Taxpayer relief

The CRA can cancel or waive penalties and interest in some situations. It looks at:

• Serious illness, accidents, disasters or other events beyond your control
• CRA errors or delays
• Financial hardship or inability to pay

Use Form RC4288, with evidence and a clear timeline. Requests must be made within 10 calendar years of the year the penalty or interest applies to. The CRA says these requests can take about 16 months.

Relief generally does not remove the tax itself. You can ask for a second review if the first answer is unfavourable.