CRA indicates that an e-filing deadline date ends based on when midnight occurs in the local Canadian time zone of e-filing

S. 150.1(3) provides that the filing date for an electronically filed return is the day the Minister acknowledges acceptance of it. A return of income was filed electronically at 11:00pm PDT on April 30 from an office in Vancouver, and CRA instantly provided an e-file confirmation acknowledging receipt at 2:00 am EST on May 1.

Which time zone does CRA use when acknowledging receipt of an electronic transmission; and can it accept that all returns filed before 12PM PT are filed on time no matter where they were filed from?

CRA indicated that “[t]he acknowledgment of an electronically filed return is issued in Eastern Time” but that (in the case of an April 30 filing deadline) “a return will be considered filed on time if the CRA receives it on or before April 30 in the respective Canadian time zone.”

Neal Armstrong. Summary of 2023 Alberta CPA Roundtable, Q.10 under s. 150.1(3).