CRA Letter First Steps

A CRA Letter Arrived: What a Canadian Owner-Manager Should Do First

The envelope is on the desk. Or the PDF is open in My Business Account. Your stomach drops for a second — then you need a routine, not a reaction. This piece walks through what to identify on the letter, what to gather, and how to log the first response so the corporation’s file stays orderly.

General education for Canadian owner-managers. Not legal, tax, or accounting advice. Your letter, your facts, and your deadlines control what happens next.

Stop before you call anyone

Owner-managers often phone CRA or the bookkeeper before they’ve finished page one. That creates incomplete notes, mismatched stories, and a clock that’s still running.

Give yourself thirty quiet minutes with the letter, a notepad, and the corporation’s tax folder. You’re naming what arrived — not deciding the whole file.

Identify three things on the face of the letter

1. What kind of letter is it?

Look for the heading and the first paragraph. Common patterns for corporations include:

• a notice of assessment or reassessment
• a request for information or supporting documents
• a reminder about a filing, instalment, or balance
• correspondence about a review or audit
• collections-related notices on an unpaid amount

You don’t need a perfect legal label on day one. You need a working label for the folder tab: “Info request — 2023 T2” or “NOA — GST/HST Q2.” No label leaves the situation floating.

2. What is the deadline?

Find every date on the letter. Circle the reply-by date. Note any “respond within X days” language. If no date is stated, write that down and treat the situation as time-sensitive until you know otherwise.

Put the deadline in the calendar the corporation actually uses — not only in your head. Extensions are not automatic.

3. What, exactly, is being asked?

List every ask as a numbered bullet in your own words. “Bank statements for January–June 2024 for account ending 4821.” “Copy of the contract with Supplier X.” Vague summaries like “they want everything” don’t help when you pack the response.

If the letter attaches a schedule, that schedule is the work list. Don’t invent extra questions CRA didn’t ask.

A short document-gathering routine

Once the three face items are written down, gather records against the ask list — not against your anxiety.

1. Open a dated response folder. Name it with the tax year and letter type. Keep the original letter (and envelope if you have it) at the top as a PDF scan.
2. Pull the filed return and working papers for the year(s) named. The notice or request usually points at a period. Start there before you dig through unrelated years.
3. Match each numbered ask to a document or a gap. Use a simple table: Ask # | Document | Location | Status (have / partial / missing). Missing is fine to admit. Guessing is not.
4. Prefer primary records. Bank statements, invoices, contracts, ledgers, prior CRA notices. If you rebuild a spreadsheet later, note that it came from source data.
5. Stop when the ask list is covered. Dumping every file expands the conversation.

If a record is incomplete, write what you have and what’s missing before any reply goes out.

Build a response log (one page is enough)

Files get messy when nobody tracks the first move. A one-page log prevents that. Include at least:

• date the letter was received (and how — mail, My Business Account, representative inbox)
• CRA reference or case numbers printed on the letter
• business number and tax year(s) affected
• deadline and calendar entry date
• who inside the company is responsible for the reply
• what was sent, when, and through which channel
• confirmation or transmission proof (upload receipt, registered mail number, portal confirmation screen)

Update the log every time something leaves. That page saves hours if you later need help.

Draft the first reply the boring way

When documents match the asks, draft a short covering note. Answer what’s asked. Point to labelled exhibits (“Exhibit A — January bank statement”). Skip theories about why CRA wrote or what a friend did in 2019.

If you can’t finish before the deadline, use the log to decide whether a staged reply fits that letter type — or whether you need help first. Don’t invent a partial-reply process the letter doesn’t allow.

What usually makes the first week worse

• Ignoring the letter because the amount looks small or the year feels closed.
• Calling CRA without the letter and account details in front of you.
• “Cleaning up” source records after the letter arrives. Preserve what exists; document gaps honestly.
• Sending a cloud-folder dump with no index.
• Relying on a verbal “don’t worry about it” without written confirmation through the proper channel.

When a structured review is worth considering

Some letters are administrative and the records are clean. Others hit multi-year issues, related parties, missing books, a notice that doesn’t match the filed return, or a deadline measured in days. Those files benefit from a structured review before anything is said on the record.

Help here means process quality — clear facts, coherent exhibits, consistent explanations — not a fixed CRA conclusion. How CRA concludes a file depends on the facts.

Related reading: what a CRA letter usually means and CRA representation.

A one-hour checklist you can run today

1. Scan and file the letter. Keep the original.
2. Write: type, deadline, numbered ask list.
3. Start the response log with receipt date and reference numbers.
4. Open the ask-vs-document table and fill what you can in one sitting.
5. Calendar the deadline. Tell anyone else who must supply records.
6. Decide whether the package is in-house or needs a consult — before the half-way mark to the due date.

FAQ

What should I do first when CRA sends a letter to a corporation?

Identify the letter type, the deadline, and each specific request. Then gather matching records and start a response log. Don’t call or reply from memory.

Do I need to answer every document request the same day?

Deadlines matter more than speed-for-its-own-sake. A labelled, complete response to what’s asked usually beats a same-day dump of unrelated files.

What if I can’t find a requested document?

Record the gap in your ask table, keep searching primary sources, and don’t invent a replacement. How you describe a missing record in a reply is file-specific — get help if the gap is material.

Is this legal or tax advice?

No. This is general education for Canadian owner-managers. Your letter and facts control. Your facts and file control.

Closing

A CRA letter is a cue to organize. Name the type. Mark the deadline. List the asks. Match documents. Log what you send. Orientation only — not advice for your particular file.