The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) says incorrect error codes that appear when tax returns are submitted electronically are affecting a “small” number of returns.
In an update dated April 25, the CRA outlined the outstanding error codes triggering incorrectly in EFILE and NETFILE software. The error codes relate to tax returns of taxpayers who receive both retirement and disability benefits, including taxpayers in Quebec. The latter situation requires a system change by the CRA, and the agency will provide an update once the change is implemented, the update says.
There are also error codes in a “small” number of cases in which there are anomalies with Canada Pension Plan and Quebec Pension Plan contributions or pensionable earnings reported on an individual taxpayer’s T4, the update says. The CRA will likewise be implementing a system change to address the problem and will provide an update once the change is made.
“The CRA continues to track cases affected by these errors,” the update says. The agency still intends to provide arrears interest and penalty relief proactively to affected taxpayers who file late after receiving an incorrect error code that could not be resolved when attempting to file on or before the tax-filing deadline.
As previously announced, to be eligible for the relief, taxpayers must have attempted to submit their returns electronically on or before April 30, received the specific error code (view the codes online), and been unsuccessful in resolving the error code despite taking the appropriate corrective action.
The CRA’s latest update follows an onerous tax-filing season that has also included duplicate or missing tax slips in CRA portals. Many tax practitioners are struggling to complete tax returns on time and correctly as they input data manually and attempt to ensure that clients’ tax slips are properly accounted for.
Tax practitioners are warning clients of increased costs and the need to triage returns based on various filing deadlines.