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How to get through to the CRA by phone

4 min readCanada only

Call the CRA's individual line, 1-800-959-8281, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 8 pm ET, with your SIN, date of birth, address and a notice of assessment or other tax document ready. Or let your simp wait on hold for up to 6 minutes, then let you know so you can take over: the CRA verifies your identity before it can access your account.

Good to know: the CRA checks your identity with you, not with your simp. Your simp waits on hold for up to 6 minutes, then lets you know so you can take over. It says it's an AI calling for you at the start of every call, and time on hold counts towards your AI minutes.
Liam

What you can do yourself.

Everything here is from the CRA's own pages, read on the date under the steps.

  1. Step 1Call the individual line

    1-800-959-8281, or 1-866-426-1527 from the 867 area code in Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Monday to Friday, 8 am to 8 pm ET, closed weekends and public holidays.

  2. Step 2Check the wait first

    The CRA posts wait times on its contact page, and says that if the average wait is over 30 minutes, callers are sent to its automated service instead. If the queue is longer than 6 minutes, your simp lets you know so you can take over, and the call ends if you don't.

  3. Step 3Have your details ready

    Your SIN, full name and date of birth, your complete address, and your CRA account open or a notice of assessment, reassessment or other tax document.

  4. Step 4Try online chat

    The CRA also offers an online chat service for individual enquiries, linked from the same contact page.

  5. Step 5Calling for someone else?

    They need to authorize you as their representative first, in their CRA account or with Form AUT-01, which covers access by phone.

The catch: none of this shortens the queue. You still wait, and the agent can't go into your account until you've answered the identity questions yourself.

How a simp does it.

Alex had a question about a notice of assessment. Liam waited through the menu and the hold music, told the agent who it was calling for, and Alex tapped Take over for the identity check.

LiamLiam - Hold for the CRAOutgoing - AI number - 4:38
Example call
  1. 00:00 - Phone menuThank you for calling. All of our agents are busy. Please stay on the line.
  2. 04:12 - AgentThanks for holding. How can I help you today?
  3. 04:15 - LiamHi, this is Liam, an AI calling from Simp for Alex. This call is transcribed. Alex has a question about a notice of assessment and will speak with you directly.
  4. 04:26 - AgentOkay. I'll need to confirm the taxpayer's identity before I can look at the account.
  5. 04:30 - LiamPlease hold - I'm connecting you to Alex. This call will continue to be transcribed for their records.

Alex took over for the identity check. 4 minutes of hold music Alex didn't hear.

Your simp holds. You take over.

Tell your simp who to call and why. It works through the phone menu and waits on hold for up to 6 minutes, then lets you know so you can take over. Follow the call live in the Simp app, and when a person answers, tap Take over: your simp tells them it's connecting you, and the call rings through to your phone.

What it can't doYour simp doesn't pretend to be you, and it doesn't answer identity checks for you. It never gives out your passwords, PINs or security answers. The conversation about your taxes or benefits is yours: your simp gets you to the agent, and you take it from there.What your simp is allowed to do
How the hand-over works

Keep the app to hand while it waits.

The CRA can't access your account without checking who you are, so your simp leaves that to you rather than trying. Follow the call live in the app, and tap Take over when an agent answers.

  1. Step 1Your simp waitsThrough the phone menu, and on hold for up to 6 minutes. If nobody answers by then, it lets you know so you can take over.
  2. Step 2A person answersYour simp says it's an AI calling for you, by your first name.
  3. Step 3You tap Take overYour simp tells them it's connecting you, and the call rings through to your phone.

Questions about calling the CRA.

Can my simp talk to the CRA for me?

It can wait on hold for up to 6 minutes, then let you know so you can take over, and if an agent answers first, you tap Take over. The CRA checks your identity before it accesses your account, and the CRA's route for anyone else is to be authorized as your representative, so the conversation is yours.

See the steps above
How do I take over the call?

Follow the call live in the Simp app and tap Take over. Your simp tells the person it's connecting you, and the call rings through to your phone. Your simp waits on hold for up to 6 minutes, then lets you know so you can take over. Any call your simp is handling ends after 10 minutes. You can also end the call from the app at any time.

What your simp is allowed to do
Will they know they're talking to an AI?

Yes. At the start of every call your simp says it's an AI calling for you, by your first name, and that the call is transcribed.

What your simp is allowed to do
Does it use my AI minutes?

Yes. The whole call counts towards your monthly AI minutes, time on hold included. Your simp waits on hold for up to 6 minutes, then lets you know so you can take over. You can top up in the app if you run low.

Compare the plans
Liam

Let your simp do the waiting.

Every plan comes with a simp that waits on hold for up to 6 minutes, then lets you know so you can take over.

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