CRA review and audit support
Most CRA letters are a request for documents rather than an accusation, and most are resolved by sending the right thing once. The cost comes from answering the wrong question, or answering late.
Quick answer: We read the letter, work out what is actually being asked, assemble the records that answer it, and respond on your behalf inside the deadline. That covers pre-assessment and post-assessment reviews, information requests, payroll examinations, GST/HST reviews, field audits and notices of objection.
What we handle
- Pre- and post-assessment reviews, where a claim on a filed return is being checked.
- Information requests, which name what they want and when they want it.
- Payroll examinations and PIER reports, where slips and remittances do not agree.
- GST/HST reviews, usually triggered by a refund claim.
- Field audits, including acting as the single point of contact so the questions do not land on you.
- Notices of objection, where an assessment is wrong and the deadline to dispute it is running.
Each of the common letters is decoded on its own page — the CRA letters index lists them.
Why the response matters more than the letter
A CRA reviewer is testing whether a figure is supported. Sending more than was asked for invites more questions; sending less than was asked for restarts the clock. The useful response answers exactly what was asked, in the order it was asked, with the supporting documents attached and referenced.
The other half is the deadline. Most letters carry one, and missing it converts a review into an assessment that then has to be objected to — which is a longer, more expensive process than the review would have been.
If the assessment has already been issued
An arbitrary assessment, sometimes called a notional assessment, is the CRA filing for you when you have not. The number is deliberately high and the fix is almost always to file the real return rather than to argue. Undoing an arbitrary assessment covers the mechanics and the deadline.
Who this is for, and who it is not
A good fit: anyone holding a CRA letter with a deadline on it, and anyone who has been assessed on a return they never filed.
Not a fit: a general worry about being audited with no letter to act on. There is nothing to respond to yet, and the useful work then is making the file defensible in advance. In either case we say so on the first call rather than quoting for work you do not need.
Common questions about CRA support
Do you deal with the CRA directly?+
We got a letter and the deadline is close. Can you help?+
Will this trigger more attention?+
What does it cost?+
Talk to a CPA about this
One Chartered Professional Accountant, start to finish. Fixed fees, quoted in writing before any work begins, and no obligation from a first conversation.
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