CRA’s My Account needs repairs — now

The concept is great. The delivery? Not so much.

And in this case, the delivery is what matters, because if mistakes are made, you are the one who is going to carry the cost.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) endlessly nudges you towards its personal tax information system, My Account, which can be a wonderful option. It can help you through the tax process, automatically supply and auto-fill tax slips, and show you whether or not you can put money into your tax-free savings account (TFSA).

It can do all that, except when it does not.

Currently, the site boasts a few caveats.

Like, “While the CRA works to process tax slips and make them available as they are received, it is possible that your slips may not currently be available in your CRA account or through the Auto-fill my return service. If you have not yet filed your 2024 tax return and do not see a tax slip in your CRA account, we recommend using the slip provided by the issuer (e.g., your financial institution or employer).”

Well, OK. Your tax slips are all in one handy online place, except they might be incomplete.

Or, “TFSA information, including contribution room, is updated once your financial institution’s annual TFSA return is processed. We are experiencing delays in processing these returns as a result of a new data validation process. TFSA information is temporarily unavailable in your CRA account to prevent errors.”

OK again: we will tell you how much you can put in a TFSA, except the information is delayed, so we will not.

And that’s not all.

Regularly, the site says it will take some time to log you in. Other times, it is mysteriously unavailable. And still other times, you have to go through the login process repeatedly, because you have been kicked out over and over again.

The issue with some of the problems is that you can be penalized for making mistakes based on the information you have at hand. Overshoot your TFSA and you risk stiff penalties. Fail to declare income because T4s or T4As fail to appear in the auto-fill system, and you face paying interest charges on unpaid tax, and penalties for repeated errors.

The basic rule for a government website — heck, for any website — should be that you cannot offer a service if you cannot deliver what you are promising. The problems with My Account are long-standing, and show no sign of improving.

(But hey, at least it has a chat widget.)

It doesn’t end there. When you run afoul of an error or omission on the website’s side, clearing it up can take months, if not years.

First, you have to get your case, and perhaps your appeal into the hands of an overworked CRA human being, before even beginning a process that takes six months if it is simple, but up to a year if it is even moderately complex.

All that time, interest can be piling up, interest will be forgiven only if you are successful in your appeal.

All this, as the CRA human workforce steadily shrinks. The Union of Taxation Employees points out that 3,000 term contract and permanent positions have been cut at the agency since 2024, with 280 being shown the door in May.

A CRA memo told employees, “It is likely that some internal services will be impacted, with some services being eliminated entirely.” Among the changes? The Digital Transformation Program Branch was apparently being wound up, with its duties being moved to other parts of the CRA.

Wonder if it was handling issues with My Account?

Hopefully not.

Because My Account is crying out for a little My Systems Update — or a lot.