Got a letter from the CRA and disagree with the result? Identify the letter, work out the deadline and object on time

1. First, a few terms: review, assessment, reassessment, objection and appeal

A personal tax return goes through roughly the steps below, from the day you file it to the end of a dispute. At each step the CRA sends a different letter, and what you need to do is different too.

1. Assessment. After you file, the CRA works through your return and sends you the result on a "notice of assessment" (NOA). It shows how much you will get back or how much you owe.

2. Review. The CRA picks some returns to check whether the income, deductions and benefits or credits claimed are correct. When it wants proof, it sends a "review letter" or "request for information" asking you to send receipts or documents by the date in the letter. A review can happen before or after the assessment.

3. Reassessment. If the CRA changes your result after its checks, or because you asked to change your return, it sends a "notice of reassessment" (NOR). The CRA's website says it sends an NOR only if your return was changed.

4. Objection. If you think the CRA got the facts wrong or applied the law incorrectly, you can formally say that you disagree. This is called filing an objection (Notice of Objection); the CRA's web pages also call it a "formal dispute." Once you file, the CRA's Appeals Branch assigns a different person to review the matter again. Right 4 of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights says you have the right to a formal review and a subsequent appeal.

5. Objection decision. After the review, if the CRA agrees with you (fully or partly), it changes your return and sends a new notice of reassessment. If it does not agree, it sends a notice saying the original assessment was correct. The CRA calls this a notice of confirmation.

6. Appeal. If you still disagree with the decision on your objection, you can appeal to the Tax Court of Canada. The court is independent and is not part of the CRA. The CRA's website says you must file an objection before you can appeal.

Remember the order: request for documents → assessment or reassessment → objection → appeal. You cannot skip the objection and go straight to court.

2. Which letter do you have? Identify it first, then decide what to do

Start with the title and the date of the letter. The title tells you what kind of letter it is, and the date is where the deadline starts.

A few things to keep apart:

• You cannot object to a proposal letter. The CRA's website says you cannot object to a proposal letter, in which an auditor explains how they plan to change your return, or to a statement of account.
• You can also object to benefit and credit decisions. The CRA's website says four kinds of notices can be objected to: assessments, reassessments, determinations and redeterminations; decisions on benefits and credits (the Canada Child Benefit, the disability tax credit and so on) are included.
• You cannot object before you get a notice of assessment. An objection filed too early does not count. The CRA's guide P148 lists an objection filed before the notice of assessment is issued as one that may be invalid.

Three things to do on the day you get the letter:

1. Log in to your CRA account yourself and look at the original. Go to Canada.ca and log in on your own; do not click links in text messages or emails. Your CRA account shows the full notices and letters: after you log in, choose Individual → choose Tax returns or Mail → click the notice you want.
2. Put the return you filed for that year together with all your receipts and tax slips. You will need them at every step that follows.
3. Mark three dates on your calendar: the deadline for sending documents, the date to pay, and the objection deadline (section 5 shows how to work it out).

Be careful with "calls from the CRA." What the CRA's website tells you to do: do not give the caller any personal information at first; ask for their name, their office and a call-back number; hang up, use the "verify a phone number" tool on the CRA's website to check whether the number belongs to the CRA, and then call back. Do not trust caller ID.

Related: for the basics of benefits and credits, see Guide No. 9, Pensions & benefits; if your disability tax credit (DTC) was not approved, for how to call, ask the CRA for a review or file an objection, see section 10 of Guide No. 39, Disability tax credit (DTC).

3. Review letters and requests for documents: reply on time, and call to ask for more time if you need it

Where these letters come from. The CRA has several review programs, such as the Pre-assessment Review, the Processing Review and the Matching Programs (which compare your return with the information employers and banks report to the CRA). The CRA's website says it first checks using information it already has; only if that is not enough does it call or write to you or your authorized representative.

When you reply, do these three things (the gist of the CRA's own wording):

• send it by the deadline in the letter, to the address in the letter, or online;
• write the reference number shown in the top right corner of the letter;
• send all the receipts and documents the letter asks for.

How to send documents online. Log in to your CRA account and use "Submit documents online":

1. choose Submit documents, then choose Start;
2. you are asked whether you have a case number or reference number: if you do, enter the number from the letter; if not, choose the topic and reason from the list;
3. click +Attachments to upload files. The CRA accepts .pdf, .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .rtf, .txt, .jpg, .jpeg, .tiff and .xps files; for most programs, one submission can be up to 500MB in total; each file name must be different;
4. check everything and click Submit;
5. the last page shows a confirmation number and the case number. Take a screenshot and keep it.

