Late Tax Court of Canada Appeal: Applying for More Time

Missing the 90-day window to appeal to the Tax Court of Canada can feel final. The Income Tax Act does allow you to ask the Court for more time, but only within a strict outer limit and only if you can meet specific conditions.

This article explains how the application works and what you must show. It also covers a different rule for late objections, because the two are easy to confuse.

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

The normal deadline

After you object, you may appeal once the Minister has confirmed the assessment or reassessed. The deadline is 90 days from the day the notice was sent to you, and the CRA says the Court must receive the notice of appeal within 90 days of the date on the notice.

If the Minister has not notified you of a decision, you may instead appeal once 90 days have elapsed after service of your notice of objection.

Applying for an extension

If you miss the deadline, 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.

The Tax Court sends a copy of each application to the office of the Deputy Attorney General of Canada.

The one-year limit and what you must prove

No extension order can be made unless the application is made within one year after the 90-day appeal period expires. The CRA describes this as one year and 90 days from the confirmation or reassessment.

To succeed, you must show all of the following:

• Within the 90 days, you were unable to act or to instruct someone else to act, or you had a bona fide intention to appeal.
• It is just and equitable to grant the application.
• The application was made as soon as circumstances permitted.
• There are reasonable grounds for the appeal.

Because you must prove each item, the reasons you give for the delay and how quickly you acted afterwards matter a great deal.

Late objections are different

If what you missed was the notice of objection, the route is different. You first apply to the Minister (Chief of Appeals) under s. 166.1, within one year after the objection deadline, and must show inability to act or a bona fide intention to object, that it is just and equitable, and that you applied as soon as circumstances permitted.

The objection deadline itself is the later of one year after the filing-due date or 90 days after the notice of assessment was sent for individuals other than trusts and graduated rate estates, and 90 days for others.

What to do next

• Find the date on your notice of confirmation or reassessment and work out when the 90 days ended.
• Note the one-year outer limit for an extension application.
• Gather proof of why you could not act, or of your intention to appeal, such as letters, emails or medical records.
• Prepare the notice of appeal that you would file, because it accompanies the application.
• Act quickly and speak with a lawyer, since delay after the deadline can count against you.

Frequently asked questions