Taxpayers' Ombudsperson announces examination into Canada Revenue Agency delays in processing complex T1 adjustment requests

OTTAWA, ON, June 11, 2026 /CNW/ - The Taxpayers' Ombudsperson, Mr. François Boileau, has opened a systemic examination into delays taxpayers are experiencing when the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) determines that a T1 adjustment is complex.

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.

If a taxpayer wants to change an income tax and benefit return, there are different options to do so. The CRA's service standard for routine adjustments requested through Change my return in their CRA account or through their tax software is to issue a notice of reassessment or a letter of explanation within two weeks of receiving the request. For routine adjustment requests made by phone or mail, the service standard is eight weeks.

However, the CRA can determine that a request is complex. This happens when the CRA needs more information or has to review the request. In these cases, the service standard is 20 weeks--much longer than the service standard for routine requests.

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. 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 addition to opening this systemic examination, we sent a service improvement request to the CRA. We asked it to change the T1-ADJ T1 Adjustment Request web page to encourage taxpayers to file their T1 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.

Our Office is committed to carrying out this examination fairly and impartially. With this examination, we are looking to better understand current processes, the root causes of service issues, and what the CRA is doing so that it can meet its service standards. Based on the examination's findings, the Ombudsperson may make recommendations on solutions to lessen delays so that taxpayers can receive more timely service from the CRA.

Background information
The role of the Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson (OTO) is to help improve the service that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) provides to taxpayers. It does so by reviewing complaints about the quality of service as well as by identifying and reviewing systemic and emerging issues that can affect more than one person or a part of the population. You can find more information about the complaint process on the Our Complaint Process web page.

The Ombudsperson makes recommendations directly to the Minister of Finance and National Revenue or to the Minister and the Chair of the CRA's Board of Management to address systemic issues and improve the service the CRA provides to taxpayers. We also work to raise awareness of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights and the OTO's role.

Quotes
"We understand that the CRA is under tremendous pressure to deliver its services to the public. But T1 adjustments affect many taxpayers, and delays can cause real issues for those who are seeking redress. The delays we have been seeing with complex T1 adjustment requests touch on several rights under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. With a systemic examination, we are hoping to get to the root causes of why the CRA is not currently meeting its service standard."

Mr. François Boileau, Taxpayers' Ombudsperson

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SOURCE Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson

Media Relations: Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson / Government of Canada, [email protected]