Where Is My Refund and Who Does CRA Share it With?

Taxpayers and their advisors may consider this question more frequently as CRA pushes for more electronic communications, such as the provision of email addresses on this year’s tax return.  

Providing an email address on your tax return will in fact authorize CRA to stop sending out Notices of Assessment and Reassessment by mail; important sources of taxpayer information  - including your refund -   information which can be shared with numerous stakeholders.

Who are those stakeholders?  CRA makes reference to the answer on Page 4 of the T1 General 2014.  Underneath the taxpayer signature you’ll find small print about why personal information from the return is shared (for tax assessment, audit, compliance, evaluation or verification purposes) and with whom (other federal, provincial or territorial government institutions). But you’ll have to dig if you want more information

The full list of information sharing, is found in InfoSource, which is a series of publications containing information about the Government of Canada's access to information and privacy programs.  According to its home page, the primary purpose of InfoSource is to assist individuals in exercising their rights under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

The publication CRA PPU 005 is enlightening.  For example, did you know that information pertaining to taxpayer indebtedness can be shared with debtors and the courts, or with CRA should you seek employment with them; the latter with consent?

It’s Your Money.  Your Life.  Be sure you know where your tax refund is. In an age of email fraud and the potential for missed responses due to email overload, it may pay to follow its arrival more carefully. 

Next week we will look at the full list outlining how and for what purposes your tax information can be shared.

We’ll report on the final results of the Knowledge Bureau Poll next week; in the meantime, there is still time for you to weigh in with your opinion this week.

Evelyn Jacks is President of Knowledge Bureau, a national educational institute focused on providing knowledge and skills required to navigate a rapidly changing environment in the tax and financial services.

"I believe your Notice of Assessment is probably more secure on My Account than it is in the community mailbox. However, clients should be told to make sure they tell the CRA if they change their email address."
By Pete Coles on February 12, 2015

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