Accurate
Country-specific legal content
Drafted with legal expertise for each jurisdiction, far more thorough than AI-generated drafts that copy generic clauses across borders.
Tax & CRACanada
CRA Taxpayer Relief Request — Cancel Penalties & Interest (Canada)
When illness, disaster, a CRA delay or genuine financial hardship put you behind, the Canada Revenue Agency has the power to cancel the penalties and interest — not the tax, but often the fastest-growing part of the debt. Our Canadian template produces the request Form RC4288 would carry, as a letter built for the decision-maker: the right relief ground under Information Circular IC07-1R1, a dated chronology with causation, the hardship disclosure where it applies, and the Bozzer ten-year window that covers interest even on old debts — plus the second review and Federal Court route if the first answer is no.
Free to useInstant PDFNo account required
PDF (free) + editable Word (.docx) with Expert
Request for Taxpayer Relief — Penalties and Interest
Application Under Subsection 220(3.1) Of The Income Tax Act · June 8, 2026
Susan E. Whitfield
88 Glebe Avenue, Ottawa ON K1S 2C3
+1 (613) 555-0147
susan.whitfield@email.ca
June 8, 2026
Canada Revenue Agency — Taxpayer Relief Program
Canada Revenue Agency
Sudbury Tax Centre
1050 Notre Dame Avenue
Sudbury ON P3A 5C2
Sudbury Tax Centre
1050 Notre Dame Avenue
Sudbury ON P3A 5C2
REQUEST FOR TAXPAYER RELIEF — PENALTIES AND INTEREST
Years: 2023 and 2024 · Individual income tax (T1)
Dear Sir or Madam,
I request relief under subsection 220(3.1) of the Income Tax Act and Information Circular IC07-1R1: please cancel the penalties and interest already assessed and waive any further amounts accruing on my individual income tax (t1) account for the 2023 and 2024 taxation year(s). The ground relied on is Extraordinary circumstances. I understand that relief under subsection 220(3.1) extends to penalties and interest only — it does not reduce the underlying tax, which is addressed separately. This letter contains the information Form RC4288 would carry; a signed letter is an accepted way to make the request.
I request relief under subsection 220(3.1) of the Income Tax Act and Information Circular IC07-1R1: please cancel the penalties and interest already assessed and waive any further amounts accruing on my individual income tax (t1) account for the 2023 and 2024 taxation year(s). The ground relied on is Extraordinary circumstances. I understand that relief under subsection 220(3.1) extends to penalties and interest only — it does not reduce the underlying tax, which is addressed separately. This letter contains the information Form RC4288 would carry; a signed letter is an accepted way to make the request.
1.
TAXPAYER DETAILS
Full name: Susan E. Whitfield
SIN / Business Number: 987-654-321
Address: 88 Glebe Avenue, Ottawa ON K1S 2C3
Telephone: +1 (613) 555-0147
Email: susan.whitfield@email.ca
Account: Individual income tax (T1)
SIN / Business Number: 987-654-321
Address: 88 Glebe Avenue, Ottawa ON K1S 2C3
Telephone: +1 (613) 555-0147
Email: susan.whitfield@email.ca
Account: Individual income tax (T1)
2.
AMOUNTS FOR WHICH RELIEF IS REQUESTED
Taxation year(s) / period(s): 2023 and 2024
Penalties: 2,150.00 CAD
Interest: 1,380.00 CAD
Relief requested: Cancel the penalties and interest already assessed and waive any further amounts accruing.
Penalties: 2,150.00 CAD
Interest: 1,380.00 CAD
Relief requested: Cancel the penalties and interest already assessed and waive any further amounts accruing.
3.
GROUND FOR RELIEF
This request is made on the ground of extraordinary circumstances — the first ground recognized in Information Circular IC07-1R1. Circumstances beyond a taxpayer’s control, including a natural or man-made disaster, a civil disturbance or disruption in services such as a postal strike, a serious illness or accident, serious emotional or mental distress, or a death in the immediate family, may prevent compliance despite the taxpayer’s reasonable care. The events set out below were of that character: they were outside my control, they made timely compliance impossible in fact, and once they passed I brought my affairs back into order without delay.
4.
