How to file several years of overdue tax returns

You can still file returns for old years, and you should do it before the CRA asks. The CRA accepts tax software for 2018 to 2025 and paper returns for earlier years, and every year you file can restart benefit payments you missed.

What the CRA can do when returns are missing

The CRA runs a Non-Filer Program. It starts with letters asking for the missing returns, and that request makes filing legally required. When letters fail, officers may phone you. After that they may visit a home, workplace or business to get the returns and documents.

Under subsection 152(7) of the Income Tax Act, the CRA can raise an estimated assessment. It builds the bill from income it knows about, such as slips from employers and banks. Deductions and credits you never told it about can’t be included, so an estimate is often higher than what you’d owe with a real return.

Prosecution is the last step, and it can mean fines and jail time. Most people never get near it. But a demand to file, once issued, changes the penalty rules for years afterwards (more on that below).

Check that the letter is real

Scam calls about “unpaid taxes” are common. The CRA lists a non-filer helpline, 1-800-448-0444 from Canada or the US, for checking that contact from the agency is legitimate. Call it rather than a number in the message you received.

What to gather for each year

Do one folder per tax year. You need the same things you would for a return filed on time.

• Income slips: T4 for jobs, T4A, T5 for interest and dividends, T3, T5008, and any self-employment records.
• Receipts for deductions and credits you plan to claim, such as RRSP contributions, childcare, tuition and medical costs.
• Your address and family situation for that year, since benefits depend on it.
• Any notices, letters or earlier assessments the CRA has sent you.

Missing slips can usually be looked up in CRA My Account, where the CRA shows the slips it has on file. If your account is locked, see our CRA My Account guide. For self-employed years you’ll need to rebuild income and expenses from bank statements. Don’t guess and don’t leave income out. Unreported income is what turns a late filing problem into a bigger one.

How to file the old years

You have two routes. The first is certified tax software. You must use software certified for the year you are filing, and most providers are certified for previous years too. The CRA says you can currently file with software for 2018 to 2025 through NETFILE. Check each provider’s details, because not all of them cover every year, and some charge per year.

Paper is the second route. Download the tax package for that year from canada.ca, fill it in and mail it. Years before 2018 have to go on paper. Paper is also the way to go if your situation doesn’t fit the software you have.

Use one return per envelope or one clearly separate submission per year, and keep copies of everything. If you later spot an error on a year you have already filed, don’t refile. Send a T1 Adjustment Request (Form T1-ADJ) separately from any other return.

In what order to file

Start with the oldest year and work forward. Later years often depend on earlier ones. Carry-forward amounts such as tuition credits, capital losses and RRSP room build year to year, so filing 2021 first lets you use those amounts in 2022.

There’s one exception worth thinking about. If the CRA has demanded a specific year, file that one first and quickly, then go back to the oldest. Then file the most recent year on time. April 30 is the deadline, and June 15 if you or your spouse is self-employed, though any balance is still due April 30.

Penalties and interest

The late-filing penalty is 5% of the balance owing plus 1% of that balance for each full month late, up to 12 months. That’s a maximum of 17%. If you owed nothing that year, there is no late-filing penalty, because the penalty is a percentage of the balance.

A repeat penalty is harsher: 10% of the balance plus 2% for each full month late, up to 20 months. It applies when the CRA issued a demand to file and also charged a late-filing penalty in any of the previous three years. That is a maximum of 50%.

Take a balance of $2,000 for one old year, filed more than a year late. The standard penalty is $100 plus $240, so $340. The repeat penalty on the same balance would be $200 plus $800, so $1,000. Filing before a demand arrives can keep you on the lower scale.

Interest is separate. It compounds daily, starts the day after the due date and applies to any unpaid balance, including reassessments. The rate is set quarterly. You can ask the CRA to cancel penalties and interest through taxpayer relief (Form RC4288 or My Account) for periods within the last 10 calendar years, if extraordinary circumstances stopped you from filing. Our late filing penalty relief guide covers how to ask. If you can’t pay what you owe, contact CRA Collections about a payment plan. Don’t delay filing because of that.

Benefits that depend on filing

Missing returns can stop payments as well as add penalties. The Canada Child Benefit stops if you don’t file. Eligibility for the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB) is checked when your return is assessed, and you need a 2025 return on file to get it, even with no income. That benefit replaced the GST/HST credit in July 2026: $445 for an adult and $234 per child under the rules we track.

According to the CRA, retroactive payments are available once late returns are filed and assessed, so missed amounts are paid on the next scheduled payment date. For a family with children, the catch-up can be larger than the tax owing. Ontario benefits such as the Ontario Trillium Benefit also depend on a filed return. Use the tax credits calculator to see which credits you may be owed.

The Voluntary Disclosures Program

If the missing returns hide unreported income, or you left out income on returns you did file, look at the Voluntary Disclosures Program (VDP). It covers information relating to a tax year at least one year past its filing due date. If you apply before the CRA contacts you about the issue, the application is unprompted, and relief is 100% of penalties and 75% of interest. After the CRA has told you about a compliance issue and given a deadline, the application is prompted. Then relief is up to 100% of penalties but only 25% of interest. Approved applicants also aren’t referred for criminal prosecution, though all tax owing must be paid.

So a demand letter can cost you real relief. Read our explainer on the Voluntary Disclosures Program before you file if unreported income is involved. Plain late filing with no hidden income usually just needs the returns filed.

A timeline example

This is an illustration, not a real case. Say a person in Toronto has not filed 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, and it’s now late September 2026. The 2025 return is also overdue.

• Week 1: sign in to My Account, download slips, and request missing ones from employers. Order the tax packages or buy software for each year.
• Weeks 2 to 3: file 2021, then 2022, using software or paper. Wait for each notice of assessment if you want carry-forward amounts confirmed.
• Weeks 4 to 5: file 2023 and 2024, then 2025.
• Following weeks: pay any balance or set up a payment plan. Watch mail and My Account for notices and the first catch-up benefit payments.
• Next April: file 2026 by April 30.

Assessment times vary, so build in slack. Software returns are usually quicker than paper. Before you file, run a rough number through the income tax calculator so a balance owing doesn’t surprise you.

Sources

• CRA: Unfiled tax returns
• CRA: Interest and penalties on late taxes
• CRA: Certified tax software
• CRA: Voluntary Disclosures Program (IC00-1R7)
• CRA: How to get the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit
• CRA: Keep getting your payments (CCB)

Common questions

Last reviewed: June 24, 2026. Figures come from the official sources listed above. How we check the numbers and our editorial policy.