CRA Tax Delays
Taxpayer Ombud Questions CRA Delays on Complex Returns and Communication Failures
Canada's federal taxpayer watchdog has launched a formal investigation into why the Canada Revenue Agency is taking up to 47 weeks to process complex tax returns — more than double its own 20-week standard. Taxpayers' Ombudsperson François Boileau announced the systemic examination on June 11, 2026, saying the delays cause real hardship. "Forty-seven weeks is a long time for anyone to receive any news from the CRA," National Post quoted him as saying.
The CRA handles billions of dollars in refunds each year — $45 billion was delivered in the 2025 tax season alone — yet Canadians with complex returns are left waiting nearly a year with little to no explanation, according to Yahoo Finance.
What Counts as a Complex Return and Why It Stalls
Most digital tax returns are processed in about 2 weeks. But when a file is flagged as "complex" — covering things like bankruptcies, deceased taxpayer returns, pension-splitting, or multi-year revisions — it moves to a separate, much slower queue. The CRA's self-imposed standard for these files is 20 weeks. As of May 14, 2026, the actual wait has stretched to 47 weeks, according to Ottawa Citizen.
Making things worse, the CRA does not tell taxpayers when their file has been reclassified as complex. Boileau said this "lack of communication" leaves people in the dark, with no idea why their return is stuck or when it will be resolved, Brantford Expositor reported. The number of complex reassessment requests also rose 22.2% during the 2024-2025 fiscal year, adding further strain on an already slow system.
CRA Call Centers Give Wrong Answers 83% of the Time
The delays are only part of the problem. In October 2025, Auditor General Karen Hogan released a damning report finding that CRA agents gave wrong individual tax information 83% of the time. Only 18% of callers reached an agent within the 15-minute target in 2024-25 — well short of the 65% standard. In June 2025, that figure hit a record low of just 5%, according to The Province.
Hogan found that agents were trained to prioritize "schedule adherence" — staying on time — over giving accurate answers. Industry observers have noted a dark joke among accountants: call the CRA three times and go with the answer given twice, since a single call is statistically likely to be wrong, CBC News reported.
Watchdog Questions Whether the Tax Law Itself Is Too Complex
Boileau is not just asking the CRA to move faster. He has raised a deeper question: is the Income Tax Act itself so complicated that even CRA agents cannot navigate it accurately? He suggested that changes to the law may be necessary, Stratford Beacon Herald reported. If his examination concludes the law is the root cause, it could trigger a federal review of Canada's entire tax code.
This is not a new criticism. A 2019 investigation called "Sub-Standard," launched by former ombudsperson Sherra Profit, found that the CRA often "met" its service standards by simply leaving slow files out of its public performance numbers. That report laid the groundwork for the current probe, according to Fort Saskatchewan Record.
Government Pledged Fixes, But Problems Persist Into 2026
In September 2025, Minister François-Philippe Champagne ordered the CRA to produce a 100-day plan to cut delays after Secretary of State Wayne Long said service had hit "rock bottom." The CRA also began rolling out AI-driven tools and moved all paper returns to Canada Post after closing 45 physical drop boxes on May 29, 2026, according to Northern News.
Critics warn these fixes do not address the core issue. The CRA's telephony contract — originally $50 million — has ballooned to $190 million with little improvement in accuracy or wait times. With 83% wrong answers and nearly a year-long wait for complex returns, experts warn that Canada's voluntary tax compliance model is under serious strain, Daily Herald Tribune reported.
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