This page covers Budget 2026, the federal budget tabled on November 5, 2026. Since Budget 2025 the federal budget comes in the fall, with an economic and fiscal update in the spring.
A budget measure is a proposal: it becomes law only when Parliament passes the bill that contains it and the bill receives royal assent. As of November 5, 2026, no Budget 2026 measure on this page is law, so today’s rules still apply. The measures most readers will plan around would move the filing and payment date to May 15, add a one-time groceries benefit payment, make the caregiver credit refundable and enlarge the workers benefit. Its tax measures document lists no change to federal income tax rates or brackets, the capital gains inclusion rate, or TFSA, RRSP and FHSA limits.
Budget 2026 at a glance
| Measure | What it would change | Would start | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filing and payment date | May 15 for all individuals, replacing April 30 and June 15 | 2027 tax year, so returns due in 2028 | Proposed: named in the Notice of Ways and Means, no draft clauses yet |
| Groceries and essentials supplement | One-time payment of half the year’s maximum benefit | January 2027 | Proposed: draft clauses in the Notice of Ways and Means |
| Canada Caregiver Credit | Becomes refundable | 2027 tax year | Proposed: named in the Notice of Ways and Means, no draft clauses yet |
| Build Canada Workers Benefit | Larger benefit that starts at lower earnings; advance payments phased out | 2027 tax year | Proposed: draft clauses in the Notice of Ways and Means |
| RRSP for life | Merges RRSP and RRIF rules; no conversion at 71 | No date stated | Consultation only, to January 8, 2027; draft clauses in the Notice of Ways and Means, with no start date |
| Medical expense credit: paperwork | No prescription needed, or a certified condition instead, for listed expenses | 2026 tax year | Proposed: draft clauses in the Notice of Ways and Means |
| Medical expense credit: gluten-free food | Optional flat $1,000 | 2026 tax year | Proposed: draft clauses in the Notice of Ways and Means |
| Medical expense credit: incontinence products, service dogs | Optional flat $500 and $2,000 | 2027 tax year | Proposed: named in the Notice of Ways and Means, no draft clauses yet |
| Optional flat amounts | A flat amount instead of an itemized claim for moving, clergy, tradespeople’s relocation, home accessibility and adoption | 2027 tax year | Proposed: named in the Notice of Ways and Means, no draft clauses yet |
| Tax instalments | Threshold up to $7,500 ($4,500 in Quebec); one annual instalment if business is your main income | 2028 tax year | Proposed: draft clauses in the Notice of Ways and Means |
| Form T1135 | Filing threshold up to $200,000 | Tax years ending after 2026 | Proposed: draft clauses in the Notice of Ways and Means |
| Objecting to an assessment | Longer deadline; no more extension requests | Assessments sent 3 months after royal assent | Proposed: draft clauses in the Notice of Ways and Means |
| Tax debts and credit bureaus | CRA could report debts over $50,000 | On royal assent | Proposed: named in the Notice of Ways and Means, no draft clauses yet |
| RDSP family holder | Temporary rule becomes permanent | January 1, 2027 | Proposed: draft clauses in the Notice of Ways and Means |
| Massage therapy | Qualifying services exempt from GST/HST | Supplies after November 5, 2026 | Proposed: draft clauses in the Notice of Ways and Means |
| Pension plans | New rules for individual pension plans and revoked plans | January 1, 2027 and January 1, 2028 | Proposed: draft clauses in the Notice of Ways and Means |
| Non-resident corporations selling Canadian property | Section 116 rates down to 15% and 30% | Dispositions on or after January 1, 2027 | Proposed: draft clauses in the Notice of Ways and Means |
The budget came with Notices of Ways and Means Motions to amend the tax Acts. “Draft clauses” means the Notice sets out the proposed wording; “named” means it says just that the Act is modified to give effect to the proposal as the budget documents describe it. Neither is law. The Notice says various clauses take into account that Bill C-31, the Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 2 may receive royal assent. How a measure becomes law is below.
