In an August 26, 2015 Tax Court of Canada case, the taxpayer wished to object to a CRA Notice of Assessment (NoA) but missed the deadline for filing the Notice of Objection. The NoA was received by the taxpayer’s wife, however, the taxpayer and his wife were going through divorce proceedings at the time of receipt and the mail was not forwarded to the taxpayer. Presumably, as the taxpayer did not see the NoA in time, he was unable to file a Notice of Objection in the proper time frame.
Taxpayer loses
A NoA is deemed to have been received by the person to whom it was sent on the day it was mailed. Non-receipt of the NoA cannot generally be used as grounds for extension of time unless an error is made by CRA. In this case, because the client did not update his address with CRA in a timely fashion, the Appeal was dismissed and the taxpayer was not permitted the extension.
Action Item – Ensure your contact information, including address, is up-to-date with the CRA.