Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced last February, through the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier that they will open the filing season by the 26th of the month. This is part of their continuous effort to improve their services to make it convenient and fast for the Canadians to file their tax returns and access both credits and benefits to which they are entitled.
CRA has been processing since February 26 the income tax and benefit returns filed by Canadians. Most Canadians prefer to file their returns online. So they CRA added so programs as part of their effort to improve their services. The additional programs are Auto-fill My Return and NETFILE. For those who wants to personally file CRA provided a list of certified tax software that can help make filing easier.
Aside from these, processing is also made faster. CRA enhanced the Express Notice of Assessment (NOA) to be made available in certified tax softwares. This enhancement will allow Canadians registered for My Account and online mail to receive then print their NOA immediately after they file.
Not only did CRA improved their online services but also for paper filers. About 2 million paper files received their Income Tax and Benefit Guide and forms directly by mail. They no longer have to pick them up at Canada Post, Caisse populaire Desjardins, or Service Canada locations.
Another service that CRA launched is File My Return (FMR). This will benefit eligible individuals with low income or a fixed income that never increased from year-to-year. These eligible individuals were invited to file their income tax and benefit returns by answering a series of short question through a phone call.
With all the improvements the CRA did warn Canadian filers to be vigilant and validate phone calls and emails that they receive. They should only communicate with officials from CRA to avoid identity and financial theft.
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