What each measure would mean for you
Filing and payment date
Most people now file and pay by April 30. If you or your spouse or common-law partner is self-employed you file by June 15, but any balance is still due April 30. The budget proposes one date, May 15, for filing and paying, for all individuals, from the 2027 tax year, whose return is due in 2028. The return for 2026, due in 2027, stays on today’s filing deadlines. A self-employed person’s filing date would move a month earlier, and everyone’s payment date about two weeks later.
Groceries and essentials supplement
The budget proposes a one-time supplement to the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, equal to half of the year’s maximum annual amounts: up to $223 an adult, $117 a child and $117 for the single supplement. The Notice’s draft sets the payment for January 2027 and ties it to filing a 2025 return.
Canada Caregiver Credit
The caregiver credit is non-refundable today, so it can reduce tax you owe but pays nothing beyond that. The budget proposes to make it refundable from the 2027 tax year, so a caregiver with little or no tax could still receive it, on the same design. For 2027 that is up to $1,260 on the $9,001 amount for an infirm adult relative, and up to $394 on the $2,812 amount for an infirm child under 18.
Build Canada Workers Benefit
The budget proposes to rename and enlarge the Canada Workers Benefit for 2027. It would start once working income passes $500 instead of $3,000, and the maximum would rise from $1,709 to $1,859 for a single person without children and from $2,943 to $3,143 for a family. The disability supplement’s threshold would fall from $1,150 to $200. Advance payments would drop from 50% to 25% of the prior year’s entitlement for 2027 and end from 2028, so more of it would come when you file.
RRSP for life
The government announced its intention to merge the RRSP and RRIF rules into one “RRSP for life”. You wouldn’t have to convert at 71, and minimum withdrawals would continue over that age. A successor holder and direct tax-free transfers to a survivor are under consideration. It wants comments by January 8, 2027. The Notice includes draft RRSP clauses, with no start date, so this is the least settled measure here. Today’s rules at age 71 still apply.
Medical expense credit
For the medical expense credit, the budget proposes less paperwork from the 2026 tax year. Insulin, CPAP-type equipment, diabetes infusion pumps and blood coagulation monitors would no longer need a prescription, and a longer list of devices would need a practitioner’s certification of the condition in place of a prescription. The CRA could still ask for more.
Optional flat amounts
You could claim a flat amount instead of tracking and itemizing the expense, if you are eligible for the claim. Only one person could claim a medical flat amount for a patient.
- Gluten-free food (medical expense credit): $1,000 a year for someone with celiac disease, from the 2026 tax year.
- Incontinence products and service dogs (medical expense credit): $500 and $2,000 a year, from the 2027 tax year.
- Moving expenses, from 2027: $1,000 a move, still limited to income at the new location. Your spouse or partner couldn’t also claim that move.
- Clergy residence, from 2027: $1,000 a month, up to $12,000 a year.
- Tradespeople’s temporary relocation, from 2027: $1,500 a year.
- Home Accessibility Tax Credit, from 2027: $1,000, once in your lifetime, and you would still keep some documents showing the expense.
- Adoption expenses, from 2027: $1,200 per child, in the year the adoption is completed.
Tax instalments
Instalments are now required when net tax owing is over $3,000 ($1,800 for Quebec residents) in the current year and either of the two previous years. The budget proposes $7,500 ($4,500 in Quebec), indexed, for tax years starting on or after January 1, 2028, with the same two-year test. Also from 2028, people whose main income is from a business could pay one instalment by December 31, two thirds of the year’s net tax owing, instead of four. Instalments for 2027 and earlier stay on today’s thresholds.
Form T1135
You now file Form T1135 if your specified foreign property cost more than $100,000. The budget proposes $200,000, and says the CRA would raise the simplified reporting limit from $250,000 to $500,000, for tax years ending after 2026. An individual’s tax year is the calendar year, so the form for 2026 stays on today’s threshold.
Objecting to an assessment
An individual now has the later of 90 days after the notice of assessment and 1 year after the filing due date, and can then apply for an extension. The budget proposes the later of 1 year after the notice and 2 years after the filing due date, with no extension route, for assessments sent on or after the day 3 months after royal assent.
