Did you lose your job? Are you on maternity or paternity leave? Are you in between jobs? Have you gone back to school to further your career?
Whatever your reason for not working, you should still file a tax return, since there may be benefits and credits you may be eligible for.
Key Points To Remember
- You should still file your income taxes even if you haven’t earned an income.
- There may be credits and benefits that you may be eligible for, which you can only benefit from if you file your income taxes.
- With a simple tax filing, you may be able to use tax software, like TurboTax or Wealthsimple Tax.
Do You Have To File Taxes In Canada If You Have No Income?
Even if you haven’t earned any income, there are still many reasons why you may need to file your taxes.
Here are some scenarios that would require you to file your taxes even if you didn’t earn any income from employment.
- You have back taxes owing
- You received a request to file a tax return from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
- You received Canada’s Worker Benefit (CWB) payments
- You sold off real estate or stocks , particularly if you made a profit (capital gains) from such sales
- Your Old Age Security (OAS) or Employment Insurance (EI) benefits had to be sold off
- You still have some amount of your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) to repay if you used it for things such as the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP)
- You made contributions to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP)
- You paid employment insurance premiums on self-employment earnings
- You and your spouse/partner are splitting your pension income
As you can see, there are many scenarios where you would still be responsible for filing a tax return, even if you are not currently working and bringing in a typical income.
File your taxes with TurboTax
Get Started1. You Have Back Taxes Owing
Even if you had no income this year, you may need to file a tax return to settle any outstanding taxes. For example, you may still owe taxes from capital gains, RRSP repayments, OAS clawback, or previous reassessments.
If you owe the CRA any taxes, you must file a tax return to calculate the exact amount owing and make sure it’s paid.
Learn more: What To Do When You Owe Money To The CRA?
2. The CRA Requested A Return
The CRA may request a tax return for various purposes, such as:
- Suspected unreported income
- CRA audit or review in progress
- Joint tax situation
If the CRA requests a tax return, they’ll send you a notice. In this case, you’ll need to file your taxes no matter your income level.
Learn more: Is The CRA Sending Debt Letters To You?
3. You Received Canada Workers Benefit
The Canada Workers Benefit is a refundable tax credit for low-income workers. If you received advance payments or want to continue qualifying in future years, you must file your tax return each year to confirm eligibility, even with zero income.
If you’re earning a low income, you claim the CWB and get up to $1,590 as a single individual and up to $2,739 as a family.
4. You Sold Real Estate Or Investments
Any capital losses or gains from the sale of an investment should be reported on your income tax return to ensure it can be applied to future returns.
5. You Repaid OAS Or EI Benefits
If you’ve repaid any overpayments of OAS and EI benefits throughout the year, you can claim a deduction on your tax return.
6. RRSP Repayments Are Due
Repayments of RRSP withdrawals under the Home Buyers’ Plan or Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP) must be reported on your income tax. If you don’t, the unpaid amount may be taxable as income.
7. You Made CPP Contributions
Any CPP contributions you make must be reported on your income taxes. This ensures that your contributions are accurately credited, and can affect future pension eligibility.
Learn more: Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Payment Dates
8. You Paid EI On Self-Employment Income
If you paid EI premiums on self-employment income, you’ll need to file a tax return to report this income and confirm your contributions.
9. You Split Your Pension Income With Your Spouse
To split eligible pension income with your spouse, you both must file your tax returns, even if one of you earned no income.
Learn more: How Does Pension Income Splitting Work?
How To File A Zero Income Tax Return In Canada?
Whether you’ve earned income or not, the rules to file your tax return are the same. You can file your taxes online or via paper application. Just be sure to submit it by the tax filing deadline of April 30th.
| NETFILE | Use CRA-certified tax software (e.g., TurboTax, Wealthsimple Tax, etc.) |
| Paper Return | Mail your tax return to the CRA. Simply print and fill out the T1 General package. |
| Community Tax Clinic | File your simple tax returns with the help of a free tax clinic. Find one here. |
What To Expect When Filing Your Zero Income Tax Return Online
The exact steps to file your taxes may slightly vary depending on the tax software you choose to file your taxes. However, the content entered will be the same.
For example, if you choose to file your taxes with Turbotax, follow these steps:
- Once you’ve created an account and signed in, click the “Get Started” option under the “Income” heading in the menu bar.
- Click the “Continue without Income” to file your taxes with no income.
- Use the Auto-fill my return feature inside the tax software to pull your info directly from CRA My Account.
- Fill out the remaining sections. TurboTax will automatically help you complete all other sections required when you have no income to report. This includes benefits and tax credits you qualify for.
At the end, you’ll get a summary of all your benefits and credits, as well as your expected tax refund.
| If I Make Less Than $5,000 A Year, Do I Have To File Taxes? Yes, even if you make less than $5,000 a year, you’ll need to file your income tax return. However, you won’t have to pay much in taxes due to the basic personal amount (BPA). This is a non-refundable tax credit that lowers your federal tax obligations. For 2025, the basic personal amount ranges from $14,538 to $16,129, depending on your total annual income. If you make less than the basic personal amount, you won’t have to pay federal income taxes. There is a similar amount for each province. Learn more: When Do You Start Paying Taxes In Canada? |
Can You Get A Tax Refund If You Have No Income?
If you’re an adult Canadian, you should file a tax return every year. Even if you have no income. You could get money back (a tax return) from the CRA because of the large list of tax credits available.
The Canadian government has built a Benefits Finder to help citizens determine what benefits and credits they are entitled to.
Benefits & Credits You Can Receive Even If You Have No Income
Filing your tax return will make you eligible for certain tax credits that you wouldn’t be able to get unless you file. Here are some of the tax benefits that you can get if you file your tax return.
Canada Child Benefit (CCB)
It’s no secret that raising a child can be expensive. But if you file your taxes, you may be eligible for the CCB benefit. This benefit is a tax-free credit that is paid out each month. You could receive up to $666.41 per month for each child you have who is under 6 years old, and $562.33 per month for each child between 6 and 17.
Learn more: Canada Child Benefit (CCB) Payment Dates
GST/HST Credit
The Goods and Services Tax or Harmonized Sales Tax Credit (GST/HST) is a tax-free payment for individuals and families with a low income. Individuals can receive up to $533, while families and couples can receive up to $698. If you have a child under 19, you can receive an additional $184 per child.
Learn more: GST/HST Payment Dates In Canada
Ontario Trillium Benefit
Depending on your province, you may be eligible for other provincial tax credits such as the Ontario Trillium Benefit. This benefit includes 3 types of tax-free payments, which are meant to help low-to-medium income families with energy costs, as well as property and sales tax. The three benefits included are:
- Northern Ontario Energy Credit
- Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit
- Ontario Sales Tax Credit
Learn more: Ontario Trillium Benefit
Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS)
The GIS is a non-taxable monthly benefit provided to low-income seniors who receive the OAS pension. In order to continue receiving your GIS payments, you need to file your income tax return to confirm your eligibility.
Bottom Line
Several scenarios require you to file a tax return even if you’re not working. However, there are even more cases where you would stand to benefit from filing even if you are not necessarily obligated to file. If you want to take advantage of any one of the above benefits, filing a tax return will need to be done, regardless of whether you’re working and bringing in an income.
