The Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson (OTO) received the highest number of complaints in three years, according to its latest annual report released this week. The OTO, which reviews service-related complaints about the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), reported a 27 per cent surge in complaints during the 2025-2026 tax year compared with the previous year.
Common Complaints
Complaints included processing delays with income tax forms, excessive call wait times, and inaccurate or unclear information from agents. The CRA took nearly a year—up to 50 weeks—to process complex return adjustments, far exceeding its own service standard of 20 weeks introduced in the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
Expert Reaction
Jamie Golombek, managing director of tax and estate planning at CIBC, said this aligns with what CIBC has been hearing from clients, advisers, and accountants. “The level of frustration has reached nearly an all-time high that I can remember, other than perhaps during COVID,” Golombek said. “The taxpayer is the customer and taxes are a major line item for most families in Canada. To be able to deal with that in an open, transparent and fair manner, I think, is of critical importance.” He added, “The government needs to step up and either hire the right people, more people or just work on a plan to be able to get back to Canadians faster.”
Ombudsperson's Response
Ombudsperson François Boileau said the 50-week process times are unacceptable, noting that when taxpayers don’t know the status of their files, they call the CRA, clogging contact centres. “It’s a vicious circle, in a way,” Boileau said. “The pressure on the CRA is immense.” He also suggested that increased public awareness of his office may have contributed to the rise in complaints.
Other Concerns
Other common issues included collection actions allegedly not considering taxpayers’ individual circumstances, delays with the CRA’s Service Feedback Program, and difficulty accessing CRA accounts.
Recommendations
Boileau offered seven recommendations for the CRA to improve services, including allowing Canadians to request a callback without calling a contact centre first, improving the Check CRA processing times tool and progress tracker in CRA accounts, and meeting the needs of vulnerable populations in its artificial intelligence strategy.
CRA Response
“The CRA welcomes the recommendations in the Ombudsperson’s annual report as an opportunity to continue improving transparency and service delivery,” said Nina Ioussoupova, a spokesperson for the agency, in an email to Financial Post.
