T4155(E) Rev. 24

Find out if this guide is for you

This guide is for you if you are a non-resident of Canada receiving the old age security (OAS) pension. This guide will help you complete Form T1136, Old Age Security Return of Income (OASRI).

New items are flagged with New! throughout this guide.

The CRA's publications and personalized correspondence are available in braille, large print, e-text, and MP3. For more information, go to Order alternate formats or call 1-800-959-8281. If you are outside Canada and the United States, call 613-940-8495. The CRA only accepts collect calls made through a telephone operator. After your call is accepted by an automated response, you may hear a beep and notice a normal connection delay. This service operates in Eastern Standard Time and is open Monday to Friday from 6:30 am to 11 pm and Saturday from 7:30 am to 8 pm.

La version française de ce guide est intitulée Guide de déclaration des revenus pour la Sécurité de la vieillesse (DRSV) pour les non-résidents.

Unless otherwise stated, all legislative references are to the Income Tax Act or, where appropriate, the Income Tax Regulations.

Table of contents

• Before you start
  • Tax on Old Age Security (OAS) benefits
  • Net world income
  • Find out if you have to file the OASRI
  • Return due date
  • Find out if you have to file another 2024 Canadian return
• Completing your OASRI
  • Deceased persons
  • Identification
  • Income
  • Deductions
  • Refund or balance owing
• After you file your return
  • How to change a return
  • If you move
• Digital services for individuals
  • My Account
  • Receive your CRA mail online
• For more information
  • If you need help
  • Forms and publications
  • Electronic mailing lists
  • Tax Information Phone Service (TIPS)
  • Teletypewriter (TTY) and Video Relay Service (Canada VRS) users
  • Formal disputes (objections and appeals)
  • CRA service feedback program
  • Cancel or waive penalties and interest
• Contact the CRA
  • By telephone
  • By mail

Before you start

Tax on Old Age Security (OAS) benefits

The tax on OAS benefits is an additional tax applied in the tax year to OAS recipients who report a net world income that is more than the income threshold determined for that year on the Old Age Security Return of Income (OASRI). This income threshold is indexed annually with inflation and is CAN$90,997 for the 2024 tax year.

Your monthly OAS benefits paid for the July 2025 to June 2026 period will be calculated using the information provided on your 2024 OASRI, where your monthly benefit may be reduced by a recovery tax withholding if you were subject to the tax on OAS benefits.

If you are subject to OAS recovery tax in addition to non-resident withholding tax, the two taxes combined cannot be more than the OAS benefit paid in the month.

How recovery tax is calculated

If recovery tax was withheld from your OAS pension in 2024 and the amount withheld is more than the recovery tax you owe, or if you do not have to pay recovery tax based on the information you provide when you file your 2024 OASRI, the CRA will refund the difference to you or apply it to any other Canadian tax you may owe.

If the recovery tax withheld is less than the recovery tax you owe, you will have to pay the difference.

Net world income

Net world income is the total of all income paid or credited to you in a year from Canadian and foreign sources minus any allowable deductions. It includes income from:

• employment
• business
• pensions
• social security
• capital gains
• rental property
• interest
• dividends

Find out if you have to file the OASRI

You have to file this return no later than April 30 each year so that your OAS pension is not suspended in July. You have to file even if your net world income is less than CAN$90,997.

Generally, the recovery tax applies to non-residents as long as it is not limited or eliminated by a tax treaty.

Tax treaty regions and countries

You do not have to file the OASRI if you received OAS in 2024, were a resident of a region or country (listed below) at the end of the year, and do not have plans to move before July 1, 2026 to a region or country not included on the list.

• Argentina
• Australia
• Azerbaijan
• Bangladesh
• Barbados
• Bulgaria
• Colombia
• Cyprus
• Dominican Republic
• Ecuador
• Finland
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Ireland
• Israel
• Ivory Coast
• Kenya
• Madagascar
• Malaysia
• Malta
• Mexico
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Papua New Guinea
• Peru
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Senegal
• Serbia
• Spain
• Sri Lanka
• Switzerland
• Taiwan
• Tanzania
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Türkiye
• United Kingdom
• United States
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

Return due date

Your OASRI for 2024 must be filed no later than April 30, 2025.

When a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or public holiday recognized by the CRA, your return is considered on time if the CRA receives it or if it is postmarked on the next business day.

For more information, go to Due dates and payment dates.

