CRA call centres offered too many taxpayers bad advice, auditor general says

The Canada Revenue Agency’s contact centres provided only five per cent of callers with quality tax help in June, the federal auditor reports.

Auditor General Karen Hogan’s office placed calls to the CRA’s contact centres for four months this year, asking general questions.

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In a report released today, Hogan says taxpayers waited an average of 31 minutes to reach a CRA representative by phone.

That is more than double the service standard set out by the agency.

The report says the department was better suited to addressing business tax or benefits questions, providing accurate responses to those calls 54 per cent of the time.

It was much worse at accurately answering questions about individual taxes.

Hogan says the CRA seems more concerned with adhering to schedules for shifts and breaks than with the “accuracy and completeness of information they provided to callers.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2025.