How to Appeal to the Tax Court of Canada: Step-by-Step Guide

You objected, and the CRA has written back confirming or reassessing. If you still disagree, the next step is an appeal to the Tax Court of Canada. The deadline is short, so the first job is to find the date on your letter.

This guide walks through the steps in order. It explains the process generally and does not replace advice on your own file.

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

Step 1: Check that you can appeal and by when

You may appeal to the Tax Court once the Minister has confirmed the assessment or reassessed after your notice of objection. The deadline is 90 days from the day the notice was sent to you saying so.

The CRA says the Court must receive the notice of appeal within 90 days of the date on the notice of confirmation or reassessment. Mailing it on day 90 is therefore risky.

There is an exception if the Minister has not notified you of a decision. You may appeal once 90 days have elapsed after service of the notice of objection, without waiting for CRA Appeals; for GST/HST objections the wait is 180 days.

Step 2: Choose the informal or general procedure

The informal procedure applies where the aggregate of the amounts in issue is $25,000 or less, or the loss in issue is $50,000 or less, and you elect it. Interest-only disputes also qualify, but the Attorney General may apply to move an interest-only case to the general procedure, and the Court must grant it if the interest in issue exceeds $25,000 (interest accruing after the notice of assessment is not counted). Above those limits, the Court orders the general procedure unless you elect to limit the appeal to those amounts.

Step 3: Prepare and file the notice of appeal

A good notice of appeal explains why you say the assessment is wrong and the facts you rely on. In the informal procedure, reasons and facts can be set out in general terms. In the general procedure, the Crown's reply must set out facts admitted and denied and the issues to be decided, so being clear at the start helps.

The CRA lists the ways to file: deliver, mail, fax or the Court's electronic filing. Whichever you use, allow time for the Court to actually receive it inside the 90 days.

• Your notice of confirmation or reassessment, with its date.
• Your notice of objection and the CRA's reply.
• The amounts in dispute for each year or assessment.
• A short account of the facts and the reasons you disagree.
• Proof of how and when you filed.
• Redaction of SINs, business numbers and full birth dates where required.

Step 4: What happens after you file

In the informal procedure, the Minister files a reply, the Court fixes the hearing date, and judgment must be rendered not later than ninety days after the hearing concludes, except in exceptional circumstances.

In the general procedure, allegations of fact in your notice that the reply does not deny are deemed admitted. You may file an answer within thirty days after service of the reply. Each party then files a list of documents within thirty days following the closing of the pleadings, and a person examined for discovery must answer proper questions relevant to a matter in issue.

With your written consent, the Minister may at any time reassess to dispose of an appeal, which is the basis for settling a filed appeal. In the general procedure, a written settlement offer can affect costs.

On costs, in the informal procedure the CRA says you will not pay the Minister's costs unless you unduly delay the appeal. In the general procedure, the Court can order either party to pay some of the other's legal costs.

If you miss the deadline, and what to do next

You may apply to the Tax Court for an order extending the time to appeal, and the Court may impose terms it considers just. The application sets out the reasons for the delay and is filed with three copies of the application and three copies of the notice of appeal. No extension order can be made unless the application is made within one year after the 90-day period expires.

You must show that within the 90 days you were unable to act or to instruct another to act, or had a bona fide intention to appeal, that it is just and equitable, that you applied as soon as circumstances permitted, and that there are reasonable grounds for the appeal.

• Count the 90 days from the date on the notice, not from the day the letter arrives, and diary that date as soon as the letter comes.
• Decide on the informal or general procedure with advice if the amounts are close to the limits.
• File early and keep proof of receipt.
• If a Tax Court judgment goes against you, an appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal generally must be filed within 30 days after the judgment, not counting days in July and August, and interlocutory judgments have a 10-day limit. Informal procedure judgments can be appealed only on limited grounds, such as lack of jurisdiction, breach of procedural fairness or an error of law.

Frequently asked questions