CRA Notice of Assessment: Understanding Your Tax Return Result

When you file a tax return, you send the CRA information about your income and other details for the year. Your tax software or completed return may already show an expected refund or an amount you need to pay.

Think of what happens after you finish your taxes. You submit the return, close your tax software, and move on with your day. Later, you receive your NOA. You now have the CRA's result to compare with the numbers you saw when you filed.

That's why the notice is worth keeping. It gives you something to refer to if you have a question about your refund, an amount you need to pay, or a difference between your return and the CRA's figures.

Look for the Account summary section on your NOA. This is where the CRA shows the amount that matters most. The three possible outcomes below explain what each result means for you.

Imagine you're preparing your return using tax software. Before you file, it shows an expected refund of $900. You submit your return thinking that's the amount you'll receive.

Then your NOA arrives. Instead of $900, it shows a refund of $650. You open your saved copy of the return and see the original $900 figure. Both documents are for the same tax year, but the amounts don't match.

There's a $250 difference between them. That difference tells you something changed, but it doesn't tell you why.

If the CRA made a change, look for the section called Explanation of changes and other important information. It may explain what was changed when your return was processed. Read that information alongside your copy of the return to understand what doesn't match.

If you still can't see why the amounts are different, you have a specific question to bring to a tax accountant.

You might receive an NOA showing an amount due even though you've already made a payment. Seeing that amount doesn't automatically mean you have to pay it again.

For example, the CRA may have issued the notice before it received your payment. The notice can still show the earlier amount because that was the information available when it was prepared.

In this situation, check your current balance with the CRA. That will help you see whether the payment has been recorded and whether there's still anything to pay.

There's also a much simpler situation. Your tax software showed a $900 refund, and the CRA's notice shows the same $900.

If everything matches and you have no outstanding questions, keep your NOA with your tax return. Having both documents together will make it easier to refer to them if a question comes up later.

At Anytime Accounting, we can talk through what you're seeing and help identify which questions need a closer look. You can tell us what you expected, what your NOA shows, and which part doesn't make sense.

If a separate review is needed, we'll agree on the work first. We can compare your return with your NOA, review the CRA's explanation, and look into why the amounts differ.