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For a question about your own tax, call the CRA individual enquiries line at 1-800-959-8281, Monday to Friday, 8 am to 8 pm Eastern. That’s the number the agency lists on its contact the CRA page for people calling from anywhere in Canada except Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Before you dial, though, see if your CRA account can answer it, because plenty of simple questions can be settled there in minutes, without a queue, a hold tune or a callback that never comes.
Which CRA service should you use first?
Try your online account. You can sign in through a participating bank or use a CRA user ID and password, and the CRA’s account page offers a registration route if you have neither. Inside, you’ll see your assessment, your refund status and your balance. If the question is “where’s my refund?”, the CRA says to wait 12 weeks after filing before contacting it, and the status check is in the account too.
The CRA says an online return usually gets its refund in about two weeks, and a paper return in about 12 weeks, for returns received on or before the due date. So a refund that’s a month late on paper isn’t a mystery, just the queue.
Phone comes second. It pays off when you need someone to look at your file, or you can’t get into the account. The CRA also runs an online chat for individuals, open Monday to Friday, 8 am to 8 pm Eastern, and people with an individual account can chat with a live representative from inside it.
Phone numbers and hours
These come from the CRA contact information page. Numbers change, so confirm on the page before you save one.
| Line | Number | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Individual tax enquiries | 1-800-959-8281 | Mon to Fri, 8 am to 8 pm ET |
| Individuals in Yukon, NWT, Nunavut (867 area code) | 1-866-426-1527 | Same hours |
| Business enquiries | 1-800-959-5525 | Mon to Fri, 8 am to 8 pm ET |
| Fraud on your individual account | 1-833-995-2336 | Mon to Fri, 6:30 am to 7 pm ET |
| Automated line for suspicious online account activity | 1-800-265-2577 | Every day, 6 am to 3 am ET |
Lines are closed on weekends and public holidays, apart from the automated services. At busy times a call can be sent to an automated service, so don’t plan a call for ten minutes before you leave for something else. The automated line at 1-800-959-8281 covers refund status and balance, and it’s closed for maintenance from 3 am to 6 am Eastern.
What should you have in front of you?
The agent has to confirm who you are before anything else. Have your Social Insurance Number (or the business number for a company), your full name, date of birth and address. The CRA also asks for an open account or an assessed tax document, and your latest notice of assessment does the job.
Write down the tax year and the exact line or form you’re asking about. It sounds fussy, but “I have a question about my return” gets you nowhere, and “line 12000 on the 2025 return” does.
How do you tell a real call from a scam?
If a caller claims to be from the CRA and you’re not sure, don’t argue and don’t read out a code. Hang up, then verify a CRA callback number using the CRA’s own page before you call back. The agency runs the fraud lines above for exactly this. Picture Maria in Winnipeg who gets a voicemail about “legal action” over a tax debt: the sensible move is to ignore the number left, sign in to her account and look for any notice.
The CRA also says it doesn’t deal with general tax questions by email and that you should never send your SIN or return details that way. For the full list of what it will and won’t ask for by phone, read its scam pages before you hand over anything.
Can someone else deal with the CRA for you?
Yes. An accountant or another person can act for you once you authorize them, and you choose how much access they get. For a personal account, level 1 is access to information only. Level 2 also lets them make certain account changes. Give the lower level unless there’s a reason not to.
The steps and the wording change, so follow the CRA’s authorization pages when you do it.
Money questions to settle before you call
Many calls are about a balance owing. Work out what you probably owe first. On $75,000 of Ontario employment income with $12,000 withheld, the tax refund calculator estimates a balance of about $705. For the 2025 return that was due April 30, 2026, and the 2026 return dates haven’t been published yet.
If you’re self-employed or have income with no tax withheld, the tax instalments calculator shows what quarterly payments would look like. Questions about the employment insurance side start with the EI calculator. And if the topic is a pension, the CPP calculator gives a rough figure to compare against what you’re told.
Our sources
Phone numbers, hours, refund timelines and the list of items to have ready come from the Canada Revenue Agency‘s contact information page, read in October 2026. Authorization levels come from the agency’s representative pages. This site is not connected to the CRA or any government, so it can’t look at your file.
Frequently asked questions
What is the CRA phone number for individuals?
The CRA lists 1-800-959-8281 for individual tax enquiries from across Canada except Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Those three use 1-866-426-1527.
What are the CRA phone hours?
Monday to Friday, 8 am to 8 pm Eastern. The lines are closed on weekends and public holidays.
What do I need when I call?
Your Social Insurance Number, full name, date of birth and address. The CRA also wants an open account or an assessed tax document, such as a notice of assessment.
How do I report a scam call?
The CRA lists 1-833-995-2336 for fraud reporting and an automated line at 1-800-265-2577. If you're unsure about a caller, verify a CRA callback number first.
Can my accountant call the CRA for me?
Yes, once you authorize them. You pick the access level, and level 1 is information only.
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