Tips for Taxpayers

• Know your rights as a taxpayer. The Taxpayer Bill of Rights is a set of 15 rights that govern your relationship with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and confirm its commitment to serve you with professionalism and fairness. The Taxpayers’ Ombudsman upholds the following eight service rights:
  • The right to be treated professionally, courteously, and fairly. (Right #5)
  • The right to complete, accurate, clear, and timely information from the CRA. (Right #6)
  • The right to lodge a service complaint and to be provided with an explanation of the CRA findings. (Right #9)
  • The right to have the costs of compliance taken into account when tax legislation is administered. (Right #10)
  • The right to expect the CRA to be accountable. (Right #11)
  • The right to expect the CRA to publish service standards and report annually. (Right #13)
  • The right to expect the CRA to warn you about questionable tax schemes in a timely manner. (Right #14)
  • The right to be represented by a person of your choice. (Right #15)

• Keep a record of events and conversations and a copy of any letters you sent to and received from the CRA.
  
  
• When contacting the CRA general enquiries line, you are entitled to know the identity of the call centre agent you are dealing with. We suggest that you ask for the first name, employee identification number, and regional suffix of the agent serving you. Keep this information with the records of your conversation. This will reinforce the agent's accountability and help you trace the source of information should you have to follow up. If the agent refuses to provide this information, ask to speak to a supervisor. If difficulty persists, contact our office.
  
  
• Be clear about what you would like to have happen as a result of making the complaint. Are you looking for an apology or a service that should have been provided but was not?
  
  
• Complete all the applicable areas of the Taxpayers' Ombudsman – Complaint Form.
  • Sign and date Section 3 of the form, "Consent to disclose information" to authorize the exchange of information between the Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsman and the CRA for the purpose of reviewing your complaint.
  • If you are designating a representative to act on your behalf, provide the identifying information for your representative. Both you and your representative must sign and date Section 4 of the form, "Third party authorization".

If you have difficulty filling out the Taxpayers' Ombudsman – Complaint Form, you can call our office and one of our staff members will assist you.