FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS  —

CANADA REVENUE AGENCY

How do I make a payment to CRA?

CRA offers many payment options My Payment for individuals and businesses.

If paying by cheque, make your cheque payable to “Receiver General of Canada” and send it to:


Canada Revenue Agency

PO Box 3800 STN A

Sudbury ON P3A 0C3

Attach a remittance voucher, or else clearly mark on the cheque your SIN or business number (ending RT0001 for HST payments, RP0001 for payroll and RC0001 for corporate taxes) and the period it applies to (year or quarter).

HOW CAN I CONTACT CRA?

For personal tax inquiries call: 
1 800 959 8281.

For business inquiries call:
1 800 959 5525.

You can also access tax information via My Account or My Business Account.

HOW DO I SIGN UP TO ACCESS MY INFORMATION WITH CRA ONLINE?

Sign up for My Account at the CRA website.

Click the button to Register. You will need to enter your SIN, date of birth, other identifying information and information from past tax returns. You will be prompted to enter security questions, and a user ID and password.

Your access code will be mailed to you in a few days.

HOW CAN I GET A COPY OF MY NOTICE OF ASSESSMENT?

If you have signed up for CRA’s My Account Service, you can log into your account to access your Notice of Assessment for the current or prior years (back to 2004).

If you have not signed up for My Account, your Notice of Assessment is mailed to you once your tax return has been assessed.

You can also request an income and deductions printout (also known as an “option ‘C’ print”) which can be used to provide proof of income via My Account or by calling CRA’s automated Tax Information Phone Service.

HOW MUCH RRSP CONTRIBUTION ROOM DO I HAVE?

You can find your RRSP limit from your Notice of Assessment. At the bottom of the page showing the lines of your return you will find the RRSP DEDUCTION LIMIT STATEMENT. Look for the line near the bottom showing “Your RRSP deduction limit for YYYY”. This is your limit, which means the amount you can contribute.

If you have unused contributions these will show on the last line of this form. These are amounts that have been contributed to your RRSP but not yet deducted on your tax return. If you have an amount greater than $0 here, this will reduce the amount you can contribute to your RRSP (subtract the unused amount from the deduction limit to find out how much you can contribute).

NOTE: if your unused contributions exceed your deduction limit you have over-contributed and need to take action as there are penalties for over-contributing – contact our office as soon as possible for assistance. 

You can also call CRA for your RRSP information at 1-800-959-8281.

WHAT IS MY FILING DEADLINE?

Individual tax returns:
April 30th – General tax deadline
June 15th – If you and/or your spouse has self-employment income.
NOTE: interest will accrue on any outstanding balance owing as of May 1st.

There are special rules for returns for deceased persons – please see the worksheet for deceased persons in the Forms & Tools section of the website for more information.

Corporate tax returns:
Six months after the corporate year end – corporate tax returns due
NOTE: interest will accrue on any outstanding balance owing as of 3 months after corporate year end date

Trust tax returns:
90 days after trust’s year end

I GOT A LETTER FROM CANADA REVENUE AGENCY – WHAT DO I DO?

When you receive a letter from CRA or IRS that you need assistance with, please call email taxinfo@rosspc.ca, or call us at 416-588-4474.

Send us the letter through our secure Portal system at CCHPortal.
Your user name is your email address. If you have forgotten your password, click on “reset”.
If you don’t yet have a portal, you can request one at New Portal Request.

Please do not send confidential identifying information (such as SINs, birth dates, addresses, etc.) by email.

IS IT REAL OR IS IT A SCAM? CRA IS CALLING/EMAILING ME – WHAT DO I DO?

Criminals often attempt to gain personal and financial information by pretending to be from the CRA.

Often these contacts try to convince taxpayers that they owe money and are in danger of being arrested or having assets seized. Do not give any information over the phone or through email. Ask for the agent’s ID and phone number and request a letter describing the problem. Tell the person you will look into it with your accountants and will follow up if necessary.

To help you identify possible scams, use the following guidelines. CRA

never requests prepaid credit cards;
never asks for information about your passport, health card, or driver’s licence;
never shares your taxpayer information with another person, unless you have provided the appropriate authorization; and
never leaves personal information on your voicemail or asks you to leave a message containing your personal information over voicemail.
When in doubt, please call our office for assistance. You can also call CRA directly at 1-800-959-8281 to ask whether there is any problem with your file.

To learn more about these scams and how you can protect yourself, see the Protect Yourself Against Fraud section of CRA’s website.

CRA IS ASKING ME TO SEND IN RECEIPTS - AM I BEING AUDITED?

A review is a request for documentation supporting one or more deductions and credits, whereas an audit is a full examination of a tax return (often for multiple years).

CRA routinely conducts reviews throughout the year. Receipts commonly requested during reviews include:

Tuition
Medical
Charitable donations
Rent
Property tax
Childcare
In addition, when foreign tax credits are claimed CRA will often request supporting documentation (usually a foreign tax return)

WHAT IS PROCESSING REVIEW?

Processing review takes place after a notice of assessment is generated. CRA reviews the deductions and credits claimed, and may request supporting documentation.

WHAT IS PRE-ASSESSMENT REVIEW?

A pre-assessment review is when CRA reviews the deductions and credits claimed (and may request supporting documentation) before sending a Notice of Assessment.

WHAT ARE THE PENALTIES FOR LATE-FILING AND INTEREST ON OVERDUE BALANCES?

The penalty for late-filing a tax return is 5% of the balance due, plus an additional penalty of 1% of the outstanding balance for each full month the return is late.

Interest on overdue taxes, CPP and EI remittances is charged at CRA’s prescribed rate and compounded daily.

DO I HAVE TO PAY INCOME TAX INSTALMENTS?

Generally, instalments are required when tax owing in a prior year is $3,000 or greater. The quarterly instalment to pay is ¼ of the balance owed in the prior year. CRA will send instalment reminders in this situation.

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I CAN’T PAY MY TAX BILL?

In this situation, it is best to contact CRA’s debt management call centre at 1-888-863-8657 to speak to an agent about your circumstances. They may agree to a payment plan. Send them what you can as you are able, in order to pay off the balance as soon as possible. Interest will continue to be applied as long as the balance is unpaid.

HOW LONG SHOULD I KEEP MY TAX DOCUMENTS AND RECEIPTS?

We advise taxpayers to keep their records and documents for 7 years.

Note that you should scan your documents where there is a chance the printing may fade, such as cash register receipts. You are responsible for keeping and maintaining your records if CRA wishes to review your documents and receipts.

Please note that even if we are doing your bookkeeping, we do not keep copies of credit card and cash receipts. Retention of these documents, and all tax documents, is the taxpayer’s responsibility.

We have your covered. If your question isn't listed above, write or call us and we will respond to you at the earliest.

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