What happens if I file my income tax return late?

✓ Verified answer Written from official pages, with checked citations and a verification date.

General information, not tax advice. If you file your income tax return after the deadline and you owe tax, a penalty applies and interest is calculated on the unpaid balance. At Revenu Québec, the penalty is 5% of the unpaid balance, plus 1% per full month late (up to 12 months). At the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), the page read gives 5% of your 2025 balance owing, plus 1% per full month late (up to 12 months). Even if you cannot pay, both agencies say to file your return on time; if it is already too late, requests for cancellation or waiver exist in certain specific cases.

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Key facts

Late-filing penalty (Revenu Québec): 5% of the balance unpaid at the scheduled filing date, plus 1% per full month late, for a maximum of 12 months.
Late-filing penalty (CRA, 2025 return): 5% of your 2025 balance owing, plus 1% per full month late (up to 12 months). Higher penalty for repeated late filing: 10% plus 2% per full month (up to 20 months) if you were penalized in 2022, 2023 or 2024 and received a demand to file.
Interest: Revenu Québec calculates interest on the unpaid balance after April 30 until it is paid in full; the CRA charges compound daily interest starting the day after the due date. CRA interest rates can change every three months.
Cancellation or waiver: Possible in certain situations (for example, at Revenu Québec, a flood, fire, serious illness, serious accident or death in the immediate family). A mistake, an oversight or not knowing the law is not enough at Revenu Québec.
No personalized tax information: This sheet summarizes two official pages; your actual amount depends on your file. Check with Revenu Québec and the CRA.

Your procedure, step by step

Start the official procedure Official page: Late-filing penalties (Revenu Québec) (opens in a new tab)https://www.revenuquebec.ca/fr/une-mission-des-actions/assurer-la-conformite-fiscale/penalites-et-interets/penalites/penalites-pour-retard/

File your return as soon as possible, even if you cannot pay the balance: both agencies state that filing on time (or as early as possible) helps avoid the late-filing penalty.
Check whether you owe tax: the balance owing is the basis for calculating the late-filing penalty and interest.
Know what to expect: Revenu Québec provides for 5% of the unpaid balance plus 1% per full month late (up to 12 months); the CRA provides, for 2025, 5% of the balance owing plus 1% per full month late (up to 12 months).
Plan for interest: it is calculated on the unpaid balance until it is paid in full, at Revenu Québec as at the CRA (compound daily interest at the CRA).
If you cannot pay the whole balance at once, contact Revenu Québec: under certain conditions you can enter into an instalment payment agreement.
If an exceptional situation beyond your control kept you from meeting your obligations, ask for the cancellation or waiver of penalties or interest (form MR-94.1 or a letter to Revenu Québec; request to the CRA within a 10-year period).
If you failed to meet tax obligations or filed an incomplete or inaccurate return, Revenu Québec states that you can regularize your situation with a voluntary disclosure application.

Your progress is kept on this device only: nothing is sent to Demande au Québec. Some steps only apply in certain situations: skip the ones that do not concern you.

General information drawn from official sources. It does not replace legal, medical or financial advice. For your situation, contact the organization concerned or a professional.

Sources

Pénalités pour retard (Revenu Québec)
Solde d'impôt à payer (Revenu Québec)
Demande d'annulation ou de renonciation à l'égard d'intérêts, de pénalités ou de frais (Revenu Québec)
Intérêts et pénalités sur les impôts en retard (Agence du revenu du Canada)

Checked on October 6, 2026. Rules, deadlines and fees can change: always confirm on the official page above. Demande au Québec is an independent website, not a government site.

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