Taxpayer ombud wants to know why CRA is taking so long with complex tax returns

The Canada Revenue Agency’s service standard for working with taxpayers to make complex changes to their income tax returns is supposed to be 20 weeks, yet the agency is taking more than twice that time, prompting the federal taxpayers’ ombudsperson, François Boileau, to initiate an examination into the delays.

“Forty-seven weeks is a long time for anyone to receive any news from the CRA, with regard to T1 adjustments that are complex, and we want to find out why it is so, and what is the root cause of the problem,” Boileau told National Post in an interview on Thursday, the day he initiated the examination.

“What is it? Lack of resources? Too many requests? Because the law itself is too complex,” asked Boileau.

Requests for simple T1 revisions take between two and eight weeks, he added.

Boileau noted that the CRA can determine that a taxpayer’s request is complex, but said the agency doesn’t inform the taxpayer when this is the case.

“So, there’s also a lack of communication there,” he said.

He cited a few examples of complex revisions, such as multiple years’ worth of returns, bankruptcies, deceased taxpayer returns, returns involving carry-back amounts such as capital or non-capital losses, and pension-splitting. Others can include requests from the CRA to the taxpayer or their authorized representative for more information or documents.

“Well, all right then, but because the CRA is asking for more documents, should it take 47 weeks? Not too long ago, it was actually 50 weeks. 50 weeks,” he emphasized. “Wow. It’s like two weeks short of being a full year. Imagine that.”

It’s not the first time in recent years that the CRA has been called to task. As previously reported by National Post , in September 2025, the CRA got marching orders from National Revenue Minister François-Philippe Champagne to shape up. He instructed the agency to launch a 100-day plan to improve its service and cut the delays many Canadians have been experiencing.

At that point, the CRA call centre service had been called out by the minister then responsible for the CRA, Wayne Long, as having hit “rock bottom.” Shortly thereafter, as reported by National Post , the auditor general issued a report stating that CRA call centres gave auditors wrong information as often as 83 per cent of the time.

“So, this is not the first time we’ve done something like this,” said Boileau.

In addition to this systemic examination, Boileau’s office has also sent a service improvement request to the CRA. It has asked that the T1 Adjustment Request webpage be changed to encourage taxpayers “to file adjustment requests online, rather than by printing and mailing the webform as suggested on its website, so that the requests can be processed more quickly.”

“We’re hopeful to get to the bottom of the CRA’s reasons and what can be done,” he said. He suggested perhaps changes are required to the Income Tax Act, but added, “I’m not sure that’s the answer, by the way. Or is it just inefficiencies within the system? We just want to find out the real reasons.”

He is aiming to have the examination wrapped and a report published “by the end of November, early December.”

• CRA call centre service has hit 'rock bottom', according to federal minister
• CRA call centres gave auditors wrong information as often as 83 per cent of the time: AG

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.