Every March, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) joins organizations around the world to recognize Fraud Prevention Month. Keeping your information secure is a top priority for the CRA. Learning how to identify fraud, scams and tax schemes helps keep your personal information safe.

When you think about your favourite ways to spend your time, filing an income tax and benefit return probably isn’t at the top of your list. We get it! That’s why we’re working to make tax-filing as easy as possible, so you can get back to things you would rather do.

Don’t forget, if you’re retired or 65 years of age or older, then your sources of income may change, and you have to include these new sources of income on your tax return.

Scammers continue to pose as the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and other government departments and agencies, to trick you into giving them money or personal information. Unfortunately, they’re still having some success. The amount of money that people have lost to scams and fraud has increased over the years.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is always on the lookout for tax schemes and opportunities to warn Canadians about them. Has someone encouraged you to deduct expenses and claim business losses to offset taxable income? If so, this might be related to a tax scheme involving multilevel marketing (MLM).

Millions of Canadians file their income tax and benefit returns every year. For the 2022 tax-filing season, Canadians filed approximately 31 million returns and 92% of them were filed electronically. Also, there were over 17 million refunds processed, resulting in a total amount of $37 billion!

We know that having the information you need on hand makes filing easier. Below, you’ll find what you need to know for this year, including what’s new.

Scammers posing as the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) continue their attempts to trick you into handing over money or personal information. Know what to expect when the CRA contacts you so you can tell the difference between legitimate communications from the CRA, and scams.

How to make sure the caller is a CRA employee and not a scammer

A legitimate CRA employee will identify themself when they contact you, providing you with their name and phone number to call them back, if needed.

Every year, we send letters to eligible Canadians inviting them to file their income tax and benefit returns with the CRA's File my Return automated phone service.

This service is free, secure, and easy to use. If you are eligible to use this service, you should receive an invitation letter in February 2023.

About File my Return

This service allows you to file your tax return without the need to complete any calculations or forms. By filing a tax return, you will be able to receive the benefits and credits you may be eligible for. File my Return uses the information the CRA already has on file, and the answers you provide, to auto-file and process your tax return.

The holidays are approaching, but scammers aren’t taking any breaks from their attempts to trick you into handing over money or personal information. Scammers prey on the increased financial pressures that many of us face around the holidays, so it’s important to be aware of how and when the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will contact you to distinguish legitimate communications from the CRA, and scams.

Have you or your business been approached by a third party offering to apply for Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax incentives on your behalf? The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has observed a recent increase in SR&ED claims containing false and/or non-compliant information. The CRA is advising you to be cautious if you receive an unsolicited offer to help you claim SR&ED investment tax credits.

There are a variety of scams in Canada – with new ones invented daily. To identify legitimate communications from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and protect yourself from scammers, be aware and know what to expect when the CRA contacts you.

What to expect from the CRA:

The CRA uses various methods to communicate with individuals and businesses, including phone, email, mail and text message (in specific instances). Using these methods, the CRA may reach out to…

If you are First Nations, Inuit, or Métis, you are subject to the same tax rules as any other resident in Canada unless your income is considered tax exempt under section 87 of the Indian Act. To continue getting your benefit and credit payments, you need to do your taxes, even if your income is tax exempt or you had no income at all. Here are a few tips to help you get the benefits and credits to which you are entitled.

Employees of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) are working hard to answer questions you may have about your tax affairs. We want to help you file your income tax and benefit return and ensure you receive the benefits and credits you’re entitled to.

To help you, these are answers to the top questions we’re asked at tax time. You can also check out our questions and answers about filing your taxes page for more answers to common questions.

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.

If you’re suspicious, this is how you can make sure the caller is from the CRA:

1. Tell the caller you would like to first verify their identity.

2. Request and make a note of their:

   • name

   • phone number

   • office location

3. End the call. Then check that the information provided during the call was legitimate by contacting the CRA. Please do this before you give any information to the caller.

New to doing your taxes? Don’t worry, we’re here to guide you through the process and answer your questions. We’ve put together tips and information to help you this tax season.

You can also watch our video series for newcomers. It’s available in 12 different languages: Arabic, Cantonese, English, Farsi, French, Hindi, Russian, Mandarin, Punjabi, Spanish, Tagalog, and Urdu.

The first thing to know is that you have to complete and file an income tax and benefit return every year to:

• receive certain benefits and credits you may be entitled

• to receive a tax refund you are owed

Every year, we send letters to eligible Canadians inviting them to auto-file their income tax and benefit returns over the telephone with the CRA's File my Return service.

Did you receive an invitation letter from us? If you did, you may be able to auto-file your return through a dedicated phone line. And the File my Return service is free!

Since April 30, 2022, falls on a Saturday, your clients’ return will be considered filed on time in either of the following situations:

• we receive it on or before May 2, 2022

• it is postmarked on or before May 2, 2022

Your clients have until June 15, 2022, to file their return if they or their spouse or common law-partner are self-employed.

Last year, Canadians filed almost 31 million income tax and benefit returns. Having the information you need on hand to file your return makes the filing process that much easier. We want to help you get ready, so you are in good shape when it comes time to file your return this year.

Here you will find information on filing options, COVID-19 benefits, and what’s new for this tax-filing season.

The tax-filing deadline for most individuals is April 30, 2022…

With the holidays just around the corner, scammers could contact you pretending to be from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Scammers are trying to trick individuals into making payments, and we’re doing everything we can to put a stop to this. That includes letting you know when and how we might contact you.