WHAT HAPPENED
In February 2024 I suffered a heart attack and spent eleven days in hospital, followed by four months of cardiac rehabilitation. My 2023 return, due during that period, was filed late, and the late-filing penalty and arrears interest now total more than 3,500 dollars. I had filed and paid on time for over fifteen years before this. Once my cardiologist cleared me to manage my affairs, I filed the outstanding return within three weeks and paid the tax itself in full.
5.
CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS
The sequence of events, and the effect of each on my ability to comply, is as follows:
February 9, 2024 — Acute myocardial infarction; admitted to the University of Ottawa Heart Institute for eleven days. Effect on compliance: All personal and financial affairs suspended on medical advice
March – June 2024 — Cardiac rehabilitation program, with restrictions on work and stress documented by my cardiologist. Effect on compliance: Unable to compile records or instruct an accountant during the filing season
July 18, 2024 — Cleared by my cardiologist to resume managing my own affairs. Effect on compliance: Engaged my accountant the same week
August 6, 2024 — Filed the 2023 return and paid the tax balance in full. Effect on compliance: Compliance restored within three weeks of medical clearance
Why compliance was not possible: The heart attack and the supervised rehabilitation that followed made it medically impossible for me to compile my records, instruct anyone, or file during the 2023 filing season. The penalty and the interest both flow directly from that event, not from carelessness or indifference.
My compliance history supports this request: my returns have been filed and my balances paid on time in prior years, this is not a circumstance the CRA has had to relieve before, and I acted with care and diligence throughout.
February 9, 2024 — Acute myocardial infarction; admitted to the University of Ottawa Heart Institute for eleven days. Effect on compliance: All personal and financial affairs suspended on medical advice
March – June 2024 — Cardiac rehabilitation program, with restrictions on work and stress documented by my cardiologist. Effect on compliance: Unable to compile records or instruct an accountant during the filing season
July 18, 2024 — Cleared by my cardiologist to resume managing my own affairs. Effect on compliance: Engaged my accountant the same week
August 6, 2024 — Filed the 2023 return and paid the tax balance in full. Effect on compliance: Compliance restored within three weeks of medical clearance
Why compliance was not possible: The heart attack and the supervised rehabilitation that followed made it medically impossible for me to compile my records, instruct anyone, or file during the 2023 filing season. The penalty and the interest both flow directly from that event, not from carelessness or indifference.
My compliance history supports this request: my returns have been filed and my balances paid on time in prior years, this is not a circumstance the CRA has had to relieve before, and I acted with care and diligence throughout.
6.
EVIDENCE SCHEDULE
The following documents support the ground relied on, each tied to the part of the chronology it proves:
1. Hospital discharge summary, University of Ottawa Heart Institute (dated February 20, 2024) — eleven-day admission for acute myocardial infarction during the filing season
2. Cardiologist letter confirming the rehabilitation period and restrictions (dated July 18, 2024) — I was medically unable to manage my affairs from February to July 2024
3. My Account payment confirmation for the 2023 balance (dated August 6, 2024) — the underlying tax was paid in full as soon as I was able
All listed items are enclosed with this request.
Notes on the evidence: The medical records are provided for this request only; I ask that they be handled as protected taxpayer information.
1. Hospital discharge summary, University of Ottawa Heart Institute (dated February 20, 2024) — eleven-day admission for acute myocardial infarction during the filing season
2. Cardiologist letter confirming the rehabilitation period and restrictions (dated July 18, 2024) — I was medically unable to manage my affairs from February to July 2024
3. My Account payment confirmation for the 2023 balance (dated August 6, 2024) — the underlying tax was paid in full as soon as I was able
All listed items are enclosed with this request.
Notes on the evidence: The medical records are provided for this request only; I ask that they be handled as protected taxpayer information.
7.
TEN-YEAR WINDOW AND REVIEW RIGHTS
This application is made within the time subsection 220(3.1) allows: it is made on or before the day that is ten calendar years after the end of each taxation year to which the penalties and interest relate, and in any event covers interest that accrued within the ten calendar years preceding this application (Bozzer v Canada, 2011 FCA 186).
If this request is refused in whole or in part, I ask that the decision letter set out the reasons, and I note that the CRA’s published practice provides for a second administrative review on request, conducted by officials not involved in the first decision — followed, if necessary, by an application to the Federal Court for judicial review within 30 days (reviewed on the reasonableness standard: Canada Revenue Agency v Telfer, 2009 FCA 23).
