Rights of Taxpayers in Canada

We know that as Canadian citizens, we are obliged to keep proper bookkeeping related to income and expenses (which affect tax filings), as well as regularly and on time to reporting of income and other information needed for tax calculation and collection. The deadline for filing taxes for citizens for 2023 is April 30, 2024. If you are self-employed, you can file your tax return up until June 15, 2024 (but in case you owe past tax debts and interest charges are still valid until April 30). For corporations, the tax filing deadline is two months after completion of the fiscal year. And what are the rights of taxpayers?

The Taxpayer Bill of Rights lists the following 16 rights Canadian taxpayers have:

1. You have the right to receive entitlements and to pay no more and no less than what is required by law
2. You have the right to service in both official languages
3. You have the right to privacy and confidentiality
4. You have the right to a formal review and a subsequent appeal
5. You have the right to be treated professionally, courteously, and fairly
6. You have the right to complete, accurate, clear, and timely information
7. You have the right, unless otherwise provided by law, not to pay income tax amounts in dispute before you have had an impartial review
8. You have the right to have the law applied consistently
9. You have the right to lodge a service complaint and to be provided with an explanation of our findings
10. You have the right to have the costs of compliance taken into account when administering tax legislation
11. You have the right to expect us to be accountable
12. You have the right to relief from penalties and interest under tax legislation because of extraordinary circumstances
13. You have the right to expect us to publish our service standards and report annually
14. You have the right to expect us to warn you about questionable tax schemes in a timely manner
15. You have the right to be represented by a person of your choice
16. 16. You have the right to lodge a service complaint and request a formal review without fear of reprisal

Procedure for submission of praise, suggestions for improving services, as well as complaints to CRA (Canada Revenue Agency)

Compliments or suggestions

You can submit a compliment about a positive experience with the service that you received from the CRA. You can also submit a suggestion about improving the CRA service(s).

Service complaints

You can submit a service complaint if you are not satisfied with the service that you received from the CRA. There are three steps in the service complaint process:

Step 1 – Talk to CRA first

Step 2 – File a service complaint.

Step 3 – Contact the Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson (OTO)

Service complaints can be about:

• mistakes that could result in a misunderstanding or omission
• undue delays
• employee behaviour
• poor or misleading information
• accessibility barriers
• other service-related issues

Non service-related complaints

For other types of complaints or problems not related to service, you can take the following actions.

If you disagree with or do not understand a letter, notice, payment, or other document you received from the CRA, ask the area it originated from for an explanation.

To dispute an assessment, determination, or decision, see ‘File an objection’.

If you disagree with the Income Tax Act or other tax legislation matters, contact the ‘Department of Finance of Canada’. The CRA administers tax legislation. The Department of Finance Canada is responsible for developing tax laws.

In conclusion, all information you provide to the CRA will be kept confidential in accordance with the Privacy Act.