How to Review Your CRA Notice of Assessment: A Canadian Checklist
A Notice of Assessment is easy to reduce to one number: the refund, balance owing, or zero balance. But for Canadian taxpayers and business owners, it is also the CRA’s record of how your return was processed and an important starting point for future tax planning.
This practical checklist will help you review your Notice of Assessment with more confidence. It is general information, not tax or legal advice; individual circumstances and deadlines can differ.
1. Compare what you filed with what the CRA assessed
Start by placing your filed return beside the notice. Look beyond the total result and compare the key income, deduction, credit, and tax figures. A difference does not automatically mean an error, but it should always have an explanation.
Income: Confirm that the income shown aligns with your slips, business records, and filed return.
Deductions and credits: Check whether a claim was reduced, removed, or recalculated.
Refund or balance owing: If the result differs from your estimate, identify whether the cause is an adjustment, an offset for an earlier balance, or something else.
Notes and messages: Save any explanation, request for documents, or reference number with your tax records.
2. Treat carry-forward balances as planning data
Your notice may display amounts that carry into later tax years. These figures can influence decisions long after the current return is filed, so they deserve a quick accuracy check.
RRSP deduction limit: Use the amount on your latest notice when planning contributions.
Capital and non-capital losses: Keep a record of available losses and the type of loss, as their use can be restricted.
Unused tuition, donations, and other credits: Confirm that available balances match your records.
If a carry-forward amount appears unexpected, do not wait until you need it for a future tax plan. Investigating early is usually easier than reconstructing several years of documents later.
3. Read a reassessment as a new event
A Notice of Reassessment means the CRA has changed an already assessed return. It may follow an adjustment you requested, new information received by the CRA, or a review. Read it just as carefully as the original notice: compare the revised figures, keep the related correspondence, and note the date shown on the document.
4. Know when to act and when to ask
If information is missing or entered incorrectly, you may be able to request a change. If you disagree with an assessment or reassessment after reviewing the facts, a formal objection may be appropriate. The timing rules vary: for many individual income-tax objections, the deadline is generally the later of 90 days from the notice date or one year after the return’s filing due date; corporations generally have 90 days from the notice date. Check the CRA’s current guidance and seek advice promptly because the right process depends on your situation.
The CRA’s official Notice of Assessment information is a useful first stop for current details. Keep copies of your filed return, slips, receipts, correspondence, and the notice itself before taking action.
A 15-minute Notice of Assessment review
Save a PDF or paper copy of the notice and record the assessment date.
Compare major figures with the filed return and your expected result.
Highlight any CRA adjustments, notes, or amounts you do not recognize.
Verify carry-forward balances that may affect future returns.
Gather supporting documents and contact a tax professional if a material difference or deadline is involved.
When a professional review can be useful
Consider a professional review when the CRA has adjusted a significant deduction or credit, a business or investment loss balance looks wrong, a reassessment creates an unexpected amount owing, or you are unsure whether a deadline or objection process applies. The goal is not to challenge every change it is to understand the result and make an informed decision.
BTS Financial Services can help you review the information on your Notice of Assessment, organize the next steps, and plan with the figures the CRA has assessed. Contact us before an important tax deadline passes.
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