On this page
- What a Notice of Assessment Is and When You Get One
- How to Get a Copy: My Account, Phone and Mail
- Your NOA Line by Line
- RRSP Deduction Limit and Unused Contribution Room
- Carry Forward Balances: Tuition, Capital Losses, Home Buyers’ Plan
- “We Changed Your Return”: How to Read the Explanation of Changes
- How Long After Your NOA the Refund Arrives
- Notice of Assessment vs Notice of Reassessment
- If You Disagree: Adjustment vs Objection, and the 90 Day Clock
- Why Lenders and Immigration Ask for Your NOA
- FAQ: CRA Notices of Assessment
- Got an NOA You Do Not Understand? Send It to Us for a Read
What a Notice of Assessment Is and When You Get One
Your notice of assessment, usually just called the NOA, is CRA’s receipt for your tax return. It confirms what CRA decided you owe or are owed, shows any changes CRA made to what you filed, and carries several numbers you will need later in the year.
The quick orientation:
- You get one after every return is processed, whether you owe, are owed, or come out at zero.
- Two weeks is the usual turnaround for a return filed online, eight weeks for paper, and up to 16 weeks for a non resident return.
- The single most valuable thing on it is your RRSP deduction limit, which is the only official source for how much you can contribute.
- If CRA changed your return, the Explanation of changes section says so, and a 90 day clock starts for objecting.
- Lenders, mortgage brokers and immigration sponsorship applications all ask for it, so keep every one.
Here is what each part means.
The NOA summarises the amounts CRA calculated for your income tax and benefit return. It is not a copy of your return. It is CRA’s version of your return, which is exactly why you should read it rather than filing it away.
Timing:
| How you filed | Typical time to assessment |
| NETFILE or EFILE | About 2 weeks |
| Paper | About 8 weeks |
| Non resident return | Up to 16 weeks |
Things that push it out: filing late, being selected for a pre assessment or post assessment review, filing more than one return at once, or CRA asking you for documentation.
Express NOA is worth knowing about. If your tax software supports it and you are registered for CRA online services, you can receive the notice in your software within minutes of filing. It is the same document, delivered immediately.
How to Get a Copy: My Account, Phone and Mail
| Route | What you get |
| CRA My Account | View and print notices for the current year and prior years. Fastest, and free. |
| Represent a Client | Your accountant can pull it for you, often the quickest option if you are not registered |
| Phone, 1-800-959-8281 | Request a paper copy by mail, allow a couple of weeks |
| Alternate formats | Audio, braille and large print, on request by phone |
If you are registered for online mail, CRA stops sending paper notices. A lot of people conclude they never received an NOA when it has been sitting in My Account the whole time. Check there first.
For most purposes (mortgage applications especially), a printed copy from My Account is accepted. You do not need CRA to mail you an original.
Your NOA Line by Line
Notice details. The last four digits of your SIN, the tax year, and the date of the notice. That date is the one that starts the objection clock, so note it.
Account summary. The headline: refund, balance owing, or nil. If there is a balance owing, it shows the amount and the payment due date. If CRA applied your refund against another debt (an old balance, a student loan, family support arrears), it shows here.
Tax assessment. The key line numbers from your return with the amounts CRA used. This is where you compare CRA’s version to what you filed. Look particularly at total income, net income, taxable income, total tax deducted and the total credits.
Explanation of changes and other important information. Read this section even when the bottom line matches what you expected. It explains any adjustment CRA made and often flags something relevant for next year.
NETFILE access code. An eight character code, letters and numbers, usually on the right. It is used as an extra identity check when you file next year. Not mandatory, but convenient, so do not throw the notice away without noting it.
Registered plan statements. RRSP deduction limit, unused RRSP contributions, Home Buyers’ Plan balance, Lifelong Learning Plan balance and First Home Savings Account participation room, where applicable.