If you owe recovery tax for 2024 (line 48500 of your return) and file your return late, the CRA will charge you a late-filing penalty. The penalty is 5% of your balance owing for 2024, plus 1% of your balance owing for each full month that your return is late, to a maximum of 12 months. Your late-filing penalty may be higher if the CRA issued a demand to file your 2024 return and charged a late-filing penalty on a return for tax year 2021, 2022 or 2023.

The CRA may also charge a penalty if either of the following applies:

• You failed to report an amount on your 2024 OASRI and also failed to report an amount on your OASRI for 2021, 2022 or 2023
• You knowingly, or under circumstances amounting to gross negligence, made a false statement or an omissions on your 2024 OASRI

Find out if you have to file another 2024 Canadian return

The OASRI only determines the recovery tax on your OAS pension. Filing the OASRI allows Service Canada to determine the amount of OAS they should continue to pay you.

If you filed Form NR5, Application by a Non-Resident of Canada for a Reduction in the Amount of Non-Resident Tax Required to be withheld for tax year 2024, with the intention of making a section 217 election and the CRA approved it, you must file a return under section 217 of the Income Tax Act. For more information, go to Electing under section 217.

If you received employment or business income from Canada, or have taxable capital gains from disposing of taxable Canadian property, you may also have to file an Income Tax and Benefit Return.

Completing your OASRI

Complete Form T1136, Old Age Security Return of Income (OASRI). Mail one copy to the CRA and keep the other copy for your records.

If you and your spouse or common-law partner receive the OAS pension, each of you must complete and send a return.

Follow the instructions on your return. If you give wrong or incomplete information, processing of your return may be delayed.

Deceased persons

If you are filing a return for an individual who died during the year, enter their date of death on page 1 of the return.

Identification

Email address

Enter your email address on your return if you would like to receive email notifications from the CRA and you agree to the terms of use for email notifications below. You can also register for email notifications by logging in to My Account and selecting the "Notification preferences" service.

Terms of use for email notifications

The CRA will use the email address provided to notify you about any CRA mail available in My Account, when certain changes are made to your account information, and other important account information.

Any mail that is eligible for electronic delivery will no longer be printed and mailed.

The notifications that are eligible for this service may change. You may not always be notified when new types of notifications are added or removed from this service.

To view CRA mail online, you must be registered for My Account, or your representative must be registered for Represent a Client and be authorized on your account.

All CRA mail available in My Account is presumed to have been received on the date that the email notification is sent.

It is your responsibility to make sure that the email address provided to the CRA is up to date.

CRA email notifications are subject to the terms of any agreement with your mobile carrier or Internet service provider. You are responsible for any fees imposed by them.

Email notifications are sent unencrypted and unsecured. They could be lost, intercepted, viewed or altered by others who have access to your email account. You accept this risk and acknowledge that the CRA will not be liable if you are unable to access or receive the email notifications, nor for any delay or inability to deliver notifications.

These terms of use may be changed from time to time. The CRA will provide advance notice of the effective date of any new terms. You agree that the CRA may notify you of these changes by emailing the new terms, or notice of where to find them, to the email address that you provided. You agree that your use of the service after the effective date of any change to these terms constitutes your agreement to the new terms. If you do not agree to the new terms, you must remove your email address from My Account and no longer use the service.

Social insurance number (SIN)

Enter your Canadian social insurance number (SIN), individual tax number (ITN) or temporary tax number (TTN).

If you asked for, but did not yet receive, a SIN or an ITN, and the deadline for filing your return is near, attach a note to your return and file your return without your SIN or ITN.

If you are not eligible for a SIN, complete and send Form T1261, Application for a Canada Revenue Agency Individual Tax Number (ITN) for Non-Residents.

Marital status

Tick the box on your return that applies to your marital status on December 31, 2024.

Married means that you have a spouse. This term only applies to a person you are legally married to.

Living common-law means that you are living in a conjugal relationship with a person who is not your married spouse, and at least one of the following conditions applies:

• This person has been living with you in a conjugal relationship for at least 12 continuous months

• This person is the parent of your child by birth or adoption
• This person has custody and control of your child (or had custody and control immediately before the child turned 19 years of age) and your child is wholly dependent on this person for support

Separated means that you have been living apart from your spouse or common-law partner because of a breakdown in the relationship for a period of at least 90 days.

Once you have been separated for 90 days because of a breakdown in the relationship, the effective date of your separated status is the day you started living apart.

If you file your return before your 90-day separation period is over and that period includes December 31, enter your marital status as married or living common-law, as applicable.

