Published: October 10, 2024
More than six years after warning of excessive waiting times and frequently unreliable answers from Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) call centres, Auditor-General Karen Hogan is planning a fresh review after concerns that client complaints are well above pre-pandemic levels – despite major spending and staffing increases.
Conservative MP Adam Chambers wrote Ms. Hogan in November 2023 asking her to review the situation, given that the auditor’s office was critical of call center performance in a 2017 report. That report called on the CRA to better manage waiting times and improve the accuracy of answers provided to the public.
In a letter to Hogan, Chambers wrote that the budget for CRA call centers has increased by $330 million between 2015 – 16 and 2022 – 23, plus an additional 4,600 employees have been hired for the department.
“In total, the Government has spent $1.1 billion in additional taxpayers’ money over the past 7 years (above 2015 – 16 levels) to ‘improve’ call center performance,” Chambers wrote.
“With such increases, one would expect a significant improvement in services to Canadians. While call volume to CRA has remained relatively stable across the various lines of businesses identified, CRA’s own data indicates that call wait times have increased dramatically since 2015-16. For example, in 2023-24 (to date) the wait time for CRA’s main lines for Canadians and businesses is over 22 minutes — the highest in years.”
According to the response, CRA call centre budgets peaked in the 2022-23 fiscal year at $481 million, with 7,319 full-time equivalent employees.
Both amounts declined this fiscal year, with a $368-million budget and 5,610 full-time equivalent employees. The CRA says this budget is now $418 million through a combination their new collective bargaining agreement and reallocated funds for call centres ahead of the 2024 tax season.
Back in 2015-16, the annual CRA call centre budget was $149 million, with 2,651 full-time equivalent employees.
In this same time period, the amount of calls coming into the CRA’s main call centre for individual and business tax inquiries has remained fairly stable, at 15 million in 2015-16 and 14 million in 2022-23. From April 1 to Aug. 25 this year, the call centres took over five million inquiries.
The average wait time to speak with an agent in 2015-16 was one minute and seven seconds. So far this year, the average wait time is over 22 minutes, according to the written response to Chambers’ question.
In response, the CRA says their current data as of September ’23 has the average wait time pegged at 19 minutes and say their major call centres are currently averaging five minutes.
They add that over the past two years calls increased by about 40 per cent due to inquires about COVID-19 benefits.
On issue of calls being blocked, the CRA said it was a side-effect of their previous target to ensure 80 per cent of call reached a human within two minutes, otherwise they would receive a busy signal.
The agency says they modified their program to ensure more calls got through, which necessitated an increase in wait times and a modified target of answering 65 per cent of calls within 15 minutes. With the added funding, the CRA says they surpassed this goal, with 71 per cent of calls reaching a person within 15 minutes.
In his annual report, the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson François Boileau says that CRA-related complaints are growing more frequent and complex than they were pre-pandemic. The office received 2,189 complaints in the 2022-23 fiscal year, down from a mid-pandemic peak of 3,847, but up from 1,507 complaints in 2019-20, making this a 45 per cent increase from pre-pandemic levels.
One simple change the CRA could make is to allow Canadians to request a call back online without having to call in and wait on hold for long periods of time. The CRA did previously agree with this recommendation, but we have seen no progress since. The CRA states that while it does offer an automated callback service during peak periods, its current telephone technology doesn’t allow for a scheduled callback feature. The agency said adding the automated call back service will be a priority for the next generation of its platform.
In addition to complaints over the waiting on hold to reach CRA official, he also receives many complaints about the quality of information that the call-center agents provide. Complainants accused the CRA officials of providing information which is not accurate or the information is in contraction to other information taxpayers received from another agent.
Pro Tax Tip:
Always take notes regarding the information provided to you by the CRA agent. In addition, note down the following information about the agent of CRA who answers your phone call
- Name of the agent;
- Reporting Station of the agent;
- Agent ID
If a taxpayer is not satisfied with the information provided by the CRA official, ask the agent to escalate the matter to his supervisor and follow up with the supervisor.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the CRA call center hours of operation?
Monday to Friday; between 8AM to 8PM.
When is the best time to call the CRA to avoid long wait times?
The most ideal time to contact the CRA is during off-peak hours. This includes late mornings and late afternoons on weekdays. Mondays tend to be busier so consider calling later in the week or using their 24/7 online services for more flexibility. Also, if you speak French, the wait time in French is much shorter.
How do I know if the CRA official is giving me wrong information?
Always keep in mind that the CRA officials giving advice on the phone are not tax professionals and minimum requirement to be a CRA agent is to have a high school diploma. When in doubt, contact a top Tax Lawyer in Torontofor advice.
Will I still be at fault if I acted in good faith on wrong information provided to me?
Unfortunately, the CRA is not in any way bound by the advice its officials provide. If the CRA decides to audit your tax return, the tax auditor can ignore the CRA’s own previously provided information.
Disclaimer: This article just provides broad information. It is only up to date as of posting date. It has not been updated and may be out of date. It does not give legal advice and should not be relied on. Every tax scenario is unique to its circumstances and will differ from the instances described in the article. If you have specific legal questions, you should seek the advice of a Canadian tax lawyer.
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