Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
The income tax department in Canada is the Canada Revenue Agency, or CRA. For personal tax questions, call 1-800-959-8281 from anywhere in Canada except Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, or sign in to My Account online. We’re not the CRA and have no link with it. This page is a plain map of who does what, and we’ve assumed you meant the federal agency.
Who runs income tax in Canada?
The CRA handles federal income tax. Quebec is the exception on the provincial side: Quebec residents deal with Revenu Québec, and the CRA’s own rates page sends you there for Quebec’s rate. Check that agency’s site for how the two returns fit together.
That split explains a lot of confusion. A letter about your federal balance comes from the CRA. A letter about Quebec tax comes from Revenu Québec, and calling the wrong office wastes an hour.
How do you reach the CRA?
| Way to reach them | Detail from the CRA contact page |
|---|---|
| Phone, most of Canada | 1-800-959-8281 |
| Phone, Yukon, NWT and Nunavut | 1-866-426-1527 |
| Phone, outside Canada and the U.S. | 1-613-940-8495 (collect) |
| TTY | 1-800-267-7622 |
| Hours | Monday to Friday, 8 am to 8 pm ET, closed on weekends and public holidays |
| Online | My Account or online chat |
Wait times aren’t posted right now, and the CRA’s contact information page says calls may go to an automated line when it’s busy. So try My Account first. You can check a refund or benefit payment, see your notice of assessment, pay a balance and change your address or bank details there. Notices issued after February 9, 2015 are available to print, which is handy when a lender or landlord asks for proof of income.
Signing in needs either a CRA user ID or a sign-in partner such as your bank. Set up multi-factor authentication early, and don’t tick autofill on a shared computer.
What should you have ready before you call?
Your social insurance number, your date of birth and your most recent notice of assessment make the call shorter, since the agent will want to confirm who you are. Jot down the exact question first. Write down the date, the agent’s name or ID number and what was said, so there’s a record if the answer later turns out to differ from what’s on your account.
If you’re calling for a spouse, a parent or a client, the CRA needs your authorization on file first. Without it, the agent can only talk in general terms.
When are the tax deadlines?
For the 2025 return, most people had to file by April 30, 2026. Self-employed people, and anyone whose spouse or common-law partner is self-employed, had until June 15, 2026. But any tax owing was still due April 30. We haven’t found 2026 return dates yet, so check the CRA’s filing dates page in the new year.
Say you owed $2,000 on April 30 and paid on September 30. If the CRA rate stayed at 7% and compounded daily, as it does for instalment interest, you’d have paid about $60 in interest. Not a disaster. But it keeps growing, and the rate is reset every three months.
What can your income tax department not tell you?
It won’t do your planning. It can confirm what you filed and what you owe, not what you should do with next year’s money. For estimates before you file, try the income tax calculator, the tax refund calculator and the tax instalments calculator. They give estimates, and the CRA’s assessment is the figure that counts.
Our calculators use 2026 rates. Your 2025 return is worked out with the 2025 rules, so don’t expect the numbers to match to the dollar.
Mistakes when dealing with the CRA
Calling before you’ve looked in My Account is the most common one. Calling about a Quebec provincial matter is another. And people often ring at 7:55 am Eastern and wonder why nobody answers.
If a call, text or email claims to be from the CRA and asks for payment in an odd way, stop and sign in to My Account yourself. We couldn’t confirm a list of which payment methods the CRA never uses, so read its own scam page.
Where this information comes from
Phone numbers and hours are from the CRA‘s contact information page. The description of My Account is from the CRA’s My Account page. Filing dates are from the CRA page for the 2025 tax return, and the interest rate and daily compounding come from the CRA prescribed interest rate and instalment interest pages. This site is independent of any government.
Frequently asked questions
Which office is the income tax department in Canada?
The Canada Revenue Agency. Quebec residents also deal with Revenu Québec for provincial tax.
What is the CRA phone number for individuals?
1-800-959-8281 in most of Canada, and 1-866-426-1527 for Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Lines are open Monday to Friday, 8 am to 8 pm ET.
Can I check my refund without calling?
Yes. My Account shows your refund or benefit status, and there's an automated service as well.
When was the 2025 return due?
April 30, 2026 for most people, and June 15, 2026 for the self-employed. Tax owing was still due April 30.
Is this website the CRA?
No. We're an independent site with no link to the CRA or any government.
- How Canadian income tax works: brackets and credits
How federal and provincial Canadian income tax stack up, what marginal and average rates mean, and how credits and deductions change your bill