If, after filing your return, you continue to live separate and apart from your spouse or common-law partner and you have been living this way for at least 90 days, you have to change your marital status to "separated" using the first day of the 90-day period as your date of separation.

See Digital services for individuals to find out how to change your marital status online, or complete and send Form RC65, Marital Status Change, to the CRA.

Widowed means that you had a spouse or common-law partner who is now deceased.

Divorced means that you are legally divorced from your former spouse.

Single means that none of the other marital statuses applies to you.

Your old age security number

Enter the old age security number issued to you by Service Canada if it was not pre-printed on your return. You can find this number on your NR4(OAS) slip. If the pre-printed number does not match the number on your NR4(OAS) slip, enter the correct number on your return.

Income

Report all income in Canadian dollars. To calculate how much to report, multiply your income by the exchange rate in effect on the day you received the income. If the amount was paid at various times in the year, visit the Bank of Canada or contact the CRA to get an average annual rate.

Line 11300 – Old age security (OAS) pension

Report your OAS pension amount as shown in any of the following boxes:

• box 16 of your NR4(OAS) slip
• box 16 or 26 of your NR4 slip with income code 44 in box 14 or 24
• box 18 of your T4A(OAS) slip

You may have received net federal supplements as shown in one of the following boxes:

• box 21 of your T4A(OAS) slip
• box 16 or 26 of your NR4 slip with income code 45 in box 14 or 24

Add the amount of any supplements to your OAS pension and enter the total on line 11300 of your return.

Line 11400 – CPP or QPP benefits

Report your Canada Pension Plan (CPP) or Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) benefit amount shown in box 16 or 26 of your NR4 slip if the slip has income code 46 or 49 in box 14 or 24. The amount may also be shown in box 20 of your T4A(P) slip.

Line 11500 – Other pensions or superannuation

Report the total amount of all other pension or superannuation income that you received from Canadian or foreign sources and all foreign-source social security payments.

If you are 65 years of age or older, include the following income types:

• annuities
• deferred profit sharing plans
• registered retirement income funds

If you are under 65 years of age, see line 13000.

Line 12100 – Interest and other investment income

Use the Old Age Security of Income (OASRI) Worksheet to calculate your interest income, taxable dividend income, and capital gains (or losses).

Interest and taxable dividend income

Report all Canadian and foreign-source interest paid or credited to you in 2024 including interest income from bank accounts, term deposits, guaranteed investment certificates, and other similar investments.

You also have to report interest on any tax refund you received in 2024 as shown on your notice of assessment or reassessment.

Report all taxable dividend income from taxable Canadian corporations by multiplying the actual amount of dividends received by 115%.

Also report all dividends received from foreign sources.

Report any Canadian or foreign-source interest or dividend income that was paid or credited to you in the year even if you did not receive an information slip.

Capital gains

A capital gain or loss may occur when you sell or dispose of a capital property, such as real estate or shares held on account of capital. In determining your income for a tax year, you could apply your allowable capital loss in a year (if any) against your taxable capital gain for that year. However, if you have a net capital loss for that year, you cannot use the net capital loss to reduce other sources of income, including interest and other investment income.

If you sold or disposed of property in 2024 and your taxable capital gains for the year were more than your allowable capital losses, you have to include the difference on line 12100 of your return.

If you sold or disposed of a property in 2024, you will need to know the following three amounts to calculate any capital gain or loss:

• the proceeds of disposition
• the adjusted cost base
• the outlays and expenses you incurred when disposing of your property

Proceeds of disposition is usually the amount you received or will receive for your property. In most cases, it refers to the sale price of the property. It could also include compensation you received for property that was destroyed, expropriated, or stolen.

The adjusted cost base is usually the cost of a property plus any expenses to acquire it, such as commissions and legal fees. The cost of a capital property is its actual or deemed cost, depending on the type of property and how you acquired it. The cost also includes capital expenditures, such as the cost of additions and improvements to the property. You cannot add current expenses, such as maintenance and repair costs, to the cost base of a property.

Outlays and expenses are amounts that you incurred to sell a capital property. You can deduct outlays and expenses from your proceeds of disposition when you calculate your capital gain or loss. These types of expenses include:

• fixing-up expenses
• finders' fees
• commissions
• brokers' fees
• surveyors' fees
• legal fees
• transfer taxes
• advertising costs

You cannot reduce your other income by claiming a deduction for these outlays and expenses.