Tax debts and credit bureaus
The CRA could tell credit bureaus about a tax debt over $50,000, including GST/HST debts, from royal assent. It could do so once objection and appeal rights have ended, after at least 30 days’ written notice, and after reasonable steps to collect and a chance to arrange repayment.
RDSP family holder
A temporary rule, set to run to the end of 2026, lets a qualifying family member (a parent, spouse or common-law partner, or sibling) open and hold an RDSP for an adult whose capacity to contract is in doubt and who has no legal representative. The budget proposes to make it permanent, and the Notice’s draft takes effect on January 1, 2027.
Massage therapy
Qualifying massage therapists’ professional services would be exempt from GST/HST for supplies after November 5, 2026.
Pension plans
Mostly for business owners with an individual pension plan: the definition would widen on January 1, 2027, and on January 1, 2028 these plans would come under the advantage and investment rules other registered plans of controlling individuals have, and become revocable if assets pass 200% of pension liabilities. A pension plan revoked after 2026 would pay a special tax of 10% of the value of its property just before the revocation, which the CRA can waive or cancel.
Non-resident corporations selling Canadian property
The budget describes this under “Corporate Vendors”, and the Notice’s draft of section 116 applies the lower rates to corporations. Other non-resident sellers, including individuals, stay at today’s rates under the draft. As drafted:
- The lower buyer's amounts apply where the non-resident seller is a corporation, or where the buyer, after reasonable inquiry, had no reason to believe the seller was not a corporation; the lower certificate payment applies only where the seller is a corporation.
- The buyer's amount on capital property other than specified taxable Canadian property falls from 25% to 15%.
- The buyer's amount on specified taxable Canadian property, such as depreciable property, falls from 50% to 30%.
- A corporation's payment for a certificate on capital property other than specified taxable Canadian property falls from 25% to 15% of the gain; for specified property it stays an amount acceptable to the CRA.
- It would apply to dispositions on or after January 1, 2027.
The budget would also exempt fully tax-deferred section 85 rollovers of this property, if the election is filed and the buyer notifies the CRA within 30 days. Today’s process is in the non-resident tax guide.
Smaller measures for particular groups
| Measure | What it would change | Would start | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern residents deductions | Removes limits on the residency deduction and the employer-benefit limit on the travel deduction | 2027 tax year | Proposed: draft clauses in the Notice of Ways and Means |
| Farm and fishing property | Rollover extends to nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews | January 1, 2027 | Proposed: draft clauses in the Notice of Ways and Means |
| Apprentice vehicle mechanics | All eligible tool costs under one deduction | 2027 tax year | Proposed: draft clauses in the Notice of Ways and Means |
| Volunteer firefighters and search and rescue | One combined 14% credit on $6,000 | 2027 tax year | Proposed: draft clauses in the Notice of Ways and Means |
| Small payments of benefits | Paid as a lump sum below $50 a month for the Canada Child Benefit (was $20) and $70 a quarter for the groceries benefit (was $50) | Paid after June 2027 | Proposed: draft clauses in the Notice of Ways and Means |
| Commission employees | Can claim general travel and vehicle expenses alongside commission expenses | 2027 tax year | Proposed: named in the Notice of Ways and Means, no draft clauses yet |
| Scholarships | Employer or other arm’s-length help no longer disqualifies a program | 2027 tax year | Proposed: named in the Notice of Ways and Means, no draft clauses yet |
| Employed artists | Expense cap replaced by the artist’s employment income from the activity | 2027 tax year | Proposed: named in the Notice of Ways and Means, no draft clauses yet |
| Canada Growth Incentive | New capital gains exemption, up to $15 million, for a Canadian-resident individual on qualifying shares | Shares issued from November 5, 2026, before 2037 | Proposed: named in the Notice of Ways and Means, no draft clauses yet |
| Small business share rollover | Up to 3 following calendar years to buy replacement shares | Dispositions on or after January 1, 2027 | Proposed: named in the Notice of Ways and Means, no draft clauses yet |
Outside tax
The budget also proposes changes outside the tax system, including:
- Mortgage insurance: raising the limit for optional mortgage insurance from $1 million to $1.5 million with 30-year amortizations, where a borrower is a first-time buyer or the home is newly built.