If you cannot find a receipt. The CRA's website says: if you cannot provide a receipt or document, send a written explanation with your reply, or call the number at the bottom of the letter to explain. The CRA's decision tree page, in its part on benefits and credits, also says: if you cannot get the documents the CRA asked for, tell the CRA, and it can suggest other documents you can send instead.

If you need more time, how to ask. The CRA's website says that if you need more time to send information, call the number at the bottom of the letter. Different review programs have different numbers; use the one printed on your letter. The numbers listed on the website include:

Converting to B.C. time. From 2026, B.C. stays on Pacific time all year and no longer changes its clocks (UTC-7); Ontario still changes its clocks. So 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern time is 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. in B.C. from the first Sunday in November to the second Sunday in March of the following year, and 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. in B.C. for the rest of the year. On November 3, when this guide was written, we were in the first of those two periods. If you live in southeastern B.C., in places such as Cranbrook, Fernie, Golden, Invermere and Kimberley, your area follows Alberta and is on UTC-6 all year, so add 1 hour to each of the times above.

When you call, you could say: "Hi, I received a review letter dated ___ with reference number ___. I'm still waiting for some documents. Could I please have more time to send them? I can send them by ___."

Before you hang up, ask for the new deadline, and write down the date, the time and the name of the person you spoke to.

An example. You filed your return in March and claimed some medical expenses. In June you get a letter asking you to send the medical receipts within 30 days. The clinic needs two weeks to reissue the receipts. Before the deadline, you call the number on the letter, explain that the receipts are being reissued, ask for more time, and write down the new date they agree to. As soon as the receipts arrive, you send them online with the reference number.

What happens if you do not reply on time. The CRA's educational page says: if you do not reply by the deadline, the CRA finishes the review using only the information it has; the result is usually that the claim is removed and you get a notice of reassessment.

If your return was already changed because you did not reply, can you still send documents? Yes. The CRA's website says that after a review has changed your return, if you bring new information, the CRA will accept it and review it again to see whether the change can be reversed. The CRA's educational page also points out: if the notice of reassessment says the change was made because you did not reply, do not send a separate request to change your return; send the information directly to the area that did the review, in the way the letter describes.

But keep an eye on the objection deadline at the same time. Sending documents and having them reviewed again takes time, and the objection deadline does not stop running while that happens (section 5). If you are not sure the documents will be dealt with before the objection deadline, file the objection before the deadline and mention the documents in it. The CRA also warns that information you did not send during the review, and only send with your objection, may be sent back to the area that did the review to be looked at again.

Related: for how to prepare before calling a government line and how to reach a live agent, see Guide No. 7, Phone directory.

4. When you get a notice of assessment or reassessment: read the explanation of changes first, then choose a route

1. Understand the notice. There are three parts to read on the notice:

• Notice details: the tax year and the date the notice was issued. This date is the starting point for the objection deadline.
• Account summary: Refund, Amount due or Balance: Nil. The CRA's website warns that the amount owing on a notice may include unpaid amounts from earlier years (shown in the "Tax assessment or reassessment" part of the notice), and that if your payment had not reached the CRA when the notice was issued, the notice may still show an amount owing.
• Explanation of changes and other important information: what the CRA changed and why. This is the most important part.

2. See which lines were changed in your account. Log in to your CRA account → choose Individual → choose Tax returns → under "Status of return," click the return for that year that was assessed or reassessed to see the figure on each line. Compare it line by line with the return you filed.

3. Call first to ask. The CRA's guide P148 says many misunderstandings come from not enough communication, and before you file an objection it strongly recommends calling the number on the notice or writing to ask; many disputes are settled this way. The individual tax enquiries line is 1-800-959-8281. When you call, have ready your social insurance number (SIN), full name, date of birth, full address, and an assessed return or notice of assessment (or log in to your CRA account first); the CRA uses these to confirm your identity. Calling to ask does not stop the objection deadline, so keep an eye on the calendar while you ask.

4. Choose a route based on where the difference is:

5. An example: the same wages counted twice.

Say you reported employment income of $48,000 for 2025. Your employer later issued an amended T4, and the wages on it were still $48,000. But the notice of reassessment changed line 10100 (employment income, usually box 14 of the T4) to $96,000. The CRA very likely treated the original T4 and the amended one as two separate amounts of wages.

First, check with your employer that the two T4s are for the same wages and that the amended one replaces the original. Then get the following ready:

In your objection you could write: "Please change line 10100 from $96,000 back to $48,000 and recalculate the tax and related interest based on the amended income." Note: $48,000 is the difference in income, not the amount of tax involved; how much tax should actually be refunded has to be worked out separately.

In a case like this, you can also call first to see whether the CRA can simply correct it based on the amended T4. But if the objection deadline is close, file the objection first.

