Quick answer
- 15 September 2026: the proposed Productivity Mega Deduction (100% write-off) applies to most depreciable property acquired from this date, once it is available for use.
- 5 November 2026: Budget Day. The $15 million Canada Growth Incentive window and the Part VI.1 exemption for CCPC dividends start.
- 1 January 2027: the base CPP rate drops from 9.9% to 9.5%. This one is already law (Spring Economic Update 2026, passed in June 2026).
- 30 April 2027: 2026 personal returns due, unchanged (15 June 2027 to file for self-employed people).
- 15 May 2028: the first proposed single date to file and pay, for the 2027 tax year, for everyone.
- 1 January 2028: the $7,500 instalment threshold starts for tax years beginning on or after this date.
All dates below are proposals until the measures are passed into law.
When are personal tax returns due for 2026, 2027 and 2028?
| Tax year | File by | Pay by | Self-employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 30 April 2027 | 30 April 2027 | File by 15 June 2027, pay by 30 April 2027 |
| 2027 (proposed) | 15 May 2028 | 15 May 2028 | Same: 15 May 2028 |
| 2028 (proposed) | 15 May 2029 | 15 May 2029 | Same: 15 May 2029 |
The change covers the personal T1 return only. Corporations still file the T2 within six months of their year-end, and quarterly instalment dates (15 March, 15 June, 15 September and 15 December) aren't changed by the budget.
When does each Budget 2026 measure start?
| Date | What starts or is due | Who |
|---|---|---|
| 15 Sept 2026 | Productivity Mega Deduction: most depreciable property acquired from this day could be written off in full in the year it is available for use (announced with draft legislation; confirmed in the budget). Canadian development expenses incurred from this day too | Businesses and farms buying equipment |
| 5 Nov 2026 (Budget Day) | Canada Growth Incentive: qualifying shares issued from this day can count towards the $15 million exemption; CCPC dividends paid from this day are exempt from Part VI.1 tax; clean electricity credit for intra-provincial transmission property acquired from this day; no tax-free trust rollouts to companies or partnerships with non-resident owners (distributions from this day) | Founders, investors, CCPCs, utilities, family trusts |
| Tax years beginning on or after 5 Nov 2026 | Wider SR&ED: regulatory testing and IP protection costs | Corporations doing research |
| After 5 Nov 2026 | Qualifying massage therapy services exempt from GST/HST | Massage therapists and clients |
| 2026 tax year | Optional $1,000 flat amount for gluten-free food; fewer prescriptions needed for some medical expenses | Individuals |
| 31 Dec 2026 | Year-end: for a 31 December year-end, equipment must be available for use by this date to be written off on the 2026 return under the proposed Productivity Mega Deduction | Businesses with a calendar year-end |
| 1 Jan 2027 (law) | Base CPP contribution rate 9.5% instead of 9.9% (4.75% each for employers and employees); passed in June 2026 | Employers, employees, self-employed people |
| 1 Jan 2027 | Longer small business investment rollover (sales from this day); no withholding on fully deferred section 85 rollovers of taxable Canadian property, and lower rates for corporate vendors; RDSP family-member holder made permanent; farm and fishing rollover extended to nieces and nephews; wider definition of an individual pension plan | Investors, non-residents, families, farmers, IPP sponsors |
| 8 Jan 2027 | Comments close on RRSP for life, corporate loss transfers and the preferred share rules | Anyone who wants to comment |
| Early 2027 | One-time Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit supplement | Lower-income individuals and families |
| Tax years ending after 2026 | T1135 threshold $200,000 (simplified method under $500,000); Part VI.1 allowance $1.5 million | Individuals and corporations |
| 2027 tax year | Optional flat amounts (moving, home accessibility, clergy, adoption, service dog, incontinence, labour mobility); refundable Canada Caregiver Credit; Build Canada Workers Benefit with Advance payments cut to 25%; one deduction for apprentice mechanics' tools; commission employees' and employed artists' expenses; other personal measures | Individuals |
| Spring 2027 | A second set of tax simplification measures, and details of the Canada Creative Credit for artists, to be announced in the Spring Economic Update 2027 | Everyone |
| After June 2027 | Small Canada Child Benefit (under $50 a month) and grocery benefit (under $70 a quarter) amounts paid as one lump sum | Benefit recipients |
| 1 Jan 2028 | Instalment threshold $7,500 (Quebec $4,500), indexed, for tax years beginning on or after this date; one annual instalment option for people whose main income is business income; Advance Canada Workers Benefit payments end (2028 tax year); individual pension plan investment rules and the 200% surplus limit | Individuals, corporations, IPP sponsors |
| Tax years ending after 2027 | Higher fixed penalties, three times for medium and eight times for large corporations, and new penalties for repeated failures | All taxpayers |
| 15 May 2028 | First single date to file and pay a personal return (2027 tax year) | All individuals |
| 31 Dec 2028 | First single annual instalment (two-thirds of the year's tax) for people whose main income is business income, if they choose it | Self-employed people |
| 31 Dec 2036 | Last day shares can be issued for the Canada Growth Incentive (shares issued before 2037) | Founders and investors |
| 2040 | Last year of the Clean Electricity and Clean Technology credits (property available for use before 2041); Clean Technology at 15% that year | Clean energy investors |
Which measures start only when the law passes?
Some measures have no calendar date; they start with royal assent of the bill that enacts them.
- No certified directors' resolutions for certain corporate elections: elections made on or after royal assent.
- Longer objection periods: assessments sent on or after the day three months after royal assent.
- Tax debts over $50,000 reported to credit bureaus: from royal assent.
- RRSP for life: no date yet; the budget announces the intention and a consultation.
What hasn't changed yet?
Everything you file before the new rules apply. The 2026 return, the 2026 T1135 at $100,000, the $3,000 instalment threshold for 2026 and 2027, today's objection deadlines and the RRIF conversion at 71 all stay as they are for now. Our T1 return checklist covers the 2026 return, and our contractor tax calendar has the 2027 business dates.
For what each measure does, see Budget 2026 for individuals and families and Budget 2026 for business owners and corporations.
How Finvo helps
We prepare personal and corporate returns for people and businesses in BC and Alberta, and we track which Budget 2026 rules apply to which year as the bills move through Parliament. Prices are on our pricing page.
Finvo is not a CPA firm. This timeline is general information; your own dates can depend on your year-end and your facts.
This timeline is general information for people and businesses in BC and Alberta, checked against the Budget 2026 documents on 6 Nov 2026. Budget measures are proposals until passed into law, and the dates can change; it isn't tax or legal advice for your situation.