- Foreign buyers: extending the ban on foreign purchases of existing homes to January 1, 2029, with new homes exempt.
- Deposit insurance: raising the limit to $250,000.
- Payday loans: extending the minimum repayment time to 42 days.
These are in the budget’s affordability chapter and its legislative measures annex. For the yearly amounts (the basic personal amount, the bracket thresholds, the TFSA and RRSP limits), see tax changes in Canada.
Budget 2025: where its measures stand
Budget 2025 was tabled on November 4, 2025. Unlike Budget 2026, some of its measures are law.
| Measure | What it does | When | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Support Workers Tax Credit | Refundable credit of 5% of eligible earnings, up to $1,100 | 2026 to 2030 | Law: S.C. 2026, c. 3 (Bill C-15) |
| Top-Up Tax Credit | Keeps a 15% rate on non-refundable credits above the first bracket threshold | 2025 to 2030 | Law: S.C. 2026, c. 3 (Bill C-15) |
| Home accessibility and medical expenses | An expense claimed as a medical expense can’t also be claimed for the Home Accessibility Tax Credit | 2026 on | Law: S.C. 2026, c. 3 (Bill C-15) |
| Automatic tax filing | Lets the CRA file a return for some lower-income people who haven’t filed | 2025 tax year on | Proposed: Bill C-31 |
| Canada Carbon Rebate cutoff | No rebate paid for returns or adjustment requests filed after October 30, 2026 | Returns filed after that date | Proposed: Bill C-31 |
| Qualified investments for registered plans | Simplifies and harmonizes the rules on what registered plans (RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs, RESPs, RDSPs, FHSAs and DPSPs) can hold | November 4, 2025 and January 1, 2027 | Proposed: Bill C-31 |
| Underused housing tax | Ends the tax | 2025 and later years | Law: S.C. 2026, c. 3 (Bill C-15) |
| Canada Disability Benefit | Exempt from income | Law: S.C. 2026, c. 3 (Bill C-15) | |
| Lifetime capital gains exemption | Applies on up to $1.25 million of eligible gains | Law: S.C. 2026, c. 3 (Bill C-15) |
“Law” means the measure is in an Act that has received royal assent; “Proposed” means it hasn’t received royal assent. Bill C-31, the Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 2 was at report stage in the House of Commons on November 4, 2026.
Personal Support Workers Tax Credit
Personal support workers who ordinarily give one-on-one care and whose main duties include helping people with daily living and mobility, employed by hospitals, nursing and residential care facilities, community care facilities for the elderly, home health care establishments and similar regulated health care establishments get a refundable credit of 5% of their eligible earnings, up to $1,100 a year, for the 2026 to 2030 tax years. You claim it on your return, your employer certifies your eligible earnings, and work done in Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories and British Columbia doesn’t count. It is law: section 122.93 of the Income Tax Act, added by the Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1 (S.C. 2026, c. 3).
Top-Up Tax Credit
Most non-refundable credits are worked out at the lowest bracket rate, which fell to 14% for 2026 (14.5% for 2025). For credit amounts above the first bracket threshold, such as a year with large tuition or medical expenses, the Top-Up Tax Credit keeps the old 15% rate, for 2025 to 2030. It is law (S.C. 2026, c. 3). The rates themselves are on the tax brackets page.
Home accessibility and medical expenses
Before 2026 an expense that qualified for both the Home Accessibility Tax Credit and the medical expense credit could be claimed under both. From 2026, an expense included in a medical expense claim, by anyone, can’t also be claimed for the home accessibility credit. It is law (S.C. 2026, c. 3).
Automatic tax filing for lower-income people
Budget 2025 proposes letting the CRA file a return for someone resident in Canada throughout the year who hasn’t filed, so they get the benefits and credits that depend on a return. It would apply to a person whose taxable income is not more than the basic personal amount plus the age and disability amounts where they apply (federal or provincial, whichever total is lower), whose income all comes from slips the CRA already has, who missed filing at least once in the previous 3 years, and who hasn’t filed for the year within 45 days after the filing deadline, among other criteria. The CRA would first send what it has, and you would have 90 days to file yourself or send corrections; you could opt out. It is proposed, in Bill C-31, the Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 2, from the 2025 tax year.
