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What You Need To Do When Facing the CRA Tax Appeal

If you believe that the CRA have made a mistake when calculating the amount of tax you have to pay, then you need to dispute this. If the thought of doing this fills you with dread firstly you will not be the first person to feel that way, and secondly you don’t have to go into battle alone. The CRA tax appeal may be difficult for someone who has never had to submit one before but for an expert, it is are part of their daily job.

A Notice of Objection has to be raised, and as the CRA will automatically believe that it has made the right decision, you need to have the evidence to prove that they are wrong. Every step of the way must be followed correctly, and there is a time limit for you to put in the CRA tax appeal.

In the Notice of Objection, you need to give all the information you want to be taken into account as part of the CRA tax appeal. This must be accurate and clearly explained, as any mistakes will mean that the CRA will feel justified in re presenting their original bill – plus any interest and charges.

One mistake that many people make is that they believe it is up to the CRA to prove that they have sent the correct bill out, when in fact it is up to you to prove that it is wrong. Evidence is needed and it has to be watertight and backed fully by correct arguments. This is where you need to have a tax expert who will be able to use the policies that the CRA have produced to prove your case. There is no room for error in the CRA tax appeal.

If you can get a copy of the report produced by the CRA, you will be well on your way to putting together the CRA tax appeal, and regardless of what you are told, you are entitled to this. By putting together the best possible Notice of Objection package, your tax representative can both cut the timescale and prevent the need to go to court.

It may be worrying that you are paying out money to someone to help you with an appeal you may believe you can make yourself, but the reality is the money you are spending now can lead to major savings in the future. By winning the CRA tax appeal, your bill can be reduced and you don’t have to worry about how to pay.

The CRA tax appeal may revolve around issues such as the amount of expenses claimed or the belief that there is money paid into your account that cannot be explained. You need to remember that there is a limited time period in which to make the CRA tax appeal and if you miss this you are in the hands of the CRA as to whether or not they will allow a late objection.

Going About a CRA Tax Objection

If you have been contacted and told that you are going to be reassessed on the tax returns you have filed, you still have the right to defend your claims if you are not in agreement to what CRA is reassessing. If you do this it will not be a short process, as it can easily take months, and can even run into years until everything is dealt with. This is a long time to have a CRA tax objection hanging over your head, and you need to do all you can to have the problem resolved quickly and in your favor.

While not wanting to cause you too much concern, there are some people who are still waiting for a resolution to their CRA tax objection after several years and clearly this is not going to allow them to live the life they want to live. To prevent ending up in the same position, employ an tax expert who will be able to put some pressure on the CRA and in turn, they will take some of the pressure away from you.

The news is not all bad, as the reason it takes so long to deal with a CRA tax objection is that the CRA do make sure they get everything right. They don’t like admitting to mistakes, but if they have made one, it will be sorted out in your favor. The downside is that if CRA chooses to stand their grounds, your objection is denied and more time and money will be needed to do another appeal. In this sense, it is better to work with a tax professional who has experience in dealing with CRA tax objection in order for you to have the best percentage of case approval for the first time around.

The cost of losing a CRA tax objection will be high in monetary terms so you need to work closely with the people representing you and make sure you provide every scrap of information they request. Once the Notice of Objection has been filed, the wheels are in motion and there is a good side to this. There will be no attempt made to take payments from you towards your tax bill, but you will find that interest is added. Make sure that you put the money you are not paying away as if you lose the CRA tax objection you will suddenly have a bigger bill than before.

It may seem unfair that you are paying interest when the CRA tax objection took so long to decide and that was not your fault. It is possible that you can have taxpayer relief but this will not be guaranteed. Again discuss this with your representative. The initial debt will still stand, but there will be less to pay in interest and added charges.  You get two chances to apply for this, but if the second request is still not accepted that is the end of it and you need to pay the bill. Make sure you are applying for the right reason, not just because you were not aware of the issue at the time.

FILING CRA TAX OBJECTION

If you receive a notice from CRA tax and not ready to accept it, you may file Tax objection. You can either do it by yourself or can contact with an expert tax accountant to have them checked or reassessed.

