A CRA appeal is a formal process that allows you to challenge a decision made by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)–typically after receiving a notice of reassessment. It gives you the legal right to dispute errors, misunderstandings, or unfair conclusions about your tax return. Whether the CRA has reassessed your income, denied deductions, or imposed penalties, a CRA appeal is your opportunity to respond and present your side.

It usually begins by filing a notice of objection to CRA within 90 days of receiving the reassessment. From there, the appeal process can involve negotiations, legal submissions, and in some cases, hearings before the Tax Court of Canada. But why did you receive a notice of reassessment in the first place? Here are some common reasons:

• Business expense claims questioned by the CRA
• Unreported income accusations
• GST/HST filing issues
• Home office or vehicle deductions
• Self-employed tax filings
• Capital gains disputes
• Rental income discrepancies
• Taxpayer relief requests denied
• Late-filed returns triggering automatic reassessments
• International income reporting errors