CRA asked for backup — answering a request for information

A letter from the CRA asking for documents is not an audit and it is not an accusation. It is the CRA checking that a number on a return is supported. Most of these letters are closed by sending what was asked for, by the date asked for, with the reference number on top. The owners who get hurt are the ones who ignore it.

What the letter is asking for

These letters are narrow by design. The CRA names a specific line, credit or deduction and asks for the records behind it. Typical requests include receipts or invoices for a claimed expense, proof of a payment, bank statements or cancelled cheques showing money actually moved, contracts or agreements, and mileage or usage logs where a claim depends on a business-use percentage.

The CRA may ask for documents other than official receipts. Cancelled cheques and bank statements are explicitly acceptable as proof of a deduction or credit, which matters when the original receipt is long gone but the payment is still traceable.

The three things every letter contains

• A reference number in the upper right corner. Quote it on everything you send. Without it, your package can sit unmatched to your file.
• A reply deadline. Reply within the time frame stated, to the address given in the letter.
• A phone number at the bottom. That number reaches the program that sent the letter, and it is who you call if you need more time.

How to send the documents

Scanned documents can be submitted online through My Account for individuals, through My Business Account for a corporation, or by an authorized representative through Represent a Client. Online submission is faster and leaves a record that the CRA received it. If you have not set up online access yet, our guide to CRA My Business Account walks through it — and it is worth doing before you need it, not during.

If you cannot find the documents

Missing paperwork is not automatically fatal. Where the receipts or documents needed to support a claim are not available, the CRA asks that you include a written explanation, or call the number at the bottom of the letter to explain the situation. Silence is read as an inability to support the claim, and the claim is simply removed. An explanation, with whatever secondary evidence exists — a bank record, a supplier statement, a contract — gives the reviewer something to work with.

If you need more time

Call the number on the letter before the deadline passes and ask. Extensions are handled by the same program that issued the request, and asking in advance is treated very differently from going quiet and responding weeks late.

What happens after you reply

One of three things. The claim is accepted and nothing changes. The claim is adjusted, and you receive a notice of reassessment explaining what moved — see our guide to reading a notice of assessment. Or the reviewer asks a follow-up question. If your claim was changed and you later find the missing documents, the CRA will accept new submissions and look at the claim again, so a bad first outcome is not necessarily the end of it. If it is, the formal route is a notice of objection.

How to make the next one easy

The difference between a stressful letter and a routine one is almost entirely record-keeping. Records should be organised so that any single claim on a return can be traced to a document without a search. That means keeping receipts filed against the transaction rather than in a shoebox, retaining records for the period the law requires — the ground covered in how long to keep records — and reconciling books monthly so the numbers on the return come from somewhere real. Clean, reconciled bookkeeping is what turns these letters into a ten-minute job.

The bottom line

Read the letter for the specific item, gather exactly that, quote the reference number, and send it by the date given. If something is missing, explain in writing rather than leaving a gap. If the deadline is tight, call and ask. Handled that way, a request for information is administration, not a crisis.

This article is general information for Canadian business owners and is current as of July 2026. It is not tax, legal or accounting advice, and it does not create a client relationship. Tax rules change and your situation is unique — please speak with a CPA before acting on anything here.