Tax documents missing? A new CRA process is still posing issues as filing deadline approaches

Abby Hughes · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 17, 2025 11:59 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Though the deadline to record taxation returns is little than 2 weeks away, taxation slips for galore Canadian taxpayers are inactive not showing up done the Canada Revenue Agency's (CRA) online platforms.

Each year, employers and fiscal institutions person to springiness copies of taxation documents — similar T4 slips, which amusement income accusation from your job, oregon T5 slips, which amusement concern income — to the CRA by a definite deadline. The CRA past makes those slips disposable done their online portals, similar taxpayers' CRA My Account. This is however taxation products similar TurboTax, oregon taxation preparers similar accountants, access indispensable taxation accusation digitally.

The contented this twelvemonth stems from a caller validation process the CRA introduced for these slips successful January 2025. The process is expected to guarantee that the information they're getting from employers and fiscal institutions is correct, according to the CRA.

"The CRA is actively moving to code immoderate outstanding issues, including consulting with issuers, to guarantee taxation slips are made disposable connected the portal," a CRA spokesperson wrote successful portion by email.

The gross bureau told the Globe and Mail earlier this period that they were hoping to remedy the contented by mid April, though the CRA did not reply the CBC's question astir whether oregon not they had made immoderate advancement toward that extremity successful their email response.

Kim G C Moody, laminitis of Moodys Tax and an adept connected taxation law, says portion immoderate slips are starting to amusement up, galore are inactive not disposable digitally for galore of the professionals successful his firm. He besides says duplicate slips person been appearing arsenic of precocious successful immoderate cases, posing a caller acceptable of challenges.

Which documents are missing besides seems to beryllium wholly random, helium says, alternatively than problems originating with a definite benignant of gaffe oregon ones generated by definite fiscal institutions oregon employers.

The CRA hasn't extended the deadline contempt the issue.

What does this mean for my taxes?

Despite the missing accusation done CRA, you tin (and must, if you beryllium money) inactive record your taxes by April 30. It conscionable mightiness not beryllium truthful speedy oregon convenient.

When employers and fiscal institutions nonstop your taxation accusation to the CRA, they besides nonstop you a copy. That means you person entree to the accusation you request to process a return, it's conscionable not truthful readily disposable done your CRA My Account. It whitethorn mean downloading assorted slips from places similar your bank's website oregon an online worker portal, oregon waiting for immoderate to travel successful the mail.

If you bash your ain taxes online utilizing a work similar Intuit oregon TurboTax, this means you astir apt won't beryllium capable to usage the autofill relation to import information. Instead, you'll person to manually capable retired each tract enactment by line.

Both Wealthsimple and TurboTax told CBC they are alert of the issue. TurboTax acknowledged successful an email connection that the missing slips were impacting their service's autofill function, and said they were "in nonstop interaction with elder officials astatine CRA, underscoring the request for accountability and decisive enactment to resoluteness these issues for our customers and each Canadians."

For those who wage a nonrecreational to record their taxes for them, that volition necessitate sending your accountant oregon bookkeeper immoderate oregon each of your idiosyncratic taxation slips truthful they person the accusation they request to implicit your return.

Those doing their ain taxes who don't announcement that immoderate of their income accusation is missing could perchance extremity up filing incorrectly, and either missing retired connected savings, oregon owe more than what was initially calculated arsenic a result.

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Shari-Lynn Hiltz, a certified bookkeeper successful Halifax, says those filing their ain taxes without autofill should verify their income sources arsenic overmuch arsenic imaginable earlier they file. That tin look similar transverse referencing your full yearly income arsenic shown connected your T4 with the year-to-date magnitude you earned that's shown connected your past paystub of the year.

Contacting concern advisors and fiscal institutions to marque definite you person each of the indispensable slips is besides a bully idea, she says.

And adjacent if the lengthier process is dragging things out, Hiltz says it's important to record by April 30 — particularly if you expect to beryllium money, arsenic you'll person to wage a interest to the CRA successful that case. She says it's amended to record connected clip and find discrepancies oregon imaginable savings afterward.

Causing headaches for taxation professionals

While an inability to autofill mightiness not airs immense slowdowns for folks filing their ain taxes, it is creating headaches for taxation professionals who record hundreds if not thousands of returns for clients each taxation season.

Hiltz is conscionable 1 of those professionals who says the contented of missing slips is making her occupation a batch harder this year.

She says astir each of her clients person had astatine slightest 1 oregon 2 documents missing online — successful fact, she says lone 1 oregon 2 returns she's processed person had nary issues with missing slips whatsoever. This means she has to commencement a return, past enactment it connected intermission portion she asks that lawsuit to supply the missing documents by email oregon by bringing her a carnal copy.

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She besides uses the autofill relation to velocity up the process, alternatively than manually entering each magnitude enactment by line. The manual entry, positive the stopping and starting erstwhile things are missing, has slowed Hiltz down tremendously, she says.

Hiltz anticipates it's acceptable her backmost by a week oregon 2 astatine least. And portion each taxation preparers bash perfectly everything successful their powerfulness to debar filing past the extremity of April deadline, she says it's imaginable a fewer of her returns volition get pushed past that date.

"It's exhausting," Hiltz said. "It's causing much … interruptions successful our work. You cognize you can't enactment arsenic focused connected 1 happening due to the fact that you've got each these radical trying to find the missing information."

Moody echoes Hiltz's concerns. Depending connected however galore documents a lawsuit has, helium says this could double, triple oregon adjacent quadruple the magnitude of clip it takes to process their return.

He says he's disappointed with what helium sees arsenic a signifier of taxation seasons mired by immoderate benignant of contented — the 2023 taxation play saw a past infinitesimal hold granted for homeowners to record taxes for vacant oregon underused residential properties, portion past year, a intermission for caller bare spot filing requirements came conscionable days earlier the filing deadline. 

"I'm hesitant to knock the CRA … due to the fact that they've got an important occupation to do. But I deliberation determination needs to beryllium a superior reflection of what is going connected with their exertion platforms and their interior processes," Moody said.