Related: for the basics of saving tax and investing, see Guide No. 15, Saving tax & investing; if you would like the CRA to help you file your taxes for free, see Guide No. 37, Free filing with CRA SimpleFile.

5. How to work out the objection deadline: two dates, take the later one

The rule for personal income tax. If you are an individual (not a trust) and the assessment is for personal income tax, your objection deadline is the later of the two dates below. This is set by subsection 165(1) of the Income Tax Act.

• Date A: one year after the filing due date for that tax year. For most people the filing due date is April 30 of the following year; if you or your spouse or common-law partner is self-employed, it is June 15 of the following year. It is the due date set by the rules, not the day you actually sent in your return.
• Date B: the 90th day from the date on the notice. These are calendar days, including weekends and holidays. Count from the date printed on the notice, not from the day you opened the letter, saw an alert in your account or got a collection call.

Some examples:

As you can see: for a return that has just been assessed, date A is usually later; for a reassessment that comes years later, date B is usually later, and you have only 90 days. If you get a reassessment for an older year, act especially quickly.

One thing for self-employed people to watch. The filing due date for self-employed people is June 15, but any tax owing still has to be paid by April 30, or interest starts on May 1. Take the 2025 tax year as an example: the filing due date is June 15, 2026, and the payment due date is April 30, 2026.

These have only 90 days, without the "one year" rule:

• tax charged for putting too much into a TFSA (Tax-Free Savings Account) or RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings Plan);
• a notice of loss determination;
• corporations (those that file a T2 return);
• GST/HST assessments for businesses.

When the last day falls on a weekend. A CRA educational video gives an example: for the 2020 tax year, the filing due date was April 30, 2021, and the video says the objection could be filed until May 2, 2022. April 30, 2022 was a Saturday, so the deadline moved to the following Monday. But the safest approach is not to leave it to the last few days; file early.

The deadline keeps running while you wait for other results. Calling to ask, sending documents, waiting for the result of a change to your return: none of these stops the objection deadline. The CRA's decision tree page says specifically that if you missed the objection deadline because you were waiting for the result of a change to your return, you have to apply separately for an extension of time (section 6).

If you cannot work it out, go by 90 days. If you really are not sure which rule applies, act within 90 days of the date on the notice; that is the safest choice, because the real deadline cannot be earlier than that day.

Related: for taxes and GST/HST for self-employed people and businesses, see Guide No. 8, Starting a business.

6. If you missed the objection deadline: apply for an extension within one year

It can be fixed, but there is a time limit. Under section 166.1 of the Income Tax Act, if the objection deadline has passed, you can apply to the CRA for an extension of time. The latest you can apply is within one year after the original objection deadline.

For example, if your objection deadline was December 9, 2026 and you missed it, you can apply for an extension until December 9, 2027 at the latest. The sooner the better.

What you need to show (the gist of the law; you need all four):

1. During the original time limit, you could not act yourself and could not get someone to act for you, or you already intended to object at that time;
2. given the reasons you give and the circumstances, it would be just and equitable to grant the extension;
3. you applied as soon as the obstacle was gone;
4. you applied within one year after the original deadline.

Common reasons the CRA's website gives: during the original time limit you were working to resolve the issue with the CRA area that issued the notice, or something happened that was beyond your control.

How to apply. Send the extension request together with your objection:

• online: through your CRA account (P148 says you can apply in My Account);
• by mail: write to the Chief of Appeals at the Appeals Intake Centre; the address is in section 7. The law requires the objection itself to be attached.

In the letter, explain why you did not object on time (in date order, with proof such as hospital records or records of your dealings with the CRA), as well as the facts and reasons for your objection.

If it is approved. If the extension is granted, your objection is treated as filed on the day the CRA sends the notice granting it.

If it is refused, or the CRA does not reply. You can apply to the Tax Court of Canada for an extension (section 166.2 of the Income Tax Act):

• if the CRA refused: the court must receive your application within 90 days after the CRA sends the notice of refusal;
• if you applied to the CRA and it has not replied after 90 days: you can also apply to the court.

When you apply to the court, send three copies of each of three documents: the extension request you gave the CRA, your objection, and the CRA's notice of refusal (if there is one). You can use the court's online filing system, or fax or mail them to the court's Registry.

7. How to object: registering online is fastest, and you can also mail or fax

The CRA's guide P148 says any of the ways below counts, but if you file through your CRA online account, the CRA receives it faster and assigns it to an appeals officer faster.

