What Happens After You File a Notice of Objection and Before Tax Court in Canada?
This answer covers Canadian federal tax law, which applies in every province.
After you file a notice of objection, the Minister must reconsider the assessment with all due dispatch, then vacate, confirm or vary it or reassess, and notify you in writing. The objection itself must be in writing and set out the reasons and all relevant facts.
A Tax Court appeal becomes the next step once the Minister has confirmed the assessment or reassessed. You then have 90 days from the day the notice of confirmation or reassessment was sent, and the Court must receive your notice of appeal within that time. If the Minister has not notified you of a decision, you may appeal once 90 days have passed after service of your notice of objection. For GST/HST objections the wait is 180 days.
If you miss the deadline, you can ask the Tax Court for an extension, but the application must be made within one year after the 90-day appeal period expires. A late notice of objection is handled differently, by applying to the Minister first. How long CRA Appeals takes varies, so a lawyer or accountant can help you plan your timing.
Key takeaways
- The Minister must reconsider the assessment with all due dispatch and then vacate, confirm, vary or reassess it, and notify you in writing.
- You may appeal to the Tax Court once the Minister has confirmed the assessment or reassessed.
- The appeal deadline is 90 days from the day the notice of confirmation or reassessment was sent.
- If the Minister has not notified you of a decision, you may appeal once 90 days have passed after service of your notice of objection, or 180 days for GST/HST.