Got a letter from CRA — now what?

The most important thing to know about a CRA letter is that they all have a deadline, and none of them will go away if you ignore them. The second most important thing: most letters are routine, fixable, and nowhere near as scary as they look.

Step 1 — Open it

Seriously. Letters carry hard deadlines (usually 30 days for review letters, 90 days for objections), and the clock starts the day CRA issued the letter, not the day you opened it. Procrastinating costs you time you can’t get back.

Step 2 — Identify the letter type

Most CRA letters identify themselves clearly in the header. The most common types we see:

Pre-Assessment Review — CRA wants to see receipts before they issue your Notice of Assessment. Common targets: medical expenses, donations, employment expenses, moving expenses, child care. Routine; respond with the receipts and they assess.
Processing Review — same as above, but issued after the Notice of Assessment. CRA reverses the deduction if you don’t respond, and reassesses you. Same fix: send the receipts.
Matching Program letter — CRA cross-referenced T-slips reported by employers, banks, brokerages, and payers and found something on your return doesn’t match. Often a missed T5008 or a corrected T4 that arrived after you filed.
Notice of Reassessment (NOR) — CRA changed your return. Read the explanation carefully. You have 90 days from the NOR date to file a Notice of Objection if you disagree.
Statement of Account — you owe a balance. Interest runs daily. Either pay or set up a payment arrangement.
Demand to File — you missed a return. Penalties accumulate from the original filing deadline.
Confirmation Letter / Identity Verification call — CRA wants to confirm you actually filed the return. Quick callback usually resolves it.
Notification of Audit — formal audit, scope outlined in the letter. Bring representation immediately; the engagement deserves the same care as a tax-court matter.

Step 3 — Read what they’re actually asking for

Most letters are not “you’re being audited.” Most are “we noticed something — please confirm or correct.” CRA spells out exactly what they want and how to send it (CRA My Account upload, fax, or mail). Read past the heading.

Step 4 — Note the deadline

Write the deadline somewhere you’ll see it. Set a calendar reminder for five days before the deadline so you have a buffer. CRA generally allows extensions on request when documents take time to gather — but you have to ask, in writing, before the deadline passes.

Step 5 — Respond, even if it’s a partial response

If you need more time, request an extension in writing. CRA routinely grants 30 to 60 days. A partial response (“I received your letter, here’s what I’ve gathered, I’ll send the rest by [date]”) is far better than silence. Use CRA My Account “Submit documents” rather than mail when possible — it’s faster and date-stamped.

When to get help

You should call a preparer if:

The letter is a Notification of Audit
The proposed adjustment is more than a few thousand dollars
You disagree with what CRA is saying and want to file a Notice of Objection
You can’t figure out what they want
The letter is for a year you didn’t file
You owe enough that you need a payment arrangement or Taxpayer Relief application

What we do

CRA review and audit support is a flat-fee or hourly-with-cap engagement. The first step is always reading the letter together — most cases turn out to be simpler than they looked at the mailbox. Request an invitation and upload the letter; we’ll have a recommendation within two business days.

CRA is not the bad guy in most of these stories. Their systems cross-reference imperfectly, slips arrive late, and the agency has a process for being corrected. Use it.