‘Undue’ delays being investigated at the CRA

Canada’s privacy watchdog reports more than 42Ktax account breaches since 2020, citing CRA gaps in prevention, detection & delayed multi-factor authentication.

The Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson (OTO) says it will open an investigation into delays at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

The investigation will examine delays following a “complex” T1 adjustment.

“We opened this examination because we have been receiving a consistently high level of complaints about delays in processing T1 adjustment requests. According to the CRA’s own reporting, taxpayers are facing undue delays,” reads a press release from the OTO.

“Although the CRA’s service standard for complex requests is 20 weeks, as of May 14, 2026, the CRA has been taking up to 47 weeks.”

In contrast, non-complex requests are typically met with a notice of reassessment or letter of explanation within two weeks. Phone or mail requests usually take around eight weeks.

The OTO says its investigation will seek to understand the processes and root causes of service issues.