First way: register online (the CRA says this is fastest)

1. Log in to your CRA account from Canada.ca (for individuals it is called My Account);
2. choose "Register my formal dispute" (this is the notice of objection). The CRA's website does not say which menu this option is under; if you cannot find it, call 1-800-959-8281 to ask. Page 1 of Form RC592 calls this online service "File a formal dispute," so look for either name in your account;
3. follow the prompts to choose the year and the notice, and write clearly what you disagree with and why;
4. once you submit, the system gives you a case number right away. Take a screenshot and write it down;
5. use "Submit documents online" (steps in section 3) to upload your proof, entering this case number.

Second way: have your authorized representative register it for you. A representative you have authorized (an accountant, for example) can choose "Register my formal dispute" for you in "Represent a Client." For how to authorize a representative, see the CRA's representative authorization page.

Third way: mail or fax.

• Use the new Form RC592, Notice of Objection. The CRA's form page says the old Form T400A (income tax objections) and Form GST159 (GST/HST objections) were cancelled as of October 26, 2026 and replaced with RC592. The version of the CRA's objection main page updated on November 2 still mentions T400A; go by the form page. Download RC592 to your computer first and open it with Acrobat Reader 10 or later to fill it in; do not open it directly in your browser.
• You can also skip the form and write a signed letter that clearly sets out the facts and reasons. Section 14 has a sample in English.
• Mailing address:
  Chief of Appeals
  Appeals Intake Centre
  1050 Notre Dame Avenue
  Sudbury ON P3A 5C1
• Fax: B.C. falls under the western appeals intake centre (which covers Manitoba to B.C., plus the three northern territories): local 604-587-2672, toll-free 1-866-489-6832.
• Before you send it, check the address on the CRA's objection page once more in case it has changed; send it by a method that lets you track delivery, and keep a full copy.

What to include in your objection (as listed in the CRA's guide P148):

• your name and full mailing address;
• a phone number where you can be reached during the day;
• the date of the notice of assessment;
• the tax year;
• your social insurance number (SIN) or other account number;
• the relevant facts, and your reasons for disagreeing;
• copies of all supporting documents;
• your authorized representative's name and address (if you have one);
• your signature and the date.

If you disagree with several notices: P148 says you need to file a separate objection for each one, and if the reasons are the same, you can say so on each one and attach one shared statement of facts; but Section 4 of the current Form RC592 (the version on the CRA's forms page on November 3, 2026) says that if you are objecting to several notices, list the dates of all the notices. The two say different things; if you are not sure, file a separate objection for each notice. Registering online lets you file several at once. If you mail it, attach a copy of the notice of assessment so it can be processed a little faster.

Be clear, and send everything. The CRA's website says that if information is missing, the CRA has to come back to you for it, and your objection takes longer. It is best to send all the relevant information from the start.

8. After you object: how long it takes, how to check progress, and which documents you can ask for

Expect a long wait. The CRA publishes processing times every month. According to the page updated on September 25, 2026:

• low complexity (personal credits, personal deductions, the Canada Child Benefit, the disability tax credit and the like): files completed in August 2026 took 145 days on average; most of the files now being assigned were received in January 2026;
• medium complexity (business expenses, partnerships, more complex personal income tax, small and medium-sized businesses): 403 days on average; most of the files now being assigned were received in January 2025;
• high complexity: 690 days or more on average.

The number of days does not include the time you take to send more information.

How to check progress.

• Log in to your CRA account and look at the "Progress Tracker" on the Overview page;
• or call the objections enquiries line: 1-800-959-5513 (from outside Canada, call 613-940-8563; collect calls are accepted);
• if an appeals officer has already contacted you, contact that officer directly.

Every time you contact the CRA from then on, include the case number and the tax year, and keep a note of what you sent and when.

If your objection is not accepted. P148 says that if your objection is not accepted (for example, because it was filed too late or too early), the CRA will write to you explaining why.

Which documents you can ask the reviewer for. P148 says that, as long as they relate to the dispute, you can generally ask for: a copy of your tax return, the auditor's report, the audit working papers related to the dispute, records of discussions about your assessment between the appeals officer and the auditor, the court decisions and laws the auditor relied on, the valuations the auditor used, and information obtained from third parties you do business with (for example, invoices, orders and cheques). You will not be given other people's personal information, the CRA's audit techniques and similar material.

You could ask: "Could you please send me a copy of the auditor's report and the working papers related to the issue in my objection?"

If you get a new notice of reassessment for the same year before your objection is decided. First check whether the new notice already makes the change you asked for in your objection. Two official sources need to be read together:

• the CRA's guide P148 says that if you are reassessed after filing an objection, the original objection is cancelled, but you can object to the new reassessment, and the Appeals Branch will tell you what rights you have;
• subsection 165(7) of the Income Tax Act says that for a reassessment you can also appeal directly to the Tax Court without filing another objection.