For more information about capital gains and losses, go to Line 12700 – Taxable capital gains or see Guide T4037, Capital Gains or contact the CRA.

Line 12600 – Net rental income

Report your Canadian and foreign-source net rental income or loss for the 2024 calendar year on this line. Include any amount that a partnership allocated to you. If you have a loss, show the amount in brackets.

Line 12900 – RRSP income

Report the total amount of income you received from your registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) in 2024 from your T4RSP or NR4 information slips.

Line 13000 – Other income

Report all other Canadian and foreign-source income on line 13000 of your return. In the space to the left of line 13000, specify the type of income you are reporting. If you have more than one type of income, attach a note to your return showing the details.

Other types of income might include:

• employment income
• lump-sum payments from pensions and deferred profit sharing plans
• employment insurance benefits
• social assistance payments
• workers' compensation payments
• support payments received
• retiring allowances, including severance pay
• death benefits
• payments from a trust
• tips or gratuities
• amounts distributed from a retirement compensation arrangement
• income from a first home savings account (FHSA)
• net partnership income or loss from a Canadian or foreign partnership (limited or non-active partners)
• any other type of taxable income that you have not reported elsewhere on the return

If you are under 65 years of age, you must also include the following types of income:

• annuities
• deferred profit sharing plans
• registered retirement income funds

If you are 65 years of age or older, see line 11500.

Line 13500 – Net business income

Report your Canadian and foreign-source net income or loss from a business, profession, commission, farming, or fishing. If you have a loss, show the amount in brackets.

Deductions

Line 22100 – Carrying charges and interest expenses

Claim the total amount of carrying charges and interest expenses you paid to earn income from investments.

Carrying charges and interest expenses include all of the following amounts:

• fees to manage or take care of investments
• fees for certain investment advice or recording investment income
• most interest you pay on money you borrow for investment purposes, but generally only if you use it to try to earn investment income including interest and dividends

You cannot claim any brokerage fees or commissions you paid when you bought or sold securities. Instead, use these costs when you calculate your capital gain or loss.

Line 23200 – Other deductions

Your claim on line 23200 cannot be more than what you could claim if you were a resident of Canada.

Specify the deduction you are claiming in the space to the left of line 23200. Attach a note to your return if you have more than one amount, or to explain your deduction more fully.

You can claim certain amounts from your total world income, including the following:

• the deductible amount of contributions to a registered pension plan, RRSP or FHSA in Canada
• annual Canadian union, professional, or like dues
• the deductible amount of support payments made
• Canadian exploration and development expenses
• certain expenses you paid to earn employment or commission income

You can claim any of the following repayment amounts that you received and reported as income in 2024:

• employment insurance benefits
• OAS pension
• CPP benefits or QPP benefits
• retiring allowances, including severance pay

You can claim the following legal expenses:

• fees paid for advice or help in responding to the CRA when they reviewed your income or tax for a year, and in appealing or objecting to an assessment or decision under the Income Tax Act, the Employment Insurance Act, the Canada Pension Plan, or the Quebec Pension Plan, plus any related accounting fees
• fees paid for advice or help in appealing or objecting to an assessment of income tax, interest, or penalties levied by a foreign government, if the tax is eligible for a foreign tax credit on a Canadian income tax return
• fees paid to collect late support payments you are including in your income. For more information, go to Support payments

You must reduce your claim by any award or reimbursement you received for the above-mentioned expenses. If you are awarded the cost of your deductible legal fees in a future year, report that amount in your income for that year.

If you do not know if a deduction is allowable, contact the CRA.

Refund or balance owing

Line 23500 – Old age security (OAS) recovery tax

If your net world income on line 24200 of your return is more than CAN$90,997, complete your OAS recovery tax calculation using the chart below.

Special situations

If any of the following situations apply to you, do not complete the chart below. Instead, contact the CRA for the special rules and calculations that may apply:

• You immigrated to Canada or emigrated from Canada in 2024 and received an OAS pension during the part of the year that you were a non-resident
• You received an OAS pension throughout 2024 while you were a resident of one of the listed regions or countries for part of 2024 and resident of a region or country not on the list for the other part of 2024
• You were a resident of the Philippines in 2024

Line 43700 – Recovery tax withheld

Claim only the recovery tax withheld from box 27 of your NR4(OAS) slip. Attach a copy of the information slip to your return.

Line 48400 – Refund

Generally, the CRA does not refund a difference of CAN$2 or less.

If you are expecting a refund of recovery tax, the CRA may keep some or all of your refund to apply it against the amount you owe or will soon be owing for another year.