If this request is refused in whole or in part, I ask that the decision letter set out the reasons, and I note that the CRA’s published practice provides for a second administrative review on request, conducted by officials not involved in the first decision — followed, if necessary, by an application to the Federal Court for judicial review within 30 days (reviewed on the reasonableness standard: Canada Revenue Agency v Telfer, 2009 FCA 23).
8.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND DECISION
Please acknowledge receipt of this request in writing and confirm the reference number assigned to it. Interest continues to accrue at the prescribed arrears rate — currently 7% per annum, compounded daily (April–June 2026 quarter) — while the request is considered, so I ask that it be reviewed as soon as reasonably possible, and that I be contacted if any further information or document would assist. Payment of the amounts not covered by this request is being addressed separately so the balance does not grow while the decision is pending.
YOURS TRULY,
Susan E. Whitfield
Taxpayer
Date: ____________________
TAXPAYER
Susan E. Whitfield
Date: ____________________
Available as a print-ready PDF or an editable Microsoft Word (.docx) file.
What Is a Taxpayer Relief Request?
Subsection 220(3.1) of the <strong>Income Tax Act</strong> lets the Minister waive or cancel all or part of any penalty or interest on a Canadian tax debt. The CRA administers that discretion through its taxpayer relief provisions (Information Circular IC07-1R1), and recognizes three grounds: extraordinary circumstances — a serious illness or accident, a death in the immediate family, a disaster or a postal disruption; actions of the CRA — processing delays, wrong information or undue delay resolving an audit or objection; and inability to pay or financial hardship, where paying the accumulated interest would leave you unable to afford basic necessities.
Two boundaries matter before you start. Relief covers <strong>penalties and interest only</strong> — the underlying tax always remains, which is why a relief request pairs naturally with a payment arrangement on the principal. And the window is ten years — but wider than most Canadians assume: since Bozzer v Canada, 2011 FCA 186, the CRA can cancel interest that accrued during the ten calendar years before your application, however old the original tax year. Penalties remain limited to taxation years ending within those ten years.
The request itself can be made on Form RC4288, online through CRA My Account, or by a signed letter carrying the same information — the CRA accepts all three. What decides the outcome is not the channel but the content: a dated chronology connecting the events to the missed deadline, documents for every step, your compliance history positioned honestly, and — for hardship claims — the income-and-expense disclosure Form RC376 collects. That is exactly what this template assembles.
What's Covered in This Template
The letter mirrors how a CRA relief officer reads a file — amounts, ground, chronology, evidence, window — with the framework matched to the ground you choose.
Three Relief Grounds
Choose extraordinary circumstances, CRA delay or error, or financial hardship — the letter writes the matching IC07-1R1 framework and tells the officer which test to apply.
Cancel and/or Waive
Asks the CRA to cancel amounts already assessed, waive amounts still accruing, or both — with the taxation years and penalty and interest figures stated.
Event Chronology
A dated, row-by-row timeline of what happened, with the effect of each event on your ability to file or pay — the cause-and-effect structure relief decisions are made on.
Compliance History Positioning
The circular weighs your record in every decision. The letter states a clean history plainly — or addresses prior issues candidly, which reads far better than silence.
Hardship Disclosure
For the inability-to-pay ground: monthly income, essential expenses, assets and liabilities in the RC376 worksheet logic, tied to the basic-necessities test.
Evidence Schedule
A numbered list of hospital records, death certificates, insurance reports or dated CRA correspondence — each tied to the part of the chronology it proves.
Bozzer Ten-Year Window
For older debts, the letter claims the interest that accrued in the last ten calendar years — available however old the underlying tax year is, since Bozzer v Canada, 2011 FCA 186.
Second Review Mode
Already refused once? A switch reframes the whole letter as a second-review request — citing the first decision, saying what it ignored, and asking for uninvolved officials.
Federal Court Reservation
Reserves judicial review in the Federal Court within 30 days of a refusal, on the reasonableness standard from Canada Revenue Agency v Telfer, 2009 FCA 23.
How to Create a Taxpayer Relief Request
Five steps from penalty notice to a decision-ready request.
- 1
Pull the Numbers
From CRA My Account or the latest notice: the taxation years, the penalties charged and the interest accrued. Approximations are fine — the account is matched by name and SIN.
