CRA service complaint: RC193, a 30 business day reply, then the OTO

Which route fixes which problem?

A service complaint is about how the CRA treated your client: employee behaviour, delays beyond current processing times, poor or misleading information, or mistakes. It isn't the route for disputing an assessment, determination or decision, or for disagreeing with the Income Tax Act itself canada.ca.

The objection form is the canada.ca, and the full deadlines are on the notice of objection deadline page. Relief uses canada.ca, covered on the taxpayer relief page. Accessibility barriers can also go through the CRA's separate accessibility feedback page canada.ca.

How do you file RC193 for a client?

Call first. The CRA says to use the number on its letter, speak with the employee who handled the file, or ask for their supervisor, since that often settles it faster canada.ca. If that fails, you have four ways to send RC193:

1. The online service feedback form, which the CRA calls the fastest.
2. The RC193 PDF, or a letter, with a phone number and mailing address.
3. My Account, My Business Account or Represent a Client: use "submit documents", pick the topic "Collections, Relief and Feedback" and upload the form or a scanned letter.
4. Mail to CRA Service Feedback at the National Intake Centre in Shawinigan, Quebec (full address on the CRA page).

Supporting documents are optional canada.ca. The form is now titled RC193 Service Feedback, and its options cover complaints, suggestions, compliments and accessibility barriers canada.ca.

The CRA aims to respond within 30 business days (6 weeks) of receiving the feedback. Complex files can take longer, and if the CRA can't reach you by phone it may reply by letter. What you send is confidential under the Privacy Act canada.ca. Asking to see your client's own CRA records under that Act is a separate process; see CRA access to information request. The right to lodge a service complaint and get an explanation of the findings is right 9 of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights canada.ca.

When can the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson step in?

Only after the CRA has had its turn. The Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson (OTO) asks you to try the employee or supervisor, then file with the CRA Service Feedback Program and wait for its review. You can skip the wait only if you clearly show that waiting would cause undue hardship. To chase a CRA complaint that's still open, call 1-800-959-8281 canada.ca.

The OTO complaint form is OMB100, filed online (the form times out after 60 minutes), or by mail or fax to 1-866-586-3855. Don't attach documents: an officer asks for them if needed. To complain for a client, use the mail or fax option and complete OMB100 to become the authorized representative canada.ca.

Source for both columns: the OTO's own scope page, which also excludes service issues from before May 24, 2006 canada.ca. The Ombudsperson's tool is a recommendation made directly to the Minister of Finance and National Revenue, aimed at systemic service and fairness problems canada.ca. As of October 2026, the OTO says it is working on complaints received the week of August 24 to 28, 2026, with a three month delay before complaints needing an examination are assigned canada.ca.

Does a service complaint pause the 90 day objection clock?

Your client, a corporation, gets a reassessment dated July 10, 2026. The auditor ignored documents you sent, and you file RC193 on July 14. Neither the complaint nor an OTO review pauses the objection deadline, which for a corporation is 90 days after the notice was sent under ITA 165(1)(b) laws-lois.justice.gc.ca.

If you wait for the service track to finish, the objection window closes in early October, weeks before the OTO even assigns the file. File the T400A by October 8 and run the complaint beside it. The complaint fixes the service problem; only the objection reaches the tax canada.ca. An individual gets the later of 90 days or one year after the filing due date, so a T1 client usually has more room laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, but the same rule applies: the complaint doesn't buy time.

What if your client is treated worse after complaining?

Right 16 of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights protects a taxpayer who lodges a service complaint or requests a formal review from reprisal canada.ca. The complaint goes on canada.ca. The CRA's Internal Affairs and Fraud Control Division reviews it, and if it meets the definition of reprisal, an investigation runs independently of the office involved canada.ca.

Set expectations with your client. The CRA says applying the law and its guidelines, including charging penalties or requiring payment of a debt, is not reprisal, and that taxpayers aren't selected for review or audit because they filed a complaint canada.ca. The OTO can't take reprisal complaints, so RC459 is the only route canada.ca.