If you receive a phone call from the CRA, it is important to make sure the caller is a CRA employee and not a scammer. A legitimate CRA employee will identify themselves when they contact you. The employee will give you their name and a phone number.
What phone number does the CRA use?
1-800-959-8281
Check your tax account
Confirm your tax account information through one of the CRA’s digital services. Call the CRA’s Individual Tax Account Balance Automated Service at 1-866-474-8272. Call 1-800-959-8281 for individuals or 1-800-959-5525 for businesses to verify if the CRA contacted you.
Why would the CRA call me?
We may review your return. One reason we may contact you is if we are reviewing your income tax and benefit return. This could include reviewing your GST/HST, T4 or T5 information. You may receive a letter or a phone call telling you that the CRA is reviewing your return.
Does the government call you?
Scammers Want You to Send Them Money Through Gift Cards
Nofziger said people should know, “The government will not call you unsolicited, bottom line. If you’re receiving a call that you did not initiate from someone in the federal government, it is not them.”
Does Service Canada call you?
1 800 O-Canada is a general information service and does not usually make unsolicited attempts to contact Canadians. Service Canada and 1 800 O-Canada only send information you have requested and only send notifications through services to which you have signed up.
Will CRA call me if I owe money?
If you owe tax or money to a government program – a CRA employee may call you to discuss your file and payment options. Understanding that these are challenging times, the officer will discuss payment options and may be able to offer a payment arrangement.
How do I stop fake calls from CRA?
File a complaint. You can report unwanted telemarketing calls at National DNCL or call 1-866-580-DNCL (3625). Contact law enforcement. If you think the call might be part of a fraud scheme, contact law enforcement authorities or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (formerly PhoneBusters) or call 1-888-495-8501.
How do I know if a call from CRA is real?
If the CRA calls you
A legitimate CRA employee will identify themselves when they contact you. The employee will give you their name and a phone number. Make sure the caller is a CRA employee before you give any information over the phone. This will protect you from giving money or personal information to a scammer.
Do people call you about your taxes?
However, there are circumstances in which the IRS will call or come to a home or business. These include when a taxpayer has an overdue tax bill, a delinquent (unfiled) tax return or has not made an employment tax deposit.
What happens if you ignore CRA?
you must still pay the full amount of taxes owing, plus interest and any civil penalties assessed by the CRA. you may be fined up to 200% of the taxes evaded. you may be imposed a jail term of up to five years.
Does CRA use cell phones?
The CRA will never phone or email you asking for personal information or monetary payment. Stay safe this tax season by following these tips.
Does CRA leave voicemail?
The CRA will Never in Any Tax-related Case or Situation
Leave voicemails of a threatening nature or including personal or financial information. Use text messages or instant messaging platforms such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, WeChat or Instagram messaging to communicate with Canadian taxpayers.
What is a notice of collection from CRA?
The CRA will usually notify you by mail that your debt has been certified in Federal Court. The letter advises you that if you do not resolve your account, the CRA may take further legal action to pay the debt.
Do people call before serving you?
Spotting a scam server
Process servers do not usually call ahead of time since this gives people time to avoid being served court papers. A process server will never ask for any money. They do not collect money owed for divorce cases, child support, or any other legal reason (especially via a wire transfer).
What happens if I miss a call from Service Canada?
When you miss a call and the caller doesn’t leave a message, don’t return the call. If it’s important, they’ll call you back. If it’s a long distance number, you could be charged long distance fees.
Does Service Canada make automated phone calls?
No, CRA does not use automated calls under any circumstances. Plus, CRA agents don’t leave any personal information of any kind on messages. In fact, the CRA rarely calls taxpayers.
How do I know if I owe Canada Revenue?
To find how much you owe, Log in to your CRA MyAccount online service and click on the Accounts and Payments tab at the top of the page. Click on the first link called Account Balance and Statement of Account. Next, you will be immediately shown your account balance.
What happens if you owe the CRA money and don’t pay?
If you cannot pay in full, or make the minimum monthly payment on your statement of account, the CRA may agree to a reduced regular payment. This allows you to make payments over time until you have paid the entire debt, including interest. Your debt will gain interest until you pay the full balance.
How do I know if I owe the CRA?
The CRA collects debts on behalf of Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), including CERB overpayments from Service Canada. If you received emergency benefits from Service Canada that you were not entitled to, ESDC will send you a notice of debt. All CERB from Service Canada debts must be repaid to ESDC.
Does CRA monitor your bank account?
No personally identifying information or banking details are ever shared. The service relies on strong technology built using industry best practices. The Government of Canada is leveraging these investments made by financial institutions for secure online environments.
How do you ignore a fake call?
One of the best ways to block unwanted calls on a cell phone is to download a call-blocking app. A call-blocking app acts like a filter.
Download a call-blocking app
- Go to the online app store for your phone’s operating system (iOS (Apple), Android, etc.)
- Look online for expert reviews on call-blocking apps.