Anytime you file an income tax return, you will receive a Notice of Assessment (NOA) from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). It serves as a confirmation of your completed return and contains important details about your return.
We are most familiar with the NOA for a personal income tax return. However, business owners can also expect to receive additional NOAs:
- GST/HST (if you have registered for it)
- Corporate income tax return (if you are incorporated)
All NOAs look similar and are broken up into these sections:
Account Summary
This highlights the amount you owe, the amount of refund you’ll receive or a zero balance.
Tax Assessment Summary
Highlight the main lines from your return. Any changes the CRA made will be mentioned in this section, as well as any penalties or interest owing.
Explanation of Changes and Other Important Information
Details of any changes made to your return will be noted here. Should you disagree with your assessment, you have 90 days to file a formal objection to the CRA.
For personal income tax returns, it may also contain the following sections (if applicable):
- RRSP Deduction Limit Statement
- Home Buyers’ Plan statement
- Lifelong Learning Plan statement
The Notice of Assessments are important documents that you must read and keep in a safe place. It will come in handy for the following tax season. If you misplaced the paper copy, you can always log into CRA My Account for an online version.
Click here for additional information about your Notice of Assessment.
IFC can help prepare and file personal tax returns (T1), corporate tax returns (T2) and GST/HST returns. Contact us to learn more.