Line 48500 – Balance owing

Your balance owing is due no later than April 30, 2025. Generally, the CRA does not charge a difference of CAN$2 or less.

Do not mail cash or include cash with your return.

The CRA will charge daily compound interest on any outstanding balance starting May 1, 2025, until your balance is paid in full.

You or your representative can make a payment using:

• your Canadian financial institution's online or telephone banking services
• the CRA's My Payment service using your activated debit card from a participating Canadian bank or credit union with a Visa® Debit or Debit Mastercard® logo (does not include credit cards)
• My Account, under "Accounts and Payments"
• pre-authorized debit (PAD) at My Account which lets you:
  • set up payments to the CRA from a Canadian chequing account on preset dates starting in five or more
    business days
  • pay any amount due, repay overpaid amounts or make instant payments
  • view your account history and modify, cancel or skip a payment (for more information on PADs, go to Pay by scheduled pre-authorized debit (PAD) through CRA online services)
• your credit card, Interac e-transfer, or PayPal through one of the third party service providers for a fee

You or your representative can make a payment in Canadian funds without an account at a Canadian bank or credit union using:

• a wire transfer
• an international money order
• a bank draft drawn on a Canadian bank
• an internationally-issued credit card through a third-party service provider for a fee

For more information, go to Payments to the Canada Revenue Agency.

If you want to mail your payment to the CRA, attach it to the front of your return. Address your payment to the Receiver General for Canada and include your social insurance number, temporary tax number or individual tax number.

You can file your return early and make your payment as late as April 30, 2025. If the CRA processes your return before the date of the payment, your payment will appear on your notice of assessment, but it will not reduce your balance owing. The CRA will credit your account on the date of the payment.

The CRA will charge you a fee for any payment not honoured by your financial institution.

Making a payment arrangement

If you cannot pay your balance owing on or before April 30, 2025, you should contact the CRA. The CRA will consider a payment arrangement when you have shown that you have tried to pay your debt in full by reducing your expenses or borrowing funds.

The CRA will charge daily compound interest on any outstanding balance starting May 1, 2025, until you pay your balance in full.

After you file your return

The CRA assesses your return based on the information you gave and sends you a notice of assessment. The notice will tell you if you have a refund or a balance owing of recovery tax for 2024. The notice will also tell you if recovery tax will be withheld from your OAS pension for the period from July 2025 to June 2026.

How to change a return

After you have mailed your OASRI, you only need to notify the CRA of a change if any of the following conditions apply to you:

• Your 2024 net world income was more than CAN$90,997
• The change will increase your 2024 net world income to more than CAN$90,997
• The change applies to the amount of recovery tax withheld that you reported on line 43700

To change a return that you have already sent to the CRA, send a signed letter to your tax centre explaining the changes you want, and include the following information:

• the year of the return to be changed
• your social insurance number, individual tax number or temporary tax number
• your address
• a telephone number where the CRA can reach you during the day

If you move

Let the CRA know your new address as soon as possible to make sure any correspondence is sent to the proper address.

If you use direct deposit, you also need to tell the CRA if you change your account at your financial institution.

If you are registered for the CRA’s My Account, you can change your address online. See Digital services for individuals.

To write to the CRA, send your letter to your tax centre. Include your social insurance number (or your individual tax number or temporary tax number), your new address, the date of your move, and your signature.

If you are writing to the CRA for someone else, including your spouse or common-law partner, include their social insurance number, individual tax number or temporary tax number, and have the person sign the letter authorizing the change to their records.

Digital services for individuals

The CRA's digital services are fast, easy, and secure!

My Account

My Account lets you view and manage your personal income tax and benefit information online.

Use My Account throughout the year to:

• view your benefit and credit information and apply for certain benefits
• view your notice of assessment or reassessment
• view uncashed cheques and request a replacement payment
• change your address, phone numbers, direct deposit information, marital status and information about children in your care
• manage notification preferences and receive email notifications when important changes are made to your account
• check your tax-free savings account (TFSA) contribution room, your registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) deduction limit, and your first home savings account (FHSA) participation room
• track the progress of certain files and enquiries you have submitted to the CRA
• make a payment online to the CRA with the My Payment service, create a pre-authorized debit (PAD) agreement, or create a QR code to pay in person at Canada Post for a fee
• view and print your proof of income statement
• manage authorized representatives and authorization requests
• submit documents to the CRA
• submit an audit enquiry
• manage Multi-factor authentication settings

To sign in to or register for the CRA’s digital services, go to:

• My Account, if you are an individual
• Represent a client, if you are an authorized representative

Receive your CRA mail online

Set your correspondence preference to “Electronic mail” to receive email notifications when CRA mail, like your notice of assessment, is available in your account.

