CRA Confirmed Your Assessment: Your Next Steps in Canada

You filed an objection and waited. Now a letter has arrived, and it says the CRA has confirmed the assessment, or it has reassessed you but not in the way you hoped. It is natural to feel that the dispute is over.

It usually is not. The system has another level, the Tax Court of Canada, and the clock for reaching it starts when the CRA's decision is sent. This article walks through what the decision means, the deadline, how the court process works, and what happens to the money in the meantime.

This article covers Canadian federal tax law, which applies in every province.

What a Notice of Confirmation or reassessment tells you

When the CRA receives a notice of objection, the Minister must reconsider the assessment. The Minister can vacate it, confirm it, vary it or reassess it, and must tell you in writing.

If the CRA disagrees with your objection, it sends either a Notice of Confirmation or a reassessment. A confirmation means the CRA is keeping the assessment as it was. A reassessment means the CRA changed something, which may be only part of what you asked for.

Read the decision closely. Check the date it was sent, the tax year, and which issues were changed and which were left alone. The date matters most, because your deadline runs from it.

The 90-day deadline to appeal

An appeal to the Tax Court after a confirmation or reassessment cannot be started more than 90 days after the day the notice was sent. CRA guidance gives the same 90-day window. Note that the count runs from the day the notice was sent, not from the day you opened it.

You do not need to file a second objection first. After serving a notice of objection, you can appeal a resulting reassessment to the Tax Court without serving a new one.

Choosing between the Informal and General procedures

The Tax Court has an Informal procedure and a General procedure. Informal appeals have no filing fee, while General Procedure appeals have a fee based on the amount in dispute.

Appeals can be filed by mail, fax, delivery or through the Court's electronic filing. Which procedure is open to you can depend on the amount involved and the issues, so this is a good point to speak with a lawyer or accountant before you file.

Money, interest and collection while you appeal

Interest keeps accruing on disputed income tax. Paying all or part of the disputed amount stops further interest on the amount paid, and if the CRA agrees with you the payment is refunded.

Once you appeal to the Tax Court, collection of the disputed amount is barred until the Court's decision is mailed to you or you discontinue the appeal, whichever comes first. There are exceptions. The restrictions do not apply to amounts that must be withheld and remitted, to certain related penalties and interest, or to assessments made under ss.152(4.2), 169(3) or 220(3.1).

Large corporations and taxpayers in certain tax shelter cases face a different rule. They can be required to pay one-half of the assessed amount within 90 days of the notice of assessment.

If you lose at the Tax Court, and what to do now

Further appeals exist. A notice of appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal is due within 30 days of the Tax Court's final judgment, excluding July and August. An application for leave to the Supreme Court of Canada is due within 60 days of the Federal Court of Appeal's judgment, excluding July.

Practical steps once the decision arrives:

• Write down the date the decision was sent and count 90 days forward.
• Keep your objection case number handy for any correspondence.
• Gather the notice of assessment, your objection, the CRA decision and your supporting documents.
• Decide whether to pay some or all of the disputed amount to limit interest.
• Speak with a lawyer or accountant early about the Informal and General procedures.

Frequently asked questions