Have you ever hit “file” and then immediately thought, “uh-oh”. Here’s what to do if you make a mistake on your tax return in Canada.

With all the data and forms required to file, it’s easy to make a mistake on your personal tax return. A few small errors can easily be fixed and certainly won’t land you in tax custody!

Errors on your tax return should be fixed immediately to prevent penalties or fines. Here’s what to do if you make a mistake on your tax return in Canada.

Wait for Notice of Assessment

This form is issued to all taxpayers by the CRA (Canada Revenue Agency), showing the amount of taxes that need to be refunded or paid based on your tax return. You can’t make any changes until you receive this notice.

Changing Your Personal Tax Return

Once you receive your notice, you can now request to make changes to your personal tax return (also known as a “T1”). You can request to make changes on any return made in the past nine years. There are three methods that you can use:

1. Send a signed letter to your tax center with the changes you’d like to make.
2. Fill out a T1-ADJ (T1 Adjustment Request Form) and mail it to your local tax center.
3. If you prepared your tax return with EFILE, you may be able to fix errors online. Log in to your account and navigate to the “Change my return” tool.

If you choose to use a mail-in form, make sure to include all the documents related to the changes that need to be made on your tax return. Include the details of the changes you would like, your address, phone number, and social insurance number.

Reviewing Your Request

After you send in your request for changes, the CRA will carefully review it and make a decision. You should expect to hear back from them within eight weeks if you sent your request through the mail or two weeks if you made changes online. If you send in your request during the spring or summer months, the CRA may need to contact you for more information. This could lead to delays in changing your T1.

If the changes have been approved, they will send you a notice of reassessment marking the changes on your personal tax return. If your changes were rejected, you will receive a letter from the CRA with further details about why they could not complete your request.

If nothing else, when you ask yourself what to do if you make a mistake on your tax return in Canada – don’t panic. If you need some help from an experienced accountant and a former CRA auditor, contact us.

E&E Professional Accountants has years of experience in assisting businesses with their accounting needs. We are founded and managed by an experienced corporate auditor and a former CRA tax auditor. Feel free to contact us for assistance with all your accounting and bookkeeping needs.