What Is a CRA Notice of Assessment? How to Read Yours
A CRA notice of assessment, or NOA, is the summary the Canada Revenue Agency sends after it processes your income tax and benefit return. It confirms the income, deductions, and credits the CRA accepted, shows whether you owe money or get a refund, and lists your RRSP room for next year. For most people who file online, it lands within two weeks. This guide walks through what each section means, how it differs from a reassessment, and what a self-employed filer should check before filing it away.
What a notice of assessment is
Think of the NOA as the CRA's reply to your return. You send the agency your numbers; it runs them against the slips and records it already has, then sends back a statement of what it assessed.
It does three jobs at once. First, it gives the result: a refund, a balance owing, or nil. Second, it records the figures the CRA used, so you can check them against what you filed. Third, it carries your RRSP room and other running balances into next year. The NOA is not your return. It is the CRA's accepted version of it, plus the balances attached to your account.
Keep it. Lenders ask for the most recent NOA to verify income on a mortgage or loan, and the CRA expects you to hold your tax records, the NOA included, for six years.
How to read your notice of assessment, section by section
A modern NOA is laid out in labelled blocks. Here is what each one holds.
Notice details. The top of the page shows the last four digits of your social insurance number or temporary tax number, the tax year the notice covers, and the date the CRA issued it. That issue date matters later: it starts the clock on your right to object.
NETFILE access code. On the right side of the notice is an eight-character code. You can use it next year to confirm your identity when you file electronically. It is not mandatory, but without it you cannot use information from a prior return to verify yourself with the CRA.
Account summary. This is the headline. It shows one of three results: a refund, an amount due, or a balance of nil. If you owe, the summary gives the balance due and, on a paper notice, a remittance voucher for paying it.
Tax assessment. Below the summary sits a breakdown of the key line numbers and amounts the CRA used. Alongside it is a block titled "Explanation of changes and other important information." Read this one closely. If the CRA changed anything on your return, this is where it tells you what moved and why. A common change for a sole proprietor is the CRA adding income from a T4A slip you did not report, or trimming a claim it would not allow in full.
Registered plan statements. Depending on your situation, the notice then lists your RRSP deduction limit and available contribution room, your Home Buyers' Plan balance and next repayment, your Lifelong Learning Plan balance, and your First Home Savings Account participation room. These are the numbers you carry into next year's return.
If you filed several years at once, the CRA assesses them together and reports the combined result in the account summary of the last notice in the series.
When you get your notice, and how to find it
Timing depends on how you filed. The CRA says the NOA and any refund are usually sent within two weeks when you file online through NETFILE. A paper return takes considerably longer, and a non-resident return can take up to 16 weeks. Review by the CRA, a bankruptcy, or a return for someone who has died can all push the date out.
You have three ways to see the notice:
- In your CRA account. Once your return is processed, the notice is available in your account, usually right away. Sign in, open your individual account, and look under Tax returns or Mail.
- Express NOA. If you are registered for a CRA account and for online mail, and you file with NETFILE-certified software, you can view the NOA in that software or in your account right after the CRA processes the return. For many filers this arrives the same session.
- By mail. If you are set up for letter mail, the CRA sends the notice to the address on file. You can call the CRA to request a paper copy or an alternate format such as large print.
Online mail is now the default. Unless you asked for letter mail, the CRA emails you that mail is waiting in your account rather than printing the notice.
Notice of assessment vs notice of reassessment
These two look alike and get confused often. The difference is simple once you see it.
| Notice of assessment (NOA) | Notice of reassessment (NOR) | |
|---|---|---|
| When it is sent | After the CRA first processes your return | Only if the CRA later changes a return it already assessed |
| What it means | The CRA's accepted version of your return | An updated summary of the changes |
| What triggers it | You file your return | The CRA reviews, you ask for a change, or a slip surfaces |
| Your objection clock | Starts on the NOA issue date | Restarts on the NOR issue date for the changed items |
A reassessment is not a sign you did something wrong. The CRA reassesses for routine reasons: you asked to change a return, a late slip arrived, or a post-assessment review adjusted a claim. The NOR explains what changed in the same "Explanation of changes" block the NOA uses.
