Review of your tax return by the CRA

Canada's tax system is based on self-assessment, which means that individuals complete their tax return to report their annual income and calculate if they have an amount owing or refund to receive.

Each year, the CRA conducts a number of review activities that promote awareness of and compliance with the laws it administers. These reviews are an important part of the compliance activities we undertake to maintain the integrity of and Canadians' confidence in the Canadian tax system.

Review programs promote taxpayer education by identifying common areas of misunderstanding. Analysis of results and feedback from taxpayers are used to review and improve the guides and forms the CRA provides to the public. For a list of errors most frequently made by taxpayers on their tax return, see Common adjustments.

Our review programs include the Pre-assessment Review Program, the Processing Review Program, and the Matching Program. Under these programs, we review a number of deductions and credits on individual income tax returns and ensure that various income amounts have been correctly reported.

Note
It is important to emphasize that when we select your return for review, this review does not represent a tax audit. For more information about the tax audit and related policies and practices, see Information Circular IC71-14, The Tax Audit.

Forms and publications

• General income tax and benefit package

Related topics

• Taxpayer Bill of Rights
• Complaints and disputes