A Notice of Assessment (NOA) is a statement sent to you annually by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) once your tax return has been processed. Your NOA details the following:
- what income taxes you owe the government, and
- what income taxes you have already paid, and
- what tax credits you have been granted, and
- whether or not you are a due a refund from the government of Canada.
It is essentially an annual snapshot of your balance, as a taxpayer, with the CRA. It is also an important supporting document which you need to help prove your status as a permanent resident in Canada. It is always a good idea to keep on file your NOAs from each of the last 5 years, as you may need to send a copy to IRCC when you apply for a PR card or in general when you have to prove your PR status.
If, however, you do not have your latest NOAs on file, then you will need to request a copy from the Canada Revenue Agency, or CRA. Here’s how to do it.
Request your Notice of Assessment Online
The quickest way is to view your NOA online and print it out. To do this, you must take the following steps:
Set up a My Account at the Canada Revenue Agency, or CRA. There are three ways to do this:
- Use a Canadian financial services partner from the following list to sign in to CRA and create your My Account. Your information will not be shared between your financial institution and the CRA. Your so-called “Sign-in Partner” (the financial firm you deal with online – see list below) will not even know what Canadian government agency you are dealing with. The Sign-in Partner can be one of the following:
- BMO Financial Group
- CHOICE REWARDS Master Card
- Desjardins Group
- Royal Bank of Canada
- Scotiabank
- Tangerine
- TD Bank Group
- Register directly with the CRA to get your User ID & Password. For more information on both options, go here.
- Use the Mobile App MyCRA. Go here for more information.
Encryption and the CRA
Modern encryption uses mathematical formulas to scramble your information and then unscramble it once it has been safely transmitted. If you use CRA online – to view and print out your NOA, for example – then you must ensure your web browser has Transport Layer Security, or TLS encryption. Unless you want the World Wide Web to know your tax details. Here’s how to make sure your private tax information remains private:
Currently, your web browser will need TLS 1.0 to access CRA secure services. That means you need TLS 1.0 to set up your account and view and print out your NOA. The CRA recommends you upgrade to TLS 1.2 as soon as possible as this is the next level of encryption you will need within the next 2 years in order to securely file taxes or view your NOA online.
- Step 1: determine your computer’s Operating System:
- Windows: Right-click My Computer > Select Properties > Look for “Windows”
- Mac: Select About This Mac from Apple menu > Look directly below “OS X” for the version your computer is using
- Apple iOS: select Setting > General > About > Look for Version
- Android: select Settings > Security > About > Version
- Chrome OS: type the following in your Omnibox: about: version
- Firefox OS: select Settings > Device Information > Look for Version
- Step 2: determine the Web Browser your computer is using:
- Internet Explorer: select Help in menu bar > About Internet Explorer > Look below the words Internet Explorer in the pop up box to see the version number
- Safari: select Safari from the menu at top of screen > in drop down menu select About Safari > a pop-up box will appear with the version number
- Chrome: select wrench icon or menu and click About Google Chrome or first click on Help and then About Google Chrome
- Firefox: select Menu button > Help > About Firefox > look below Firefox name in the pop-up box for the version number
- Edge: Don’t use Edge, as Edge currently doesn’t support TLS
- Step 3: determine if you need to upgrade to TLS 1.2
- Android 2.3 (or higher) Operating System: upgrade your browser to Firefox 24 or higher to support TLS 1.2
- Android 4 (or higher) Operating System: the following browsers all support TLS 1.2: Chrome 30 (or higher); Firefox 24 (or higher); Opera Mobile (Webkit/Blink) version 17
- Firefox OS Operating System: upgrade your browser to Firefox 24 (or higher) to support TLS 1.2
- iOS 6 or higher Operating System: upgrade your browser to Chrome 30 or Safari 6 or higher to support TLS 1.2
- Linux Operating System: the following browsers all support TLS 1.2: Chrome 30 (or higher); Firefox 24 (or higher); Opera Mobile (Webkit/Blink) version 17
- Mac OS X 10.6 Operating System: upgrade your browser to Firefox 24 (or higher) to support TLS 1.2
- Mac OS X 10.7 Operating System: the following browsers all support TLS 1.2: Chrome 30 (or higher); Firefox 24 (or higher); Opera Mobile (Webkit/Blink) version 17
- Mac OS X 10.9 (or higher) Operating System: the following browsers all support TLS 1.2: Chrome 30 (or higher); Safari 7 (or higher); Firefox 24 (or higher); Opera Mobile (Webkit/Blink) version 17
- Windows 7 (or higher) Operating System: the following browsers all support TLS 1.2: Chrome 30 (or higher); Firefox 24 (or higher); Internet Explorer 8 (or higher)
- Windows Vista Operating System: the following browsers support TLS 1.2: Chrome 30 (or higher); Firefox 24 (or higher)
- Windows XP with service pack 3 (or higher) Operating System: the only remaining browser that will support TLS 1.2 is: Firefox 24 (or higher)
- Step 4: enable Transport Layer Security (TLS):
- Internet Explorer:
- Select Tools from browser menu bar
- Select Internet Options
- Select Advanced Tab
- Scroll down to Security
- Check à Use TLS 1.2
- Select OK
- Close browser for change to settings to take effect.
- Firefox: uses TLS encryption by default so there are NO settings to enable
- Safari (Windows or Mac): uses TLS encryption by default, so there are NO settings to enable
- Chrome: uses TLS encryption by default, so there are NO settings to enable
- Edge:: don’t use Edge!
- Internet Explorer:
That should ensure your computer has safe connections on the net, not only for using CRA’s secure services, but for doing any sort of financial and other transactions that could compromise your personal information. A good thing to know.
Finally, remember that your Notice of Assessment, NOA, is a valuable supporting document to prove your PR status in Canada. File and save all your NOAs if possible.
Get Your Notice of Assessment by phone
Call the number below at the CRA to request what is called an income and deduction printout. This will show all the information given on your latest NOA or Notice of Re-Assessment.
1-800-959-8281
Before calling the toll-free number at CRA, you must have on hand the following information:
- Your Social Insurance Number or Business Number;
- Your Name or Business Name;
- Your complete address or business address;
- Your date of birth (for individual accounts only);
- Details from your account, or most recently assessed tax return, or NOA;
- For business accounts, details of your business account or most recently assessed business tax return.
