Some Canadians may have been waiting longer than usual for the Canadian Revenue Agency to process tax returns due to “processing issues,” the organization said, adding that the problems have been resolved.
“The CRA encountered some processing issues with tax returns that included information related to the First Home Savings Account (FHSA) opened during 2023,” Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) spokesperson Kim Thiffault told The Epoch Times in an email.
“The issue was identified immediately and the CRA worked diligently to resolve it as soon as possible. We can now confirm that the issue has been resolved and Canadians with an FHSA can now expect their notices of assessment within normal timeframes.”
“Filed on Feb 19, had a maxed FHSA, and still haven’t received my [Notice of Assessment (NOA)],” one user posted.
“I have also not received my NOA! I don’t know why! I filed on 28th February! I put only 5K in the FHSA and 15k in RRSP,” another replied.
The FHSA is a registered savings account that can help first-time homebuyers save money to buy or build their home. Individuals who opened an account in 2023 can claim up to $8,000 on tax returns. The lifetime limit for FHSA is $40,000.
Withdrawals from an FHSA to buy a home are also tax-free, meaning the money does not need to be included in annual income, according to the Revenue Agency.
The plans were introduced in Budget 2022.
Ms. Thiffault said the organization aims to issue a notice of assessment within two weeks of receiving individual income tax returns.
“The CRA aims to meet this standard 95 percent of the time. In the 2022 filing season, 96 percent of the on-time filed digital T1 individual income tax returns received were processed within this standard.”
However, the email said that sometimes it can take longer to process tax returns.
“We regret any inconvenience that this may have caused taxpayers,” she said.
The CRA notes that those who file digitally and have direct deposit can get a refund in about eight days. However, processing paper tax returns can take up to eight weeks.
Not all tax returns were delayed, according to Reddit users.
“Filed on March 17. Logged in today, March 21, and already received an express NOA with issued date of March 28. I have maxed FHSA, and a lot in RRSP,” one post said.
“I’ve never experienced this much delay (more than 3 weeks now),” a March 19 post said. “The biggest change from the last tax filing for me is of course…FHSA. Edit: The wait was finally over after crossing the 4-week mark.”
