What is the penalty for filing T1135 late?

$25 for each day late, for up to 100 days: at least $100 and at most $2,500 per form (Income Tax Act s. 162(7)).

Can the T1135 penalty be bigger than $2,500?

Yes, when the failure is knowing or grossly negligent: $500 a month for up to 24 months (maximum $12,000), or $1,000 a month (maximum $24,000) after a demand to file. After 24 months, a penalty of 5% of the cost of the property can apply. False statements or omissions made knowingly or through gross negligence can cost the greater of $24,000 or 5% of the property cost.

Can CRA reassess older years if I did not file T1135?

Yes. For 2013 and later years, if you did not report income from specified foreign property and T1135 was not filed, filed late or filed inaccurately, the normal reassessment period is extended by three years.

Can I ask CRA to cancel the T1135 penalty?

You can request relief with Form RC4288 within 10 calendar years after the end of the year concerned. CRA grants it for circumstances beyond your control, CRA actions, or inability to pay. Not knowing about the form is usually not enough on its own.

T1135 penalty and late filing

What CRA charges for a late or missing T1135, when gross-negligence penalties apply, the extra three years to reassess, and how to file missed years.

Last updated: 2026-10-31

T1135 carries no tax, but missing it is not free. The late-filing penalty is capped, and the larger ones are reserved for people who ignore the form on purpose. Filing late years before CRA asks is what keeps you in the small-penalty bracket.

The numbers

Situation	Penalty
Filed late	$25 a day, up to 100 days: minimum $100, maximum $2,500
Knowingly or grossly negligent failure to file	$500 a month, up to 24 months (max $12,000), less earlier penalties
Same, after CRA demands the form	$1,000 a month, up to 24 months (max $24,000), less earlier penalties
Failure lasting more than 24 months (knowing or grossly negligent)	5% of the cost of the foreign property, less earlier penalties
False statement or omission (knowing or grossly negligent)	Greater of $24,000 or 5% of the property cost

Each year is a separate form, so three missed years are three penalties.

The quieter cost: three extra years of reassessment

If you also left foreign income off your return and T1135 was missing, late or wrong, CRA gets three more years beyond the normal period to reassess that year. Unreported interest from a bank account abroad can come back long after you thought the year was closed.

Catching up on missed years

List the years. Every year since you became resident (not counting the landing year) when the total cost went above $100,000.
Rebuild the numbers per year. Maximum and year-end amounts, income, gains, each converted at that year's rates.
File each year now, before CRA contacts you: through tax software that supports T1135 for that year, or on paper to the Winnipeg Taxation Centre with a short cover letter.
Fix the income too. If foreign interest, dividends or rent never made it onto your returns, read about the Voluntary Disclosures Program (Form RC199) before you file anything else, and talk to a tax professional. VDP is for disclosures CRA has not started on.
Penalty assessed? Request relief with Form RC4288, with facts and documents. Relief depends on circumstances, not on having filed eventually.

Catch-up packet

The T1135 wizard builds one packet per year with that year's Bank of Canada rates, the pre-filled official form, a late-filing cover letter for you to finish and sign, and notes on penalty relief. $129 covers every past year.

Self-prepared information return; not tax or legal advice. Not affiliated with the Canada Revenue Agency. Sources: CRA table of penalties for foreign reporting; CRA Questions and answers about Form T1135.

What you get

Sample Form T1135 packet: guide, answer sheet and the pre-filled CRA Form T1135 — Sample packet with made-up data. Yours is filled with your own answers.