Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
The Revenue Canada telephone number most people want is 1-800-959-8281, the CRA’s general line for individual tax questions. It’s open Monday to Friday, 8 am to 8 pm Eastern, and closed on weekends and public holidays. Business, benefit and territory callers use different numbers, listed below.
Which Revenue Canada telephone number do you call?
“Revenue Canada” is the old name people still use. Today the agency is the Canada Revenue Agency, and its contact page lists separate lines by topic. Pick the one that matches your question, because the wrong line just sends you back to the queue.
| Topic | Number |
|---|---|
| Individual tax questions, all of Canada except the territories | 1-800-959-8281 |
| Individuals in Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut | 1-866-426-1527 |
| Individuals outside Canada and the US, call collect | 1-613-940-8495 |
| Benefits and credits, all of Canada except the territories | 1-800-387-1193 |
| Business enquiries, all of Canada except the territories | 1-800-959-5525 |
| Business enquiries, the three territories | 1-866-841-1876 |
| Business enquiries from outside Canada and the US, collect | 1-613-940-8497 |
All of these run Monday to Friday, 8 am to 8 pm Eastern, according to the CRA contact page. Numbers change now and then, so check canada.ca before you dial. We read the page in September 2026.
Mind the time zones. The hours are Eastern, so in Vancouver the line is open from 5 am to 5 pm Pacific. In Calgary that’s 6 am to 6 pm, and in Winnipeg 7 am to 7 pm. Halifax callers get 9 am to 9 pm. If you work a regular day shift out west, an early-morning call before you leave the house is often the easiest slot.
What should you have in front of you?
Have your Social Insurance Number and last year’s return close, plus any letter you’re calling about. Expect to prove who you are before an agent talks about your account. If you’re calling for a business, have the business number handy.
It helps to jot down your two or three questions on paper before you dial. A ten-minute call with a short list beats a forty-minute wander through everything at once.
Write down the date, the agent’s name if they give it, and what you were told. It’s boring advice, but it saves an argument later.
Can a calculator answer your question first?
Often, yes. A lot of calls are really “How much should my refund be?” or “Is this benefit the right size?” You can check before you queue.
Say you earned $75,000 in Ontario and had $14,000 withheld. The tax refund calculator shows $12,704.65 of tax for the year and an estimated refund of $1,295.35. If your notice says something far off, that’s a fair thing to ask about. On benefits, the GST/HST credit calculator and the Canada Child Benefit calculator give a figure to compare with your payment. And if you pay tax in instalments, the tax instalments calculator is worth a look before you call.
These are estimates. They leave out credits and situations we can’t see, so a difference isn’t proof of an error.
Not every question needs a person. Where a refund is, what your notice of assessment says, or whether a payment landed can often be checked online in My Account, without sitting on hold. Save the phone for things that need a human, like a letter you don’t understand or a dispute.
How do you know a call is really from the CRA?
You don’t, at least not from the caller. The CRA warns people to be careful with unsolicited calls that claim to come from the agency. If someone rings you and demands payment, threatens arrest or asks for banking details, hang up.
Then call the number on canada.ca yourself and ask whether there’s anything on your file. That’s the safe order: you dial them, not the other way round.
We couldn’t confirm the CRA’s current rules on what its agents will or won’t ask for on an outgoing call, so treat any unexpected request as a reason to stop and check.
What if the line is busy?
It happens. If you can’t get through, don’t keep redialling in a fury. Pick a quieter slot and call again with your notes ready, so the call itself is short.
Try early in the day, or midweek. We couldn’t confirm typical wait times, so we won’t guess. My Account, the CRA’s online service, is the other way in, and the contact page lists more options.
If the issue is a serious dispute, one call may not settle it. Ask the agent what the next formal step is, and write it down.
The sources behind this page
Every phone number and the opening hours come from the Canada Revenue Agency contact information page, read in September 2026. The refund example uses 2026 federal and Ontario rates from our own data, checked on 29 September 2026. We aren’t a government service and we don’t speak for one.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Revenue Canada telephone number for personal tax?
1-800-959-8281 for most of Canada. Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut use 1-866-426-1527.
What number do I call about benefits?
1-800-387-1193 from outside the territories. Territory callers use the general territories number, 1-866-426-1527.
Is there a separate business line?
Yes, 1-800-959-5525, with 1-866-841-1876 for the territories.
When is the CRA phone line open?
Monday to Friday, 8 am to 8 pm Eastern, and closed on weekends and public holidays, per the CRA contact page.
What if someone calls me claiming to be the CRA?
Be careful. Don't give details, hang up and call a number from canada.ca yourself.
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