Canada Carbon Rebate cutoff
The rebate ended with the federal fuel charge on April 1, 2025, after a final payment in April 2025. Bill C-31, the Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 2 would pay no rebate for returns, or adjustment requests, filed after October 30, 2026; it is not law yet. What this means for a missed payment is on ended benefits.
Measures enacted in their own Acts
Three related changes passed in a separate Act, the Making Life More Affordable for Canadians Act (S.C. 2026, c. 2): the lowest federal rate cut to 14.5% for 2025 and 14% from 2026, the GST new housing rebate for first-time buyers and the repeal of the fuel charge. The maximum GST/HST credit amounts rose 50% for the 2025-2026 benefit year and 25% for 5 years from 2026-2027 under the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit Act (S.C. 2026, c. 1); see the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit.
Spring Economic Update 2026
The update was released on April 28, 2026. The first five measures below are in the Spring Economic Update 2026 Implementation Act (S.C. 2026, c. 22).
| Measure | What it does | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Home Buyers’ Plan | The 5-year grace period before repayments start now covers first withdrawals up to the end of 2028 | Law: S.C. 2026, c. 22 (Bill C-30) |
| Labour mobility deduction for tradespeople | Limit up from $4,000 to $10,000 a year; lodging 120 km closer to the work site (was 150 km), from 2026 | Law: S.C. 2026, c. 22 (Bill C-30) |
| Sale of a business to an employee ownership trust or worker co-operative | The exemption on up to $10 million of gains is permanent | Law: S.C. 2026, c. 22 (Bill C-30) |
| CPP contribution rate | Base rate cut from 9.9% to 9.5% (4.75% each for employees and employers) for 2027 and later years | Enacted, not yet in force: S.C. 2026, c. 22 (Bill C-30), in force on a day fixed by order in council |
| Federal fuel excise tax | Suspended from April 20, 2026 to January 31, 2027, then at half rates until March 31, 2027 | Law: S.C. 2026, c. 22 (Bill C-30), extended by S.C. 2026, c. 25 (Bill C-38) |
| Disability Tax Credit | Simpler applications for certain long-lasting conditions; more medical practitioners who can certify | Proposed: draft legislation released July 23, 2026; Budget 2026 confirms the intention to proceed |
The CPP cut is in an Act, but on the consolidated Canada Pension Plan current to October 19, 2026 it is listed as not in force, and the 2003-onward rate is still 9.9%. It comes into force on a day set by federal order, which needs the consent of at least two thirds of the included provinces with at least two thirds of their population.
Is it law yet? How a budget measure becomes law
A budget sets out tax measures the government proposes; the details come in its tax annex and in notices of ways and means motions. A bill on taxation has to start in the House of Commons, and it becomes law only once both Houses have passed the same text and it has received royal assent. The Act can take effect at once or at a later date, and a proposal often names a start date before it passes, such as Budget Day. Each bill’s stage is on LEGISinfo at parl.ca, and enacted Acts are in the annual statutes on the Justice Laws website.
Related pages
Sources
The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them on November 5, 2026. How we check facts.
- Department of Finance Canada: Government launches consultation on draft legislation for various tax measures
- Government of Canada: Budget 2026: Tax measures: Supplementary information
- Government of Canada: Nwmm amvm 1 en
- Government of Canada: Budget 2026, Chapter 3: A more affordable life
- Government of Canada: Anx3 en
- Government of Canada: Home accueil en
- Justice Laws (Canada): Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1
- Justice Laws (Canada): Document
- Justice Laws (Canada): FullText
- Justice Laws (Canada): FullText
- Justice Laws (Canada): FullText
- Justice Laws (Canada): Canada Pension Plan
- Parliament of Canada: Document
- Parliament of Canada: First reading
- Parliament of Canada: Document