RRSP Deduction Limit and Unused Contribution Room
This is the most consequential number on the page and the one most often misread.
| What it says | What it means |
| RRSP deduction limit | The maximum you can deduct for the coming year |
| Unused RRSP contributions | Amounts you already put in but have not yet deducted. These reduce what you can still contribute |
| Available contribution room | Deduction limit minus unused contributions. This is the real number |
The trap: people read the deduction limit, contribute that amount, and forget that they already have unused contributions sitting in the plan. The result is an over contribution, and the penalty is 1% per month on the excess above the $2,000 cushion. It accrues quietly until CRA sends a T1-OVP assessment a year later.
Your limit is built from 18% of the prior year’s earned income, up to the annual dollar maximum, minus any pension adjustment, plus unused room carried forward. Earned income includes employment income and net business income. It does not include dividends, which is one reason owner managers paying themselves entirely in dividends end up with no RRSP room at all.
Carry Forward Balances: Tuition, Capital Losses, Home Buyers’ Plan
Your NOA is also the official record of the balances you are carrying forward. Check them every year, because once they are wrong they stay wrong until someone notices.
| Carry forward | Why it matters |
| Unused tuition amounts | Federal and provincial amounts are tracked separately and provincial credits generally do not move with you if you change province |
| Net capital losses | Carried back three years or forward indefinitely, usable only against capital gains |
| Non capital losses | Carried back three years, forward twenty |
| Home Buyers’ Plan balance | Shows your outstanding balance and the minimum repayment due for the coming year. Miss a repayment and that amount becomes taxable income |
| Lifelong Learning Plan balance | Same structure as the HBP |
| FHSA participation room | How much you can still contribute |
| Charitable donations | Carried forward up to five years |
The Home Buyers’ Plan line is the one that generates unexpected tax bills. The repayment is not optional and it is not automatic. If you do not designate a contribution as an HBP repayment on your return, the minimum repayment is added to your income for the year.
“We Changed Your Return”: How to Read the Explanation of Changes
If CRA adjusted something, this section explains why. The common ones:
| What CRA says | What actually happened |
| “We changed your total income to include amounts from slips we received” | You missed a T slip. CRA has it. If this is the second time in four years, a 20% repeated failure to report income penalty may apply |
| “We disallowed your claim for…” | Documentation was not provided or did not support the claim |
| “We changed your net federal tax” | Usually a knock on effect of another change, not a separate issue |
| “We recalculated your benefits” | Your CCB or GST credit entitlement moved because assessed income changed |
| “Your return was adjusted to agree with our records” | A carry forward balance you claimed does not match what CRA has on file |
The last one is worth chasing rather than accepting. Mismatched carry forwards are often CRA’s error, or the result of an earlier return that was never adjusted, and accepting it silently means losing the amount permanently.
Maxpro Financials reviews notices of assessment against the return as filed for clients across BC and Alberta, which is how most of these mismatches get caught in the first place.
How Long After Your NOA the Refund Arrives
If you are on direct deposit, the refund typically arrives within a few days of the notice, sometimes the same day. By cheque, add a week or two for mail.
| Filing method | Refund typically arrives |
| Online, direct deposit | About 2 weeks from filing |
| Paper, direct deposit | About 8 weeks from filing |
| Non resident return | Up to 16 weeks |
Why a refund gets held up:
- CRA applied it to a balance owing on another account, including GST/HST or a prior year
- It was applied to a third party debt such as defaulted student loans or family support
- Your return was selected for review and CRA is waiting on documents
- Your direct deposit information is out of date
- You have not filed a prior year return. CRA can hold a current year refund until outstanding returns are filed
CRA does not issue refunds under $2.
