At your service

On this page...

• What if you need help?
• Internet services
  • Filing electronically
  • My Account
  • Register for My Account
• Services offered by telephone
  • Transmitting your return
  • Getting personal tax information
  • Representatives
  • T.I.P.S.
  • Contacting us
• Publications
• Community Volunteer Income Tax Program

What if you need help?

In this guide, we use plain language to explain the most common tax situations. If you need more help after reading this guide, you can contact us (see Contacting us) or use our other services.

Internet services

Visit our Web site at www.cra.gc.ca. General information, forms, and publications are accessible by topic and by client group. Below is a list of the most popular sites:

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Filing electronically

A four-digit access code that may allow you to NETFILE or TELEFILE your 2005 return is printed on the label sheet in the tax package you received in the mail. You can also get an access code online for our NETFILE service (see above).

Your EFILE service provider can complete and file your return for you.

If you complete your return using computer software, this fast, secure system lets you file it over the Internet.

My Account

My Account (see the above chart) is a secure online service that gives you the convenience and flexibility of viewing and managing your personalized information, such as:

• your identification;
• refund and/or balance owing;
• instalment account;
• Registered retirement savings plan (RRSP);
• Home Buyers' Plan (HBP);
• Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP);
• direct deposit information;
• Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB); and
• GST/HST credit and related provincial and territorial programs.

My Account also offers you different services such as:

• filing an objection online;
• changing your address; and
• changing your return.

Register for My Account

To use the services under My Account, you have to register for a Government of Canada epass that will give you a User ID and password. We will mail you a CRA Activation Code, which will take approximately five business days to receive. For more information, refer to My Account on our Web site (see Internet services).

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Services offered by telephone

Transmitting your return

You may be able to file your return by telephone for free. Use the four-digit access code that is printed on the label sheet in your 2005 tax package that you received in the mail. If you do not have an access code, call 1-800-714-7257 to get one. Once you have your access code, call our toll-free number 1-800-959-1110 to file your return.

Note
If a disability prevents you from using a touch-tone phone pad for TELEFILE, please call 1-800-714-7257, and we will help you.

Getting personal tax information

The personal information that you provide on your income tax forms is collected under the authority of the federal, provincial, and territorial income tax acts and will be used to administer and enforce these acts and their regulations. For more information, refer to Personal Information Bank Number CRA/P-PU-005 at http://infosource.gc.ca or in the Infosource book, or call us at one of the telephone numbers listed under "Contacting us".

Your personal information is confidential. However, you can authorize someone (such as your spouse or common-law partner) to represent you to discuss your file. See "Representatives" below. In certain cases, we give some of your information to other government bodies to administer the law. In all cases, we follow strict procedures before giving your information to anyone.

If you call us and ask for personal tax information, we will ask you to identify yourself and give information about the contents of your return to protect this information. If you call before May 1, use your return for 2004. After April 30, use your return for 2005.

Representatives

You can authorize a representative (such as your spouse or common law partner, tax preparer, or accountant) to get information on your tax matters. However, we will give information to your representative only after we are satisfied that you have authorized us in writing to do so. Your authorization will stay in effect until it is cancelled by you, it reaches the expiry date you choose, or on notification of your death.

Authorizations received between mid-March and mid-July will be processed within four weeks, and any authorizations received between mid-July and mid-March will be processed within one week.

Note
Authorizing a new representative does not cancel your existing authorizations. You can now cancel any authorization by telephone.

If your representative calls us and asks for your personal tax information, we will give this information only if we have received a completed Form T1013, Authorizing or Cancelling a Representative, or a letter signed by you that contains the same information. After we confirm that we have your written permission, we also will ask your representative for information about the contents of your return. A representative who calls before May 1 should use your return for 2004. A representative who calls after April 30 should use your return for 2005.

If you were the legal representative of a deceased person, get guide T4011, Preparing Returns for Deceased Persons, to know what documents are required.

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T.I.P.S.

For personal and general tax information by telephone, you can use T.I.P.S. (see T.I.P.S. (Tax Information Phone Service)).

Contacting us

Our telephone and fax numbers are listed on our Web site (to find the address see line 17 in this chart) or in the government section of your telephone book.

Our goal is to respond to your call within two minutes in the official language of your choice. However, you may have difficulty reaching us during peak periods.

By phone (individuals) - You can call 1-800-959-8281. Our automated service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Agents are available Monday to Friday (except holidays) from 8:15 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (local time). However, from mid-February to April 30, these hours are extended to 10:00 p.m. weekdays, and from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on weekends.

By phone (businesses) - You can call 1-800-959-5525. Our automated service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Agents are available Monday to Friday (except holidays) from 8:15 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (local time).

By fax - You can send us correspondence by fax. However, because of the nature of fax services, we are not responsible for misdirected, incomplete, or illegible documents.

Teletypewriter (TTY) users - If you use a TTY because you have a hearing or speech impairment, an agent at our bilingual enquiry service at 1-800-665-0354 can assist you during the hours shown under "By phone (individuals)".

Publications

Throughout this guide, we mention forms, pamphlets, interpretation bulletins, information circulars, and other guides that give more details on specific tax topics.

You can get most of our publications, including the General guide and forms book, by visiting Forms and publications on our Web site (see Internet services) or by calling 1-800-959-2221 from 8:15 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (local time).

Community Volunteer Income Tax Program

If you need help to complete your tax return and your income is low and your tax situation is simple, our volunteers are specially trained to help you. For more information about this free program, or if you want to become a volunteer, call us at 1-800-959-8281.

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