22, 2025
November 22, 2025Insightsthe toronto star,canadian income taxes
Tax filing was supposed to be getting easier. That’s still a work in progress.
It’s tax-filing season again, with all the headaches that brings for Canadians tearing apart their houses and their laptops to find the right paperwork before the deadline.
March 7, 2026
The Canadian Tax Observatory applauds new tax measures to make life more affordable
The Canadian Tax Observatory welcomes today’s announcement from Prime Minister Mark Carney and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne to substantially increase the GST credit, now called the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit.
January 26, 2026
January 26, 2026NewsGST credit,Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit
Get in Touch
Have feedback on the work we are doing? Interested in collaborating? We want to hear from you.


