What's New This Tax Season?

Last year at this time, this blog post would have been fairly long but this year there's not a lot new.

Many of the amounts and limits have increased such as the basic personal amount (basis deduction from income prior to calculating tax), tax brackets have changed a little to account for inflation and the RRSP annual contribution limit has increased. As well, there are new OAS limit amounts and CPP contribution maximums and an increase in the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption.

Notably, the last Canada Carbon Rebate will end after October 2026 (not that it was a lot anyway) and the Digital News Subscription Tax Credit is no longer available on your 2025 personal tax return.

For those who remember, the increase in the Capital Gains inclusion rate that was originally proposed in 2024 and subsequently deferred to January 2026 has officially been cancelled, so nothing to plan for there.

New credits? Yes, there is the new Canada Disability Benefit (CDB). Applications for this new federal benefit for working-age Canadians with disabilities opened in June 2025. Eligible individuals may receive up to $2,400 per year, provided they qualify for the Disability Tax Credit (DTC).

And there is also the Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit which is a refundable credit for those building secondary units for senior or disabled family members.

And a new tax credit for Personal Support Workers, equivalent to 5% of wages to a max of $1,100 per year.

Other than that, the government and CRA continue to focus on shifting to electronic filing and documents for as much as possible. One sad goodbye because of this is the paper tax return package that was previously mailed out to certain taxpayers. For those who remember when we always had to do tax this way, it had one working copy you filled out in pencil, then when you were happy (or not, depending) with the result, you copied it over in pen. Sad to say I remember when everyone had to do it this way - and you stapled your receipts and slips to it as well! Yes, those were also the days when you could walk into a CRA office and actually talk to someone!