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The beginning of March marks the end of RRSP season and the start of tax season. The Canada Revenue Agency began accepting electronic returns as early as last week. Last year, nearly 90 per cent of the over 29 million returns Canadians filed were completed online. Let’s take a look at what’s new this tax-filing season and provide some tips to help you start your return.

The deadline

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Most Canadians’ tax returns are due on April 30, 2019. If you or your spouse or partner are self-employed, you have until June 15, 2019 to file your returns; however, since June 15, 2019 falls on a Saturday, the CRA will consider your return to be filed on time as long as the CRA receives it by (or it’s postmarked by) midnight June 17, 2019. Note that any balance owing is still due by April 30, 2019.

Tax rates

The federal tax rates on your 2018 return haven’t changed at all from the prior year, although the brackets have been indexed to inflation by 1.5 per cent over 2017. The lowest bracket last year – 15 per cent federally — was for taxable income up to $46,605. Combined with provincial or territorial tax, that resulted in a combined rate of anywhere from 19 per cent in Nunavut to 30 per cent in Nova Scotia.