For more information, go to Email notifications from the CRA – Individuals.

For more information

If you need help

If you need more information after reading this guide, go to Taxes or contact the CRA.

If you have questions about your OAS pension (for example, how to calculate your payments or how to report a lost cheque), contact the Service Canada office in the province or territory where you last resided.

You can also contact Service Canada by telephone at the following numbers:

Forms and publications

If you need a paper version of the CRA's forms and publications, go to Forms and publications or call one of the following numbers:

• 1-800-959-8281, from Canada and the United States
• 613-940-8495, from outside Canada and the United States.

The CRA only accepts collect calls made through a telephone operator. After your call is accepted by an automated response, you may hear a beep and notice a normal connection delay.

This service operates in Eastern Standard Time and is open Monday to Friday from 6:30 am to 11 pm and Saturday from 7:30 am to 8 pm.

Electronic mailing lists

The CRA can send you an email when new information on a subject of interest to you is available on the website. To subscribe to the electronic mailing lists, go to Canada Revenue Agency electronic mailing lists.

Tax Information Phone Service (TIPS)

For tax information by telephone, use the CRA's automated service, TIPS, by calling 1-800-267-6999.

Teletypewriter (TTY) and Video Relay Service (Canada VRS) users

If you use a TTY for a hearing or speech impairment, call 1-800-665-0354.

If you use the Canada VRS application, call 1-800-561-6393.

If you use another operator-assisted relay service, call the CRA's regular telephone numbers instead of the TTY or Canada VRS numbers.

Formal disputes (objections and appeals)

You have the right to file an objection or an appeal for the Canada Pension Plan or Employment Insurance if you disagree with an assessment, determination, or decision.

For more information about objections and related deadlines, go to Objection, appeals, disputes, and relief measures.

CRA service feedback program

Service complaints

You can expect to be treated fairly under clear and established rules, and get a high level of service each time you deal with the CRA. For more information about the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, go to Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

You may provide compliments or suggestions, and if you are not satisfied with the service you received:

1. Try to resolve the matter with the employee you have been dealing with or call the telephone number provided in the correspondence you received from the CRA. If you do not have contact information for the CRA, go to Contact the Canada Revenue Agency
2. If you have not been able to resolve your service-related issue, you can ask to discuss the matter with the employee's supervisor
3. If the problem is still not resolved, you can file a service-related complaint by filling out Form RC193, Service Feedback. For more information and to learn how to file a complaint, go to Send feedback about CRA service.

If you are not satisfied with how the CRA has handled your service-related complaint, you can submit a complaint to the Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson.

Reprisal complaints

If you have received a response regarding a previously submitted service complaint or a formal review of a CRA decision and feel you were not treated impartially by a CRA employee, you can submit a reprisal complaint by filling out Form RC459, Reprisal Complaint. For more information, go to Reprisal Complaints.

Cancel or waive penalties and interest

The CRA administers legislation, commonly called taxpayer relief provisions, that gives the CRA discretion to cancel or waive penalties and interest when taxpayers cannot meet their tax obligations due to circumstances beyond their control.

The CRA’s discretion to grant relief is limited to any period that ends within 10 calendar years before the year in which a relief request is made.

For penalties, the CRA will consider your request only if it relates to a tax year or fiscal period ending in any of the 10 calendar years before the year you make your request. For example, your request made in 2024 must relate to a penalty for a tax year or fiscal period ending in 2014 or later.

For interest on a balance owing for any tax year or fiscal period, the CRA will consider only the amounts that accrued during the 10 calendar years before the year in which you make your request. For example, your request made
in 2024 must relate to interest that accrued in 2014 or later.

Taxpayer relief requests can be made online using the CRA’s My Account, My Business Account (MyBA), or Represent a Client digital services.

You can also fill out Form RC4288, Request for Taxpayer Relief – Cancel or Waive Penalties and Interest, and send it either:

• online using My Account, MyBA or Represent a Client
• by mail to a designated office

For information about how to submit documents online, go to Submit documents online.

For more details on the required supporting documents, relief from penalties and interest, and other related forms and publications, go to Cancel or waive penalties and interest at the CRA.

Contact the CRA

By telephone

By mail