- 2
Pick the Ground
Extraordinary circumstances, CRA delay, or hardship — choose the one that actually drove the non-compliance. The letter builds the matching framework.
- 3
Date the Chronology (Expert)
Row by row: what happened, when it ended, how it blocked compliance, and how quickly you came back into line once it passed.
- 4
Attach the Proof (Expert)
Schedule the documents — discharge summary, death certificate, CRA letters — each against the step it proves. For hardship, add the income and expense disclosure.
- 5
Send It and Diarize
Submit online through My Account, or mail the letter (with Form RC376 for hardship claims) to your tax centre. If the answer disappoints, the second review and the Federal Court routes are already reserved in the letter.
Why Doxuno documents are different
Four things that make our templates more thorough than AI-generated drafts and more current than static template libraries.
Always current
Always current with the law
Templates carrying statute references are continuously updated as the law changes. Your document always reflects the current legal framework.
Free PDF
Print-ready PDF
Free to download. Vector text, embedded fonts, statute citations baked in. Print, sign, file. Ready for any signing flow including electronic signature.
Word · .docx
Editable Word (.docx)
Continue editing in Word after download. Add custom clauses, reuse the template for similar agreements, or share with a colleague for collaborative review.
Requires Expert one-time unlock or any paid Doxuno subscription.
Legal Considerations
Taxpayer relief is discretionary — but it is structured discretion, and Canadian courts police how it is exercised.
This template provides general information for Canadian taxpayers and is not tax or legal advice. For large or complex files — director liability, multi-year corporate penalties, or relief intertwined with an ongoing audit — get advice from a Canadian tax lawyer or CPA before filing.
Reviewed for Canadian tax law
The Power — s.220(3.1) of the Income Tax Act
The Minister may waive or cancel all or any portion of any penalty or interest, on application made on or before the day that is ten calendar years after the end of the taxation year. The discretion reaches penalties and interest only: no relief request can reduce the tax itself. The CRA's framework for exercising the discretion is Information Circular IC07-1R1, which names the three grounds and directs officers to weigh compliance history, promptness and the care the taxpayer showed.
The Bozzer Window — Old Debts Still Qualify
In Bozzer v Canada, 2011 FCA 186, the Federal Court of Appeal held that for interest, the ten-year limit runs against the interest itself — the Minister may cancel interest that accrued during the ten calendar years preceding the application, regardless of the tax year the debt comes from. A Canadian taxpayer with a 2012 debt can still seek cancellation of the interest that accrued since 2016 on a 2026 application. Penalties remain tied to taxation years ending within the ten-year window.
Hardship Has a Concrete Test
For the inability-to-pay ground, IC07-1R1 asks whether paying the accumulated interest would cause a prolonged inability to provide basic necessities — food, housing, medical care, reasonable transportation. Individuals support that claim with Form RC376, the statement of income, expenses, assets and liabilities; businesses show that continued interest charges would jeopardize operations and jobs. Cancelling penalties on hardship alone is exceptional, so hardship requests aim first at the interest — and pair with our CRA payment arrangement request so the CRA sees the principal being retired.
Interest Keeps Running While You Wait
A relief request does not pause the account: arrears interest accrues at the prescribed rate plus 4% — 7% per annum for the April–June 2026 quarter — compounded daily, and the CRA may still collect. If the debt is also disputed on the merits, run the dispute through our CRA notice of objection (income tax) or GST/HST notice of objection template in parallel; relief and objection are separate tracks that work best together.
If the CRA Says No — Second Review, Then Federal Court
A refused taxpayer may request a second administrative review in writing, conducted by CRA officials not involved in the first decision. After a second refusal, the remaining route is judicial review in the Federal Court within 30 days. The Court reviews relief decisions on the reasonableness standard (Canada Revenue Agency v Telfer, 2009 FCA 23): it cannot grant the relief itself, but it can set an unreasonable decision aside and send it back to the CRA for redetermination — which is why a complete, documented first request matters so much.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cut the Penalties and Interest — On the Right Ground
Create your CRA taxpayer relief request in minutes: the correct IC07-1R1 ground, a dated chronology, the hardship disclosure and the Bozzer ten-year window, in formal Canadian letter format. Download the PDF free, or unlock Expert for the chronology, disclosure and review-rights sections.
Free PDF · Editable Word with Expert · No account required