The safest approach: call the appeals officer right away (or 1-800-959-5513) to ask what the status of your original objection is now; at the same time, work out the deadline again from the date of the new notice (section 5), and file another objection against the new notice within that deadline.

If you have paid and the wait is long, you can ask for the disputed amount back first. The CRA's website says that if you have already paid the amount owing and there is still no decision 120 days after you filed your objection, you can ask the CRA to repay the disputed part first. You can ask together with your objection, or in a separate letter (include your case number and send it to the Chief of Appeals given in section 7).

9. Do you have to pay while you object? The disputed part is generally not collected yet, but interest keeps building

The CRA generally does not collect the disputed part for now. Section 225.1 of the Income Tax Act and the CRA's website both say that once you object to a personal income tax assessment, the CRA generally waits until 90 days after it sends its decision on your objection before taking collection action on the disputed amount. Right 7 of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights also says that, unless otherwise provided by law, you have the right not to pay disputed personal income tax until you have had an impartial review.

But there are some exceptions:

• the part you do not dispute has to be paid right away;
• amounts an employer must deduct and remit (for example, tax deducted from employees' pay) have to be paid on time; the CRA will not hold off collecting them;
• GST/HST for businesses: the CRA can continue collecting even after you object;
• if you claimed a charitable donation credit through a tax shelter arrangement, the CRA holds off on only half;
• other situations set by law, for example when the CRA believes there is a risk the money cannot be collected.

Interest keeps building, compounded daily. The CRA's website says interest on unpaid tax is compounded daily from the day after the due date, and this also applies to extra amounts from a reassessment. For example, for the 2025 tax year the payment due date was April 30, 2026; any extra amount from a later reassessment also accrues interest from May 1, 2026. The rate is set every three months: from October 1 to December 31, 2026, the annual interest rate on overdue taxes is 7%.

To pay less interest, you can pay first. The CRA's website says you can pay all or part of the disputed amount first to reduce interest. If the outcome is in your favour (your objection or appeal succeeds), the amount you overpaid is refunded with interest.

An example. Your account shows you owe $3,000. You agree with $800 of it; the other $2,200 is the extra amount from a reassessment that you dispute. You can pay the $800 first, and explain clearly in your objection which adjustment created the $2,200. If you also pay $1,000 in advance and it has been applied to the right year, the unpaid disputed principal is about $1,200. Interest already charged is separate.

If you cannot pay it all at once, how to set up a payment arrangement.

• Online: log in to your CRA account → choose "Proceed to pay" → choose "Schedule a series of payments" → fill it in and confirm the pre-authorized debit (PAD) agreement. The CRA's website says personal income tax debts can be arranged online this way.
• First work out how much you can pay each month: the CRA has a "monthly income and expenses" calculator to see how much you can actually afford each month.
• By phone: for personal income tax debts, call 1-888-863-8657 (from Canada and the United States), Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time. In B.C. time, that is 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. from the first Sunday in November to the second Sunday in March of the following year, and 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the rest of the year (in the parts of southeastern B.C. that are on UTC-6 all year, add 1 hour). There is also an automated payment arrangement line, 1-866-256-1147, for personal income tax debts only.
• If you get a letter from a collections officer, call that officer's number on the letter as soon as possible. If you owe $1,000 or more in personal income tax, some people will see "Manage balance" in their account; click "I want to discuss my amount owing with the CRA" to see the contact details of the collections officer handling your file, so you can make sure you are calling the right number.

When you call, you could say: "Hi, I'm calling about my personal income tax balance. I've filed an objection for part of it, case number ___. I agree with $___ and I'd like to set up a payment arrangement for that part."

10. Can penalties and interest be cancelled? Taxpayer relief (RC4288)

First, tell two things apart.

• The penalty or the tax was calculated wrongly (for example, you should not have been penalized, or a figure is wrong): this means the assessment is wrong, so object (section 7); in your objection, explain where the error is and attach proof.
• The penalties and interest were calculated according to the rules, but you have special circumstances: you can apply separately for "taxpayer relief," asking the CRA to cancel or waive part of the penalties and interest. This is also in right 12 of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

Situations where you can apply (examples on the CRA's website):

• Extraordinary circumstances: natural or human-made disasters such as floods or fires; disruptions in services such as a postal strike; serious illness or accident; serious emotional or mental distress, such as a death in the immediate family;
• Actions of the CRA: processing delays, so you were told about an amount owing only a long time later; errors in the CRA's information, or wrong information the CRA gave you; processing errors; delays in resolving an objection, appeal or audit;
• Inability to pay or financial hardship: if the CRA confirms you really cannot pay, it may waive all or part of the interest. For example, when paying the interest would leave you unable, for a long time, to afford basic needs such as food, medical care, transportation and housing;
• Other circumstances: situations not in the categories above can also be submitted, and the CRA will consider them.

