Talking with the CRA about SR&ED tax credits can be frustrating!
With the 2018 tax season upon us many people will be hoping to reach someone (anyone!) at CRA to discuss their personal and corporate returns. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that the agency has corrected its long-standing issues of understaffed call centres. Some people will remember last year’s scandal when it surfaced that the CRA was actually hanging up on people because wait times were too long! In fact, between March 2016 and March 2017, the CRA only picked up a third of the calls directed to its phone line. 1
If your question cannot be answered via the CRA’s online features or from automated telephone responses, businesses and self-employed individuals with tax questions are advised to contact their local tax office.
That said, SR&ED is unique and the frontline CRA staff are not experts in this program. Generally speaking, they will not be able to advise you regarding the status of your file. As one unfortunate intern found out, this can be very frustrating:
Summary of calls to CRA:
- Jan 8/19 – 28 individual calls before connected with an agent. The call took 25 minutes
- Jan 29/19 – 2:20 Hours – Initial call: 35 mins. Second call: 51 min
- Jan 30/19 – 2:00 hours – Hung up after 2:00 hours of waiting for a senior advisor.
- Jan 31*19 – 16 minutes
Total calls to CRA – 5h01 plus multiple dials to speak with an agent = Estimated 6 hours.
In six hours you could binge watch 12 full episodes of the Office, watch two NHL games or speed walk a marathon. You could balance your budget, meal prep for the next month, or even reorganize your digital office files to ensure all your SR&ED required documentation is easily accessible.
Instead, we encourage anyone looking for an update on the status of their SR&ED ITC application to contact the correct SR&ED office directly. For your convenience, we have curated the following list:
| Province | City or Region (if applicable) | Office | Mailing Address | Phone/Fax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta | All regions | Calgary SR&ED Tax Services Office | #125, 220-4th Ave South East Calgary, AB T2G 0L1 | Tel: 1-587-475-3030 Fax: 1-403-292-5751 |
| British Columbia | All regions | Fraser Valley & Norther Tax Services Office | 9737 King George Boulevard, Surrey, British Columbia V3T 5W6 | Tel: 1-866-317-0473 Fax: 604-586-2441 |
| Manitoba | All regions | Calgary SR&ED Tax Services Office | #125, 220-4th Ave South East Calgary, AB T2G 0L1 | Tel: 1-587-475-3030 Fax: 1-403-292-5751 |
| New Brunswick | All regions | Nova Scotia SR&ED Tax Services Office | 100 - 145 Hobsons Lake Drive PO Box 638 Halifax, NS B3J 2T5 | Tel: 1-866-433-5986 Fax: 1-902-426-8932 |
| Newfoundland | All regions | Nova Scotia SR&ED Tax Services Office | 100 - 145 Hobsons Lake Drive PO Box 638 Halifax, NS B3J 2T5 | Tel: 1-866-433-5986 Fax: 1-902-426-8932 |
| Northwest Territories | All regions | Calgary SR&ED Tax Services Office | #125, 220-4th Ave South East Calgary, AB T2G 0L1 | Tel: 1-587-475-3030 Fax: 1-403-292-5751 |
| Nova Scotia | All regions | Nova Scotia SR&ED Tax Services Office | 100 - 145 Hobsons Lake Drive PO Box 638 Halifax, NS B3J 2T5 | Tel: 1-866-433-5986 Fax: 1-902-426-8932 |
| Nunavut | All regions | Toronto SR&ED Tax Services Office | 1 Front Street W Suite 100 Toronto, ON M5J 2X6 | Tel: 1-416-973-1717 Fax: 1-416-952-8334 |
| Ontario | Ottawa | Toronto SR&ED Tax Services Office | 1 Front Street W Suite 100 Toronto, ON M5J 2X6 | Tel: 1-416-973-1717 Fax: 1-416-952-8334 |
| Ontario | East Central | Toronto SR&ED Tax Services Office | 1 Front Street W Suite 100 Toronto, ON M5J 2X6 | Tel: 1-416-973-1717 Fax: 1-416-952-8334 |
| Ontario | Northern Ontario | Toronto SR&ED Tax Services Office | 1 Front Street W Suite 100 Toronto, ON M5J 2X6 | Tel: 1-416-973-1717 Fax: 1-416-952-8334 |
| Ontario | Toronto Centre | Toronto SR&ED Tax Services Office | 1 Front Street W Suite 100 Toronto, ON M5J 2X6 | Tel: 1-416-973-1717 Fax: 1-416-952-8334 |
| Ontario | Toronto East | Toronto SR&ED Tax Services Office | 1 Front Street W Suite 100 Toronto, ON M5J 2X6 | Tel: 1-416-973-1717 Fax: 1-416-952-8334 |
| Ontario | Toronto North | Toronto SR&ED Tax Services Office | 1 Front Street W Suite 100 Toronto, ON M5J 2X6 | Tel: 1-416-973-1717 Fax: 1-416-952-8334 |
| Ontario | Hamilton | Mississauga SR&ED Tax Services Office | 5800 Hurontario Street Mississauga, ON L5R 4B4 | Tel: 1-905-566-6010 Fax: 1-905-566-6154 |
| Ontario | Kitchener-Waterloo | Mississauga SR&ED Tax Services Office | 5800 Hurontario Street Mississauga, ON L5R 4B4 | Tel: 1-905-566-6010 Fax: 1-905-566-6154 |
| Ontario | London | Mississauga SR&ED Tax Services Office | 5800 Hurontario Street Mississauga, ON L5R 4B4 | Tel: 1-905-566-6010 Fax: 1-905-566-6154 |
| Ontario | Mississauga | Mississauga SR&ED Tax Services Office | 5800 Hurontario Street Mississauga, ON L5R 4B4 | Tel: 1-905-566-6010 Fax: 1-905-566-6154 |
| Ontario | St. Catharines | Mississauga SR&ED Tax Services Office | 5800 Hurontario Street Mississauga, ON L5R 4B4 | Tel: 1-905-566-6010 Fax: 1-905-566-6154 |
| Ontario | Thunder Bay | Mississauga SR&ED Tax Services Office | 5800 Hurontario Street Mississauga, ON L5R 4B4 | Tel: 1-905-566-6010 Fax: 1-905-566-6154 |
| Ontario | Windsor | Mississauga SR&ED Tax Services Office | 5800 Hurontario Street Mississauga, ON L5R 4B4 | Tel: 1-905-566-6010 Fax: 1-905-566-6154 |
| PEI | All regions | Nova Scotia SR&ED Tax Services Office | 100 - 145 Hobsons Lake Drive PO Box 638 Halifax, NS B3J 2T5 | Tel: 1-866-433-5986 Fax: 1-902-426-8932 |
| Quebec | All regions | Western Quebec SR&ED Tax Services Office | 3400 Jean Béraud Ave Laval, QC H7T 2Z2 | Tel: 1-888-784-8709 Fax: 514-338-4584 |
| Saskatchewan | All regions | Calgary SR&ED Tax Services Office | #125, 220-4th Ave South East Calgary, AB T2G 0L1 | Tel: 1-587-475-3030 Fax: 1-403-292-5751 |
| Yukon | All regions | Fraser Valley & Norther Tax Services Office | 9737 King George Boulevard, Surrey, British Columbia V3T 5W6 | Tel: 1-866-317-0473 Fax: 604-586-2441 |
Q: I’m still frustrated. What can I do? A: As a taxpayer, you have a right to timely updates. If you are not happy with the service you have received from the CRA the best thing you can register a complaint. With enough people shedding light on this issue, the speed at which responses are received will improve.
