Auditor General Slams CRA Call Centres for Inaccurate Tax Guidance

 Auditor General of Canada Karen Hogan holds a press conference at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa on Tuesday, June 10, 2025.

The Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) call centres are failing to provide Canadians with reliable tax information, according to a new report from Auditor General Karen Hogan.

Between February and May 2025, Hogan’s office placed test calls to CRA contact centres and found that agents gave accurate and complete answers to individual tax questions only 17 per cent of the time. While responses to business tax or benefits inquiries were somewhat better, accuracy reached just 54 per cent, with completeness hovering around 30 per cent.

The report also highlighted long wait times. Despite the CRA’s target of answering 65 per cent of calls within 15 minutes, only 18 per cent of calls met that standard. In June, fewer than five per cent were answered within the promised timeframe, with average waits stretching to more than half an hour 

Hogan criticized the agency for prioritizing staff schedules over service quality, warning that Canadians risk making costly mistakes when they cannot access dependable tax advice. “The CRA has a duty to help individuals and businesses meet their tax obligations and access benefits,” she said.

The findings raise serious concerns about the CRA’s ability to support taxpayers, especially as many rely on call centres for guidance during filing season.