How To Get Updates On Your SR&ED Application (And What Not To Do)
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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 | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta | All regions | Fraser Valley and Interior Tax Services Office | 9755 King George Blvd, Surrey, British Columbia V3T 5E1 | Tel: 1-866-578-4538 Fax: 418-556-1825 | Monday-Friday - 8 am to 4 pm (local time) Saturday and Sunday - Closed |
| British Columbia | All regions | Fraser Valley and Interior Tax Services Office | 9755 King George Blvd, Surrey, British Columbia V3T 5E1 | Tel: 1-866-578-4538 Fax: 418-556-1825 | Monday-Friday - 8 am to 4 pm (local time) Saturday and Sunday - Closed |
| Manitoba | All regions | Fraser Valley and Interior Tax Services Office | 9755 King George Blvd, Surrey, British Columbia V3T 5E1 | Tel: 1-866-578-4538 Fax: 418-556-1825 | Monday-Friday - 8 am to 4 pm (local time) Saturday and Sunday - Closed |
| New Brunswick | All regions | Nova Scotia Tax Services Office | 100 - 145 Hobsons Lake Drive PO Box 638 Halifax, NS B3J 2T5 | Tel: 1-866-433-5986 Fax: 418-556-1825 | Monday-Friday - 8 am to 5 pm (local time) Saturday and Sunday - Closed |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | All regions | Nova Scotia Tax Services Office | 100 - 145 Hobsons Lake Drive PO Box 638 Halifax, NS B3J 2T5 | Tel: 1-866-433-5986 Fax: 418-556-1825 | Monday-Friday - 8 am to 5 pm (local time) Saturday and Sunday - Closed |
| Northwest Territories | All regions | Fraser Valley and Interior Tax Services Office | 9755 King George Blvd, Surrey, British Columbia V3T 5E1 | Tel: 1-866-578-4538 Fax: 418-556-1825 | Monday-Friday - 8 am to 4 pm (local time) Saturday and Sunday - Closed |
| Nova Scotia | All regions | Nova Scotia Tax Services Office | 100 - 145 Hobsons Lake Drive PO Box 638 Halifax, NS B3J 2T5 | Tel: 1-866-433-5986 Fax: 418-556-1825 | Monday-Friday - 8 am to 5 pm (local time) Saturday and Sunday - Closed |
| Nunavut | All regions | Northern Ontario Tax Services Office | 5001 Yonge Street North York, ON M2N 6R9 | Tel: 1-833-446-0934 Fax: 418-556-1825 | Monday-Friday - 7:30 am to 5 pm (local time) Saturday and Sunday - Closed |
| Ontario | All regions | Northern Ontario Tax Services Office | 5001 Yonge Street North York, ON M2N 6R9 | Tel: 1-833-446-0934 Fax: 418-556-1825 | Monday-Friday - 7:30 am to 5 pm (local time) Saturday and Sunday - Closed |
| PEI | All regions | Nova Scotia Tax Services Office | 100 - 145 Hobsons Lake Drive PO Box 638 Halifax, NS B3J 2T5 | Tel: 1-866-433-5986 Fax: 418-556-1825 | Monday-Friday - 8 am to 5 pm (local time) Saturday and Sunday - Closed |
| Quebec | All regions | Western Quebec Tax Services Office | 3400 Jean Béraud Ave Laval, QC H7T 2Z2 | Tel: 1-888-784-8709 Fax: 418-556-1825 | Monday-Friday - 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (local time) Saturday and Sunday - Closed |
| Saskatchewan | All regions | Fraser Valley and Interior Tax Services Office | 9755 King George Blvd, Surrey, British Columbia V3T 5E1 | Tel: 1-866-578-4538 Fax: 418-556-1825 | Monday-Friday - 8 am to 4 pm (local time) Saturday and Sunday - Closed |
| Yukon | All regions | Fraser Valley and Interior Tax Services Office | 9755 King George Blvd, Surrey, British Columbia V3T 5E1 | Tel: 1-866-578-4538 Fax: 418-556-1825 | Monday-Friday - 8 am to 4 pm (local time) Saturday and Sunday - Closed |
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.