Making information more helpful and easier to understand

Canadians will have access to information that is meaningful, easy to understand, and is right the first time – no matter how they choose to interact with us.

Clients are more likely to meet their tax obligations if they have access to the right information, support, and services that they may need. The Taxpayer Bill of Rights states that every Canadian has the right to complete, accurate, clear, and timely information that explains the laws and policies that apply to their unique situation.

“The CRA makes information easy to understand, and helps me get it right.”

What we're doing

Improving online information

We are engaging with Canadians to redesign our webpages and improve online users' experiences. We want Canadians to be able to find the information they need, without having to call the Agency's call centres. Recently, we optimized web pages that explain how businesses can register for a GST/HST account, making them significantly more effective for our clients. Following this success, we updated our "Contact Us" page to be easier to understand and, in response to Canadians' feedback, we now provide real-time wait times for the majority of toll-free numbers on that page. The CRA has also applied research and best practices to optimize web pages related to the Canada child benefit.

Fast and effective site and [I] was able to access my information quickly.CRA client

Improving call centre accuracy

Our call centres answer millions of enquiries every year. To serve Canadians better, we're providing agents with additional tools, resources and training needed to provide Canadians with timely and accurate answers. Our new telephone system allows skills-based routing, which sends calls to the right agents faster based on their skill set and the training they received. When an agent cannot answer a question, we are making it easier to transfer calls to another call centre agent. To demonstrate how progress is being made, we continue to monitor caller satisfaction, and we have implemented call recording so that we can validate our performance and take corrective measures if needed.

[The agent] I spoke to was polite, cheerful, answered my questions clearly, and told me exactly what I should do to deal with my accidental over contribution to my RRSPCRA client

Improve print forms and guides

Canadians have said they find it hard to find the forms they need, so we’re making it easier for paper filers by mailing T1 income tax packages to those who filed paper returns last year. This year, the tax package they receive will use more plain language and include fewer forms wherever possible. To continue improving the tax package, the CRA will be surveying those requesting the income tax package to ensure that what is provided is meaningful to their specific needs.

We are also working with partners to see how we might further improve the tax filing experience over the years to come. To further simplify our forms, we’re redesigning a number of application forms to include more plain language and simplified steps. High use forms for benefits, such as the Canada workers benefit and Canada child benefits forms, will be targeted first.

The review letters I received were very clear about what documents I needed to submit. It was a stressless experience.CRA client

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Date modified:: 2020-03-09

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