Reporting suspected tax or benefit cheating in Canada – What you need to know

2. What you need to know

Different types of cheating

Here is a non-exhaustive list of different types of cheating you can report:

• not declaring all income
• creating false expenses or tax deductions
• taking cash “under the table”
• not filing tax returns when required
• setting up a fake business to claim losses and reduce taxes
• businesses not remitting proper source deductions
• falsely claiming tax benefits or credits
• creating false or deceptive documents or records
• charities making profits from non-charitable activities
• businesses, charities, non-profit organizations or individuals misusing COVID-19 benefits or receiving COVID-19 benefits who do not meet the eligibility criteria

Process

When the CRA receives a lead (it must be in English or French), it will take these steps:

• verify the identity of the suspected cheating
• review the lead to determine if cheating occurred
• take the appropriate action to address the specific type of cheating