Canadians trying to get help with their tax questions are still facing long wait times and receiving inaccurate guidance from the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) call centres, according to a new report from Canada’s auditor general.
The performance audit, titled Canada Revenue Agency Contact Centres and released Oct. 21, found that most callers could not get through to an agent within the agency’s own service standards, and that when they did, the information they received was often incomplete or incorrect.
“The Canada Revenue Agency has a duty to help individuals and businesses meet their tax obligations and access benefits,” auditor general Karen Hogan said in a news release. “I am concerned that in spite of a new telephony system and other improvements, Canadians are still waiting too long to get answers to their tax questions.”
The auditor general’s office examined eight CRA contact centres between February and May 2025 to assess how quickly agents were responding to calls and how accurately they were answering general tax, business tax, and benefits questions.
In the 2024-25 fiscal year, the CRA’s target was to answer 65 per cent of calls within 15 minutes or less. The audit found that only 18 per cent of callers reached an agent in that timeframe. In June 2025, just 5 per cent of calls met the 15-minute standard. On average, callers waited about 31 minutes to speak to someone, nearly double the wait time from the previous year.
The report also found that 12 per cent of taxpayers waited on hold for more than an hour. Of the roughly 32 million calls made to CRA call centres in 2024-25, only about 10 million reached an agent. Roughly 8.6 million calls were “deflected,” meaning callers were diverted to online self-service tools and not given the option to speak with a person. For the remaining calls, it is unclear how taxpayers ultimately had their questions resolved.
The audit also highlighted issues with the accuracy of the information taxpayers received once they did get through. Responses to general individual tax questions were accurate only 17 per cent of the time, meaning 83 per cent of answers contained errors or lacked necessary information. Responses to business tax and benefits questions were accurate just over half the time.
“Canadians are trusting the Canada Revenue Agency to provide answers to their tax and benefit questions that are accurate and complete,” the report states. “Errors in taxes and missed deadlines can be costly to taxpayers.”
Call centre staff receive feedback from “quality evaluators” who review selected calls and provide written assessments. However, the auditor general found that these evaluations tended to focus more on meeting performance targets—such as call length—than on the accuracy or completeness of the information being provided. As a result, errors were often overlooked and not addressed in training or coaching.
The CRA’s artificial intelligence tool, known as Chatbot Charlie, also fell short. When auditors asked it six general tax questions, Charlie provided accurate information only one-third of the time. The report noted that the chatbot provides only general guidance and cannot assist with account-specific inquiries.
The report recommends that the CRA improve staffing levels at its call centres to reduce wait times, revise training and evaluation processes to prioritize accuracy, and refine the tools agents use to gather information. It also recommends separating questions related to MyAccount—the agency’s online portal—from broader tax and benefit inquiries to better direct callers.
In its response, included in the audit findings, the CRA said it is undertaking service improvements and plans to transition to a new contact centre engagement platform in fall 2026. The agency said it has already begun reviewing processes and technology “to allow better alignment of resources and the reduction of wait times,” including expanded use of artificial intelligence.
To improve the accuracy of information provided to callers, the CRA said it will strengthen training and coaching for call centre staff and revise performance evaluation frameworks “to ensure more focus on completeness and accuracy versus other evaluation criteria.”
The federal government has also announced new measures to simplify tax filing for some Canadians. Beginning with the 2026 tax year, the CRA will introduce a pre-filled return option for about one million lower-income Canadians with simple tax situations. The program is expected to expand to about 5.5 million people for the 2028 tax year.
In an Oct. 21 joint statement responding to the auditor general’s findings, Minister of Finance and National Revenue Francois-Philippe Champagne and Secretary of State (CRA) Wayne Long said the agency is making progress.
“In early September, we directed the CRA to implement a 100-day Service Improvement Plan designed to strengthen services, improve access, and reduce delays,” the statement said. “As we near the midpoint of this plan, we’re pleased to announce that it has already yielded significant progress. Since September 8, the CRA has extended term contracts and hired more employees.”
The CRA said a quality monitoring program launched in 2024 is helping improve response accuracy. “This program has already led to significant improvements in the accuracy of taxpayer-specific responses, which make up 80 per cent of all calls,” the ministers said.
