December 31 Tax Deadlines in Canada: the 2026 Checklist

Year-end tax dates at a glance

December 31, 2026 is a Thursday, a normal business day. Banks and brokers are closed on Christmas Day and on Monday, December 28 (in lieu of Boxing Day), so anything that needs a transfer or a trade should be done well before the last week. See TSX holidays and bank holidays for the closures.

Charitable donations: the gift date counts

A donation is claimed for the year in which the gift is made. The CRA says the donation date is the date the gift is made, which "may not be the date of physical delivery". The charity puts that date on your receipt, so leave time: a cheque mailed on the last day may be recorded in January. Ask the charity how it dates year-end gifts.

• You need an official donation receipt from a qualified donee (a registered charity or another donee the CRA lists). Check the charity's registration number on the CRA's charities list.
• You can claim gifts up to 75% of your net income for the year. Gifts you don't claim can be carried forward for up to five years.
• The first $200 of donations in a year gets the federal credit at the lowest tax rate and the rest at a higher rate. Provinces and territories add their own credit.
• No extension past December 31 has been announced for 2026 gifts. The last extension, to February 28, 2025, applied only to 2024 donations.

Gifts of publicly listed shares directly to a charity follow the same date rule, and the transfer between brokers can take days. Ask the charity for its year-end cut-off.

FHSA: calendar year only

The First Home Savings Account works on the calendar year. The CRA says the contribution period is "January 1 to December 31 of the same year", and contributions made in the first 60 days of 2027 cannot be deducted for 2026, unlike RRSP contributions.

• Annual limit: $8,000, plus any carryforward of unused room (the carryforward is at most $8,000).
• Lifetime limit: $40,000.
• You don't have to deduct a contribution in the year you make it. Unused deductions can be carried forward to a later year.

RESP and RDSP: grants follow the calendar year

The Canada Education Savings Grant pays 20% of the year's personal contributions to an RESP, up to $500 a year per child ($2,500 contributed). If there is unused grant room from earlier years, up to $1,000 of grant can be paid in one year. The lifetime grant limit is $7,200. A contribution made on January 2 counts for 2027, not 2026.

• The grant is paid until the end of the calendar year the child turns 17.
• For a child who is 16 or 17, the grant is paid only if, before the end of the year they turned 15, at least $2,000 was contributed (and not withdrawn), or at least $100 a year was contributed in any four earlier years. If your child turns 15 in 2026, December 31 is the last day to meet that test.

For the Registered Disability Savings Plan, contributions for the Canada Disability Savings Grant must be made by December 31 of each year, and the grant is available until the end of the year the beneficiary turns 49.

Tax-loss selling: trade by December 30

A capital loss counts in the year the sale settles, not the day you click "sell". Canadian stocks have settled one business day after the trade (T+1) since May 27, 2024. TMX's 2026 settlement schedule shows that trades made on Thursday, December 31 settle on Monday, January 4, 2027. That makes Wednesday, December 30, 2026 the last trade date that settles in 2026. Brokers can set an earlier cut-off, especially for U.S.-listed shares and mutual funds, so check yours.

Watch the superficial loss rule. If you, your spouse or another affiliated person buys the same or identical property in the period from 30 calendar days before to 30 calendar days after the sale, and still holds it 30 days after, the loss is denied for now and added to the cost of the new shares. Buying back on January 1 is too early.

Turning 71 in 2026: close the RRSP

December 31 of the year you turn 71 is the last day you can contribute to your own RRSP. By the end of that year you have to choose what happens to it: transfer it to a RRIF, buy an annuity, or withdraw the money (a withdrawal is taxable). You can mix these options. Your financial institution needs time to set up a RRIF, so give instructions well before the last week of December.

If your spouse or common-law partner is younger, you can still contribute to a spousal RRSP until the end of the year they turn 71, if you have contribution room.

If you already have a RRIF, a minimum amount has to be paid to you every year starting the year after it was set up. Check that this year's minimum has been paid or is scheduled.

What is NOT due on December 31

• RRSP contributions for the 2026 tax year can be made until Monday, March 1, 2027, the 60th day of the year. The 2026 RRSP dollar limit is $33,810. See the RRSP deadline page.
• TFSA contributions have no deadline; room carries forward. The 2026 limit is $7,000. If you plan to withdraw money and put it back, a withdrawal before December 31 is added back to your room on January 1, 2027, while one made in January waits until January 1, 2028.
• Your 2026 tax return is due April 30, 2027 (June 15 for the self-employed, but any balance is still due April 30). See the tax filing deadline page.
• Medical expenses can be claimed for any 12-month period ending in 2026, so a bill paid in late December does not have to fit a January-to-December window.

Instalments and interest

If you pay tax by instalments, the last 2026 payment is due Tuesday, December 15, 2026. Farmers and fishers make a single payment due Thursday, December 31, 2026. Late or short instalments cost interest at the CRA's prescribed rate, compounded daily; the CRA resets the rates every quarter, and for October 1 to December 31, 2026 the rate on overdue taxes is 7%. Borrowing costs also move with the Bank of Canada's rate decisions and the prime rate. Details on the instalment page.

This page explains the rules; it is not tax advice. Which steps make sense depends on your income and situation. See the CRA pages below or a tax professional.