What should I do when I get contacted by CRA?

If you are ever contacted by CRA regarding a notice of assessment or other queries, it is generally a good practice to request all communication to be done in writing, especially when the nature of their request is an audit. This prevents you from saying anything that can be used against you or you might say something by mistake and could lead to an unfavourable outcome from CRA. Anohter reason why it is important to request everything in writing is so you can easily share the details with your accountant and they can specifically help you answer the request.

Usually, you will have 30 days to respond to the letter when it is provided, but it is good practice to deal with the issue right away rather than later as most of the requests will request some kind of documentation and it may be difficult to locate, especially if the document is old or lost. If you are not able to complete the request by 30 days, it is sometimes possible to call CRA and ask for an extension. Under their discretion, they may or may not allow the extension.