--- title: "CRA Audit Help: CPA Review and Audit Support in BC" url: https://www.everstonecpa.com/cra-review-and-audit-support description: "A CPA between you and the CRA: reviews, information requests, audits and objections, answered with the records assembled and deadlines tracked. Ask us." type: service-or-info updated: 2026-10-08 summary: "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." 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/) [CRA support](https://www.everstonecpa.com/tax-services) CRA review and audit support CRA support # CRA review and audit support in BC Updated 8 October 2026 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. [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online) [All cra support services](https://www.everstonecpa.com/tax-services) **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 a CRA review or audit involves - **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](https://www.everstonecpa.com/cra-letters) lists them. For a sales tax examination specifically, see [what to expect in a GST/HST audit](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/gst-hst-audit-what-cra-checks). ## Why the response matters more than the letter A CRA reviewer tests whether a figure is supported. Sending more than asked invites questions; sending less restarts the clock. Answer exactly what was asked, in order, with 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 (notional) assessment is the CRA filing for you. The number is deliberately high; the fix is usually to file the real return. [Undoing an arbitrary assessment](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/cra-arbitrary-assessment-notional) covers the mechanics and deadline. ## The CRA letters we handle, and what each one needs Most CRA contact is not an audit. It is a review that wants a specific set of documents by a specific date. Knowing which letter you have tells you most of what to send. Common CRA letters, and the records that answer them | Letter | What it is usually after | What answers it | | GST/HST review, often holding a refund | Support for input tax credits | The purchase invoices behind the claim, showing the supplier’s registration number | | T1 review | A deduction or credit on a personal return | The receipts behind it: RRSP, childcare, medical, moving or business expenses | | T2 review | A figure on the corporate return | The general ledger and the invoices behind the account in question | | PIER report | CPP or EI premiums under-deducted on payroll | The payroll records, reconciled to the T4 slips | | T4 or T5018 mismatch | Slips that do not agree with remittances or returns | Amended slips, or a reconciliation showing why they differ | | Demand to file | A return the CRA believes is missing | The return itself, filed by the date in the letter | Once you approve us through the CRA’s Represent a Client service in My Business Account, we deal with the officer, respond and follow through to the notice of assessment or reassessment. If it is wrong, we prepare the notice of objection, due within 90 days. Want a CPA’s answer on a single CRA review or audit letter before committing to anything? The [45-minute Advice Call](https://www.everstonecpa.com/advice-call) is a flat fee of $225 + GST for one question, credited against your first invoice if you engage us within 60 days. ## What not to do when the letter arrives - **Do not miss the date.** If the response cannot be ready in time, ask for more time before the deadline, not after it. - **Do not send originals**, or everything you have. Send copies of what the letter asks for, organized to the question, with a short covering note. - **Do not explain without documents.** A review is settled by records; a well-argued letter without the invoice behind it is still a disallowed claim. - **Do not assume it will go away.** An unanswered review becomes a reassessment, and the 90-day objection clock starts from that notice. ## If you find the problem before the CRA does An error or unfiled return the CRA has not raised may qualify for the Voluntary Disclosures Program, which can reduce penalties and some interest. The disclosure must come before any CRA enforcement on the issue and be complete, with tax paid. A review letter on that issue generally closes the program, so act early. ## 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 audit worry with no letter. Then the useful work is making the file defensible in advance, and we say so on the first call rather than quote for work you do not need. ## The forms and the dates A review letter names the tax year, items under review and a deadline, usually 30 days; an audit is broader, with a proposal letter before any reassessment. A notice of objection (form T400A) is due within 90 days of reassessment. Representation through form AUT-01 or online authorization sends correspondence here, not to the owner. ## Who this is for in the Fraser Valley Reviews reach Fraser Valley businesses in familiar forms: a GST/HST pre-assessment review of an Abbotsford contractor’s input tax credits, a T5018 query for a Chilliwack or Langley builder, a payroll PIER report in Mission, a Surrey owner asked for vehicle logs. Most are settled by sending the right documents once, as asked, on time. ## What sets the fee Quotes follow the letter, which defines the work. A one-item, one-year document request is a small fixed fee; full audit representation, through the proposal letter and possibly a notice of objection, costs more and is quoted in stages, so you pay for the second only if the first does not settle it. Clients whose books we keep pay less, since the documents already exist in the form the CRA wants. ## Other corporate tax work The rest of what this covers, and the page each one is on. [T2 corporate return T2 corporate return preparation for Canadian incorporated businesses: what is filed, what it needs…](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-return-t2) [GST/HST & PST filing GST, HST and PST returns prepared and filed on your schedule, with input tax credits supported and…](https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-hst-filing-services) [Tax planning Proactive, year-round tax planning for Canadian corporations](https://www.everstonecpa.com/tax-planning-services-canada) [All corporate tax T2 returns, GST/HST and PST filing, tax planning and CRA support for incorporated Canadian…](https://www.everstonecpa.com/tax-services) ## Common questions about CRA support **Do you deal with the CRA directly?** Yes, once authorized. An authorization form gives us access to the account, and from that point correspondence can come to us rather than to you. [Ask us →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **We got a letter and the deadline is close. Can you help?** Usually. Extensions are often available where the request is made before the deadline rather than after it, and asking for one is normally better than sending an incomplete response. **Will this trigger more attention?** Responding properly does not. What draws attention is a pattern of unanswered requests, or figures that change with each submission. **What does it cost?** It is quoted per matter after we have seen the letter, because a one-document review and a field audit are not the same work. You get the number before anything starts. ### Starting fees Help with a CRA letter is quoted once we have read it. Every fee is fixed in writing before any work begins. - **One-off advice call with a CPA** $225 plus GST *This page* - **Monthly bookkeeping, sales tax filing included** from $325 a month - **Payroll, remittances, T4s and ROEs** included in monthly bookkeeping - **Books, payroll and the year-end T2 together** $500–$700 a month - **Corporate year-end and T2 return** fixed fee, quoted in writing - **Personal tax return (T1)** from $125; self-employed or rental $275–$500 - **Catch-up bookkeeping** from $2,200 per year of records - **Controller or CFO support** controller from $1,650, CFO from $2,750 a month [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=other#enquiry-form) --- Source: https://www.everstonecpa.com/cra-review-and-audit-support Prices: https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing · Contact: info@everstonecpa.com · https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online