Notice of Assessment vs Notice of Reassessment
| Notice of assessment | Notice of reassessment | |
| When | After the return is first processed | After the return is changed, by you or by CRA |
| Trigger | Filing | Your adjustment request, or a CRA review or audit |
| Objection deadline | Runs from this notice’s date | Runs from this notice’s date, a new 90 days |
How far back CRA can reassess. The normal reassessment period is three years from the date of the original notice of assessment for individuals. It extends to six years in certain circumstances, and there is no limit at all where there has been misrepresentation attributable to neglect, carelessness, wilful default or fraud, or where you signed a waiver.
That is worth sitting with: the three year comfort most people assume they have is conditional on the return being reasonably accurate in the first place.
If You Disagree: Adjustment vs Objection, and the 90 Day Clock
Two different routes, and choosing the wrong one wastes months.
You made the mistake → file a T1 adjustment. No deadline beyond the 10 year limit for refunds. Use Change my return in My Account, ReFILE, or Form T1-ADJ.
CRA made a change you disagree with → file a notice of objection. Deadline is the later of:
- 90 days after the date on the notice of assessment or reassessment, and
- one year after the filing due date for that return
Objections are filed through Register my formal dispute in My Account or on Form T400A.
Practical advice: if the 90 days is running out and you are still gathering documents, file the objection anyway. It preserves your rights and can be withdrawn later. A missed objection deadline requires an extension application, which is discretionary and frequently refused.
Why Lenders and Immigration Ask for Your NOA
The NOA is a CRA issued document confirming assessed income, which is why it is treated as more reliable than a T4 or a self prepared return.
| Who asks | What they want |
| Mortgage lenders | Usually the most recent two years, plus confirmation of no balance owing |
| Business lenders | Two to three years for the owner, alongside corporate statements |
| Immigration, family sponsorship | Typically three years, to demonstrate the income threshold |
| Landlords | Increasingly requested as proof of income |
| Student aid and subsidy programs | Assessed net income for eligibility |
Two things lenders look at beyond the income figure: whether there is a balance owing on the account, and whether the most recent year is actually filed. An unfiled prior year will stall a mortgage approval even when the current year looks strong.
So: download every notice of assessment as a PDF the year you get it. Do not rely on being able to find it in six years when a lender wants it on a Friday afternoon.
FAQ: CRA Notices of Assessment
How long does it take to get a notice of assessment? About two weeks for an online return, eight weeks for paper, up to 16 weeks for a non resident return.
I never got mine in the mail. Where is it? If you are registered for online mail, CRA does not send paper. It is in My Account.
Is a printout from My Account acceptable to a lender? Yes, in almost all cases.
What is the NETFILE access code on my NOA? An eight character code used as an additional identity check when you file next year. Optional but handy.
CRA changed my return. Do I have to accept it? No. If you disagree, you have 90 days from the notice date to object, or longer if the one year rule gives you more time.
How much can I put in my RRSP? The deduction limit minus any unused contributions already in the plan. Over contributing beyond the $2,000 cushion costs 1% per month.
Can CRA go back more than three years? Yes. Six years in some cases, and with no time limit where there was misrepresentation due to neglect, carelessness or fraud.
My refund has not arrived even though I have the NOA. Why? Usually applied against another debt, held pending a review, or sent to outdated banking information. Check the account summary section first.
What is the difference between an assessment and a reassessment? The assessment is the first one. A reassessment follows any change to the return, and it starts a fresh 90 day objection window.
Do I need to keep my old notices? Yes. Lenders, immigration applications and your own carry forward tracking all depend on them. Save a PDF each year.
Got an NOA You Do Not Understand? Send It to Us for a Read
Most notices of assessment are routine. The ones that are not tend to look routine too, because a changed carry forward balance or a disallowed claim shows up as one line in a section most people skim.
Maxpro Financials reviews notices of assessment against the return as filed, checks the RRSP and carry forward balances against our own records, and tells you plainly whether CRA’s change is correct, worth objecting to, or better fixed with an adjustment. If the 90 day objection window is close, that is a same week conversation rather than a next month one.
Book a consultation or call BC +1 (778) 951 1269 / Alberta +1 (403) 437 6016.
