A demand to file arrived. The clock is now formal.

What the demand changes

Before the demand, an unfiled return was late. After it, non-filing is a named offence with its own consequences, and the file has a human being attached to it. The most practical change: if you still do not file, the CRA can issue an arbitrary assessment — its own estimate of what you owe, legally collectible until a real return displaces it, and reliably higher than reality because it assumes no expenses.

What to do, in order

• Do not call to explain before you have a plan. The productive contact is the one where you can state a filing date you will meet.
• Establish what is actually outstanding — a demand often arrives when more than one period is open. All of it needs a plan, not just the named return.
• Reconstruct and file, oldest first. Bank and processor history can be retrieved; catch-up bookkeeping is a routine engagement, not a rescue.
• If what is unfiled hides something wrong, look at the Voluntary Disclosures Program with an advisor before filing — eligibility has conditions, and a demand affects them, which is precisely why advice comes before action here.

What it costs from here

Interest has been running since the original due date, and late-filing penalties scale with time and repetition — the structure is set out in our penalties guide. What the demand adds is escalation for ignoring it. Every path from this letter is cheaper the earlier it starts, and none of them begins with the letter sitting in a drawer.

General information, not tax advice. A letter’s own wording and dates govern — confirm anything that affects a decision on a free consult.