What you cannot apply for: the tax itself (tax already assessed) cannot be waived, and anything older than 10 years is not covered: for penalties, only tax years that ended within the 10 calendar years before the year you apply; for interest, only interest that arose within the 10 calendar years before the year you apply. For example, if you apply in 2026, penalties must be for a tax year that ended in 2016 or later, and interest must have arisen in 2016 or later.

How to apply.

• Online: log in to your CRA account → under "Accounts and payments," choose "Request relief of penalties and interest";
• By mail: fill in Form RC4288 (Request for Taxpayer Relief) and send it to the office listed for where you live on the last page of the form.

What to write and what to attach. Describe in detail, completely and accurately: what happened, from which date to which date, and why it stopped you from paying or filing on time. Attach proof, for example:

• serious illness: a doctor's note (what the illness is, when treatment started, when recovery is expected) and the dates you were in hospital;
• a death in the family: the death certificate or an obituary;
• a disaster: insurance documents, or a fire or police report;
• financial hardship: a statement of income and expenses (such as Form RC376), bank and credit card statements for the last 3 months, your mortgage or lease, loan statements and so on;
• CRA delays or errors: letters between you and the CRA, and records of phone calls.

Applying for relief does not stop the objection deadline. Under the law, the objection deadline can be extended only by applying under section 166.1 (section 6). The CRA's website also says that if the assessment you are asking relief for is under objection or appeal, the CRA will make its final decision on relief only after the objection and the appeal are over and the right to appeal has expired. Interest keeps building during the review; you can pay first to pay less interest.

If you disagree with the relief decision. You can ask for a second review (by someone who was not involved in the first one); you can also apply to the Federal Court for judicial review, within 30 calendar days after you receive the decision. The CRA's website suggests asking for a second review first.

11. If you find a past mistake yourself: change your return, or use the Voluntary Disclosures Program (VDP)

Changing your return (adjustment request). This suits cases such as leaving out a tax slip or forgetting to claim a deduction.

• You can change it only after you receive your notice of assessment. If you have already asked for one change, wait until the CRA replies before asking for the next one.
• Online (about 2 weeks to process): log in to your CRA account → choose Individual → choose Tax returns → choose "Change my return" → choose the year you want to change and follow the steps → save the confirmation number and the summary of changes. You can also use "ReFILE" in CRA-certified tax software, and it does not have to be the same software you used before; but this works only if the original return was filed online with certified software and is for the 2021 tax year or later. If you filed on paper, use Change my return or mail Form T1-ADJ.
• By mail (about 20 weeks): fill in Form T1-ADJ and mail it with your proof to your tax centre.
• Some take longer, up to 36 weeks: for example, changing several years at once, years beyond the usual 3-year reassessment period, or carrying a loss back to an earlier year.
• What a change request cannot do: apply for benefits or credits, make or change an election, transfer a refund to another CRA account, or update your personal information (address, email, direct deposit, marital status and name have to be updated separately).
• Refunds go back 10 years at most: if a change would give you a refund and you ask more than 10 calendar years after the end of that year, the CRA will not refund it.
• After the change you will get a notice of reassessment, or a letter explaining why the change was not made.

Voluntary Disclosures Program (VDP). This suits cases such as income you left out in the past, a year you did not file, or expenses you claimed that you should not have, where you go to the CRA yourself to correct it; you may be charged less in penalties and interest. The CRA changed the rules of this program on October 1, 2025. The website lists five conditions, and you must meet all of them:

1. apply before the CRA starts an audit or investigation of you (or a related taxpayer) on this matter;
2. provide all the relevant information for the years being corrected;
3. the matter being corrected involves interest or penalties;
4. the matter being corrected is at least one year (or one reporting period) past its filing due date;
5. include an estimated payment of the tax owing, or ask for a payment arrangement (which needs CRA approval).

Apply with Form RC199. Individuals can submit it online in My Account, or by fax or mail; choose only one way. The website says that if you are not sure whether you qualify, you can still apply.

The VDP and an objection are not the same thing. In the VDP you correct your own mistake on your own initiative; in an objection you disagree with a decision the CRA has already made. If the CRA has already started an audit or investigation on the matter, you do not meet condition 1 of the VDP.

Related: if you would like the CRA to help you file your taxes for free and make fewer mistakes, see Guide No. 37, Free filing with CRA SimpleFile.