How to File Tax Objection

It is fact that people most often do not have any idea about

  • If they are at all entitled to file objection to CRA tax assessment.
  • How to make the objection for reassessment,
  • What is the right time to file Tax Objection,
  • What should be the best supportive documents to boost the chance of winning the case, etc.

All the above factors make the most of the taxpayers find no other option but to swallow up the bitter pills and disburse the amount claimed by the CRA. So having a skilled and veteran tax professional is an added advantage for the people who want to file Tax objection.  

You are entitled to withhold the amount till your case is officially evaluated by the CRA. In other words, if you have submitted tax objection, it is not necessary that the disputed amounts are to be paid instantly.  You can pass the time till Tax Appeal Division brings out its final decree about your case.

On the other hand, after you have submitted the objection, then you can ask for the disagreed amount of money that you have already paid to the CRA. For getting a refund of your excess money, never take it lightly by doing it yourself. It is wise to consult an expert for filing Tax Objection.

In case you receive a CRA Notice of Assessment, and want to submit a Tax Objection, you must do it within 90 days. If you want to win a tax appeal, the best thing to do is to hire a competent tax professional to appeal for you.

As there might be unusual variables in regard to the dates, it is a best idea to consult with a trained and experience tax professionals for better understanding of your situation. Always ensure that the documents in support of your Tax Objection are all valid and in correct format.

People most often ignore the idea of consultation with any of the trusted, skilled professionals that can deal with the Tax Objection successfully. Later they regret realizing the error they had made. They might face fiscal set back later because of the error committed at the time of filing.

After you file the tax objection, the Appeal Officer of CRA will review your stand. This officer is the part of the CRA but is autonomous to the Audit section that generally prepares the assessment.  Thus, it ensures that your appeal of objection is being attended by some new eyes. These people have no idea of the outcome.

You can talk to the Appeals Officer with a view to persuade the person about the authenticity of your position. You can also do the same in writing.  In reality, there is no formal “inquiry.” If the Officer is in agreement with you, the reassessment of your tax objection might be left out or might be prepared differently to reproduce your position.

Filing the CRA Notice of Objection

When you receive a Notice of Assessment from CRA and do not agree with few things in it, you may take a decision to file a CRA Notice of Objection. You can fill out your forms and send it either through your tax accountant or electronically, by using the CRA Response Program which could be found on the tax shelter source website.

 

When the CRA Notice of Objection is filled out, the completed forms have to be printed out at first and then mailed to the CRA. You may have to file a separate CRA Notice of Objection for each tax year if you have made deductions in more than one year and have been reassessed for those particular years. For example, if you have made deduction sin 2011 and 2012 and CRA has reassessed you in both the years, then it is necessary that you file a separate CRA Notice of Objection for each of those years.

 

If you have made deduction sin 2011 and 2012 and if the CRA has only reassessed the 2011 one, you have to file a notice for 2011 only. You do not have to file a CRA Notice of Objection for a year for which there has been no reassessment, for that notice will not be treated as valid.

 

You can always receive a reassessment for the same year at a later period. One tax year can be reassessed many times if it is still under the reassessment period that is allowed. Sometimes, the second or the third reassessment may come after a CRA Notice of Objection has already en lodged. This notice will stand invalidated by that subsequent reassessment. When a second or a third reassessment arrives, it is the responsibility of the donor to file another Notice. If you happen to get more than one reassessment for the same year, it is better to seek professional advice. You cannot leave things to chance.

 

When you take professional help, your adviser will have to make sufficient copies of the CRA Notice of Objection before you get it completed for every year that you have been reassessed. This Notice has to be filed with the CRA within a period of ninety days from the date that reassessment has been mailed to you. It becomes your responsibility to make sure that the Notice is filed within the time period. The date of the Notice of Assessment will appear on the left hand corner at the top on the initial page of the reassessment document. It will also inform you about the CRA Tax Services Office that has mailed the notice to you.

 

The CRA Notice of Objection has to be delivered to the Chief of Appeals at the same Tax Services Office that has mailed the Notice of Assessment to you. In this Notice, you have to fill out all the requested information such as your full name, your address and the Social Insurance Number, along with the tax year that you have been reassessed for. You also have to fill in all the details of your authorized representative or your tax consultant. The copy of the Notice of assessment has to be enclosed. You have to take the acknowledgment with the date stamp from the CRA Tax Services Office.