What your notice means if you are self-employed
A sole proprietor files a personal T1 return with a T2125 business statement attached, so you get the same individual NOA as an employee. Three things on it deserve a second look.
Your net business income. The profit from your T2125 flows to line 13500 of the T1, and the NOA's line summary reflects the figure the CRA assessed. If that number does not match what you filed, the "Explanation of changes" block tells you why. Compare it against your own books before you accept it.
An instalment signal. If your balance owing was large this year, the CRA may later send an instalment reminder. You are required to pay by instalments only when your net tax owing is over $3,000 (over $1,800 if you live in Quebec) in the current year and in one of the two years before it. A big balance on this year's NOA is the early warning that quarterly instalments may be coming.
Your RRSP room. The deduction limit on your NOA grows with earned income, which includes your net self-employment income. A strong year on your T2125 means more RRSP room next year, and the NOA is where you read the new figure.
The NOA is also a prompt to tidy your records. The faster you can tie the assessed numbers back to receipts and invoices, the shorter any future review gets. A receipt scanner that files each receipt to the right expense category keeps the evidence behind every line ready for when the CRA asks.
What to do if you disagree with your assessment
First, separate two situations. If you left something out or typed a number wrong, you do not object. You ask the CRA to change the return, through your CRA account or by sending the correction.
If your return was complete and you still disagree with how the CRA assessed it, you can file a formal objection. The deadline for an individual is the later of two dates: one year after the filing due date for that return, or 90 days from the date on your notice. Many guides quote a flat 90 days, which is the corporate deadline. For a personal return the one-year-after-filing option is often the more generous of the two, so check both.
You file the objection one of three ways:
- Online, by selecting "Register my formal dispute" in your CRA account or My Business Account.
- By mail or fax, using Form T400A or a signed letter setting out the facts and reasons, sent to the Chief of Appeals at the Appeals Intake Centre in Sudbury.
- Through your representative in Represent a Client.
Miss the deadline for a good reason, such as a genuine attempt to resolve the matter with the CRA or circumstances beyond your control, and you can ask for an extension up to one year after the objection deadline. One limit worth knowing: you can object to a notice of assessment, reassessment, or determination, but not to a plain statement of account or an auditor's proposal letter.
Common misconceptions about the notice of assessment
"A refund on my NOA means my return is final." Not quite. The CRA can review and reassess a return for years after the first NOA. A refund means the agency processed your numbers, not that it audited them.
"The NOA is my tax bill." The NOA reports a result. When you owe, it shows the balance due, but it is a summary of your whole assessment, not a standalone invoice.
"A reassessment means I am being audited." A reassessment changes an assessed return, and most come from routine slip matching or a correction you requested. An audit is a separate, deeper process, and the NOR itself is not an accusation.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to get a notice of assessment? For an online NETFILE return, the CRA usually sends the NOA and any refund within two weeks. Paper returns and returns held for review take longer.
Where do I find my NOA? Sign in to your CRA account and look under Tax returns or Mail. If you file with NETFILE-certified software and are set up for online mail, Express NOA can show it to you right after the CRA processes your return.
What is the difference between a notice of assessment and a notice of reassessment? The NOA is the CRA's first assessment of a return you filed. A notice of reassessment is sent only when the CRA later changes a return it already assessed.
What is the NETFILE access code on my NOA? It is an eight-character code on the right side of the notice. You can use it to confirm your identity when you file electronically next year. It is optional.
How long do I have to object to my assessment? As an individual, you have until the later of one year after the return's filing due date or 90 days from the date on your notice.
Key takeaways
- The notice of assessment is the CRA's accepted version of your return: the result, the figures used, and the balances you carry forward.
- Read the "Explanation of changes and other important information" block first. It tells you anything the CRA moved and why.
- Online NETFILE filers usually get the NOA within two weeks; Express NOA can deliver it the same session.
- A notice of reassessment is sent only when the CRA changes an already-assessed return, and it is usually routine, not an audit.
- Self-employed filers should check the assessed T2125 income, watch for an instalment signal when the balance is large, and note the new RRSP room.
- To dispute an assessment, an individual has until the later of one year after the filing due date or 90 days from the notice date.
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