12. After the objection decision: check it, and appeal to the Tax Court if you disagree

First check what the decision changed. If the CRA agrees with you fully or partly, it sends a new notice of reassessment (or notice of redetermination). Check it line by line: the disputed line, the tax, the penalties and the interest; then log in to your account to see how much was actually refunded and how much you still owe. If the CRA disagrees, it sends a notice of confirmation. Write down the date of the notice, read the reasons carefully, and keep the original.

If you disagree, you can appeal to the Tax Court of Canada.

An example. If the notice of confirmation is dated November 10, 2026, the court must receive your appeal by February 8, 2027 at the latest. If you mail it, allow for time in the mail; filing online is best.

Two procedures: the informal procedure and the general procedure.

Things to note:

• To use the informal procedure, you must state in your notice of appeal that you choose it. If you do not, the court will treat it as a general procedure appeal.
• If the amount is over $25,000 but you still want the informal procedure, you can state in your notice of appeal that you agree to limit the amount of your appeal to $25,000.
• In B.C., federal and provincial taxes are filed together; the $25,000 limit refers to federal tax and federal penalties.

How to file the appeal. You can use the court's online filing system (the court encourages online filing, and there is no extra charge), or file in person, by mail or by fax at the court's Registry. To file online you need a printer, Adobe Acrobat Reader and an email address; the court sends the confirmation to your email. For informal procedure appeals, once the Registry has checked that everything is complete, it assigns a file number and generally sends you an acknowledgement within a week.

What you give the court is public. The court's website says documents filed with it are generally open to anyone. So do not include sensitive information such as your social insurance number, your date of birth (if it is required, give only the year), the names of minor children (if required, give only their initials) or bank account numbers (if required, give only the last four digits). The court will not black these out for you; you have to do it yourself.

Money during the appeal. The CRA's website says that while an income tax appeal is under way, the CRA generally waits for the court's decision before collecting the disputed amount; but employee payroll deductions and GST/HST are still collected. Interest keeps building; you can pay first, and if you win it is refunded with interest.

If you missed the appeal deadline. You can apply to the Tax Court for an extension (section 167 of the Income Tax Act); the latest is within one year after the original 90-day appeal period ends (the CRA puts it as "one year and 90 days" from the date of the decision). You need to show: during the appeal period you could not act yourself and could not get someone to act for you, or you already intended to appeal at that time; granting it would be just; you applied as soon as you could; and there are reasonable grounds for the appeal. Attach the notice of appeal you intend to file to your application.

Going further. If you disagree with the Tax Court's judgment, you can appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal within 30 days after the judgment (July and August do not count toward the 30 days); in informal procedure cases, the grounds on which you can appeal are limited. Above that is the Supreme Court of Canada, which requires you to apply for leave first.

How to contact the Tax Court. The court's toll-free number is 1-800-927-5499. The court has a registry in Vancouver; for its address and phone number, see the "Find Us" page on the court's website.

13. When to see a professional, and how to check their licence

In these situations it is best to have a licensed professional look at it:

• the amount in dispute is large, or it covers several years;
• there are large penalties, for example if you are found to have deliberately left out income;
• collection action has already started, such as collection letters or money being taken from your account or pay;
• the appeal deadline is close, or you are already going to the Tax Court;
• business, corporate or foreign income, or other complicated matters, are involved.

For an accountant: check the CPA BC member directory. The member directory of the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPA BC) shows members' names and the city where they practise or work; the firm directory lists firms registered with CPA BC and in good standing.

For a lawyer: check the Law Society of British Columbia's lawyer directory. Enter the lawyer's last name to see whether the lawyer is licensed, their contact details, and any discipline history or practice restrictions. The Law Society does not recommend lawyers; to find one, see its "Finding a lawyer" page.

If someone else is to deal with the CRA for you, authorize them formally. Only after you have authorized them with the CRA as your authorized representative can they register an objection or view notices for you in "Represent a Client." When you no longer need them, remember to cancel the authorization.

If you are unhappy with the CRA's service (not with the amount of tax). First make a service complaint to the CRA (right 9 of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights); if you are still not satisfied, you can go to the Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson, which deals with problems with the CRA's service, not with how much tax you should pay. Questions about the amount of tax still go through objections and appeals.

Related: for what people who file taxes for others must set up first, see Guide No. 26, Filing taxes for others: CRA EFILE; for how to find and call government phone lines, see Guide No. 7, Phone directory.

