--- title: "CRA Reviewing Your Personal Return? Decoded | EverStone" url: https://www.everstonecpa.com/cra-letter-t1-review description: "A personal T1 review letter, decoded for business owners: why owner-manager returns get picked, what supports each common claim, and how to respond." type: service-or-info updated: 2026-10-02 faq_count: 4 publisher: EverStone CPA Inc., a Chartered Professional Accountant firm registered with CPA British Columbia and CPA Alberta service_area: British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba language: en-CA contact: info@everstonecpa.com · https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online --- [Home](https://www.everstonecpa.com/) [Resources](https://www.everstonecpa.com/resources) T1 review letter CRA letters, decoded # Your personal return is under review. *Owner-managers: read this first.* Updated 2 October 2026 **Quick answer:** A T1 review letter asks for documents behind specific personal return claims. Owner-managers get more, because the most-reviewed claims are theirs: vehicle and home-office expenses, salary and dividends matching corporate slips, and money moving between you and the company. Answer exactly the lines named. A review is a document request with a deadline, and one complete answer usually ends it. [Ask what to send](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question). The order to work through it in. ## Why owner-managers get more of these An employee’s return is mostly slips the CRA holds. An owner’s carries judgement: [business use of a vehicle](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/vehicle-mileage-deductions-canada-business), [home-office claims](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/home-office-expenses-incorporated-business-canada), and amounts that must match corporate filings. Each is a review category, none a problem when records exist. ## The support each common claim needs - **Vehicle:** the contemporaneous log — kilometres, dates, purpose. Our [free log](https://www.everstonecpa.com/mileage-and-vehicle-log) exists because this is the request that catches people without one. - **Home office:** the workspace calculation and the bills behind it, and for incorporated owners, consistency with how the corporation treated the same costs. - **Dividends and salary:** the T5 and T4 the corporation issued. Where the corporation’s filings and your return disagree, fix the source, not the symptom — the [shareholder loan record](https://www.everstonecpa.com/shareholder-loan-tracker) is usually where the answer lives. ## Respond precisely, on time, in writing Quote the reference number, answer the named lines fully and nothing more, through the stated channel by the stated date. Conceding an unsupportable claim costs less than a reassessment; if you disagree with the outcome, the [objection route](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/cra-notice-of-objection-how-to-file) has its own clock. A T1 review is a documentation request rather than an accusation, and it is answered quickly when [personal returns filed with the receipts already matched](https://www.everstonecpa.com/personal-tax-accountant-abbotsford) has already done the matching. [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=other#enquiry-form)[Ask a Free Question](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) General information, not tax advice. A letter’s own wording and dates govern — confirm anything that affects a decision by [sending us an enquiry](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=other#enquiry-form). ## Common questions about T1 review letter **Why was my return picked if nothing changed?** Selection mixes random sampling and category screening, so an unchanged return can be picked. A letter is not an allegation; it asks for support in routinely verified categories. [Ask about your case →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **My spouse’s return got a letter too — related?** Possibly, where claims interact — shared home-office space, or credits that transfer between spouses. Answer each letter on its own terms, and make the two responses consistent with each other. **What if the records are with my old accountant?** You are entitled to your own records — ask for them, and start assembling what you hold in parallel. If the deadline is at risk, request the extension before it passes rather than going silent. **Can this turn into a corporate review?** The T1 and T2 sides can inform each other where amounts have to reconcile — which is a reason to make sure they do reconcile before responding, and a good moment to have one professional see both sides. ## Other CRA letters, decoded Not sure which letter you have? [Start with the full list](https://www.everstonecpa.com/cra-letters) and match what yours says. One letter often follows another. These cover the ones owner-managers see most. [Personal Services Business Risk Review](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/personal-services-business-psb-risk-canada) [The CRA thinks you should be registered for GST/HST. Now what?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/cra-letter-gst-registration) [T2054: Election for a Capital Dividend Under Subsection 83(2)](https://www.everstonecpa.com/forms/t2054) [T2 review](https://www.everstonecpa.com/cra-letter-t2-review) [T4 mismatch](https://www.everstonecpa.com/cra-letter-t4-mismatch) [Demand to file](https://www.everstonecpa.com/cra-letter-demand-to-file) [CRA asked for backup — answering a request for information](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/cra-request-for-information-letter) --- Source: https://www.everstonecpa.com/cra-letter-t1-review Prices: https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing · Contact: info@everstonecpa.com · https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online