14. Sample objection letter in English (personal income tax)

How to use it. Replace the parts in square brackets with your own information. Write one set for each item in dispute. In the first paragraph, say which line you want changed, from what amount to what amount; in the second, give the CRA's reason, what happened and your evidence; in the third, clearly ask to be reassessed. If you register online, you can copy the three paragraphs below (the facts, the reasons and the request) into the matching boxes. If you mail it, sign it, date it and keep a copy. The letter below is a sample CanDo Studio drafted from what the CRA's guide P148 says an objection should contain; it is not an official template.

Check once more before you send it. Go through the tax year, the date of the notice, the amount in dispute and the attachment numbers one by one. If you are also asking for an extension, write a separate account of what happened in date order and attach proof. Keep the objection letter, the attachments and the proof of mailing or submission in the same folder; once you get the case number, write it at the top.

15. Checklist before you start

• You know which letter you have: a request for documents, a proposal letter, a notice of assessment or reassessment, a benefit decision, or a statement of account.
• You have logged in to your CRA account yourself to see the original; if you get a "call from the CRA," you check the number first.
• Request for documents: send them before the date on the letter, with the reference number from the top right corner; if you cannot make it, call the number at the bottom of the letter early to ask for more time, and write down the new date and the name of the person you spoke to.
• Notice of assessment or reassessment: you have read the "explanation of changes" and compared it line by line in your account.
• Work out your objection deadline: the day one year after the filing due date or the 90th day from the date on the notice, whichever is later; TFSA or RRSP over-contributions, loss determinations, corporations and GST/HST have only 90 days.
• If you made the mistake, change your return; if you did not answer a request for documents, send them back to the area that did the review; if the CRA made the mistake, object.
• Online: register with "Register my formal dispute" and save the case number; by mail: use RC592 or a signed letter and send it to the Appeals Intake Centre in Sudbury, or fax 1-866-489-6832.
• If there is more than one notice, follow section 7 (if you are not sure, file a separate objection for each one); facts, reasons, proof, signature and date all included.
• Pay the amount you agree with first; you can pay part of the disputed amount first to pay less interest; if you cannot pay, set up a payment arrangement.
• If you want penalties or interest cancelled or waived, apply separately for taxpayer relief; it does not stop the objection deadline.
• If you missed the objection deadline: apply for an extension within one year after the original deadline.
• If you still disagree after the objection decision: the court must receive your notice of appeal within 90 days; if the amount qualifies, state that you choose the informal procedure (no filing fee).
• Do not include sensitive information such as your social insurance number in documents you give the court.
• If a lot of money, several years, large penalties or a close court deadline are involved, check the licence before hiring an accountant or a lawyer.

Related guides

• → No. 37 · Free filing with CRA SimpleFile
  If your income is low and your taxes are simple: how to file for free with CRA SimpleFile online, by phone or on paper, and how to make a change if your notice of assessment shows a mistake.
• → No. 39 · Disability tax credit (DTC)
  Who can apply for the DTC and how; and if it is not approved, whether to call, ask the CRA for a review or file an objection (section 10).
• → No. 7 · Phone directory
  How to call the CRA lines for personal taxes and benefits, what to prepare before you call, and what to do if you cannot get through.
• → No. 26 · Filing taxes for others: CRA EFILE
  Filing taxes for other people for a fee requires CRA EFILE first; if you only want to help family members with their CRA accounts, you use Represent a Client instead.
• → No. 9 · Pensions & benefits
  Eligibility and applications for OAS, GIS and CPP, and for benefits and credits such as the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB) and the disability tax credit (DTC).
• → No. 15 · Saving tax & investing
  How accounts such as the TFSA, RRSP, FHSA and RESP work, and what to ask when someone presents a financial product to you.
• → No. 8 · Starting a business
  How self-employed people and corporations report taxes and which costs count as business expenses; if you charge to file taxes for others, you also need EFILE first.

Main official links in this guide

These are the official pages used most in this guide. The CRA's pages on objections, reviews, changing a return, processing times, payment arrangements, cancelling or waiving penalties and interest, and voluntary disclosures, the text of sections 165, 166.1, 166.2, 167, 169 and 225.1 of the Income Tax Act and section 18 of the Tax Court of Canada Act, and the Tax Court of Canada's web pages were all opened and read on November 3, 2026. A few things could not be checked: where "Register my formal dispute" is in the CRA account menus, which can only be seen after logging in; the current address of the Tax Court's Vancouver registry, which is in a map loaded by scripts and could not be read; the hours of the Pre-Matching and T1 Matching lines and of the individual tax enquiries line 1-800-959-8281, which could not be read; the general rule for a deadline that falls on a weekend, which was not checked, so we quote only the example in the CRA video; and the CRA's important dates page still lists only the 2025 tax year, not the filing due date for the 2026 tax year (filed in spring 2027), so all the examples use the 2025 tax year or earlier years. Other links are at the end of each section.