Guides · Written by a Canadian CPA · Not legal or tax advice
Objection denied? The Notice of Confirmation and the Tax Court of Canada
If the CRA reviewed your objection and confirmed your assessment, the objection stage is over — but a further step exists. You can appeal to the Tax Court of Canada, and the window to do it is short.
What the Notice of Confirmation means
After reviewing your objection, the CRA either vacates the assessment, varies it, reassesses, or confirms it. A Notice of Confirmation means the CRA held to its position. Either a confirmation or a reassessment opens the appeal right: under ITA s.169(1), you may appeal to the Tax Court of Canada to have the assessment vacated or varied. The same applies to GST/HST under ETA s.306, where you may appeal to have the assessment vacated or a reassessment made.
The 90-day appeal window
Income tax: no appeal may be started after 90 days from the day the CRA’s notice — that it has confirmed the assessment or reassessed — was sent to you under s.165 (ITA s.169(1)). The clock runs from when the notice was sent, not from when you happened to read it.
GST/HST: no appeal may be started after 90 days after the day the notice that the CRA has confirmed the assessment or reassessed was sent to you under ETA s.301 (ETA s.306).
If the CRA never decides your objection
You do not have to wait forever. You may also appeal once a set period passes with no decision: 90 days after serving your notice of objection for income tax (ITA s.169(1)(b)), or 180 days after filing your notice of objection for GST/HST (ETA s.306). If neither the decision nor the waiting period has run, the Court cannot hear the appeal yet.
Informal Procedure vs General Procedure
Tax Court appeals proceed under one of two procedures. The Informal Procedure is designed to be simpler and faster, with relaxed rules; it is available only up to set amounts:
- Income tax: the federal tax and penalties in dispute for each taxation year, excluding interest, are $25,000 or less — or the amount of loss in issue is $50,000 or less (Tax Court of Canada Act s.18).
- GST/HST: the amount in dispute does not exceed $50,000 (Tax Court of Canada Act s.18.3001).
If your amounts exceed the limit for your tax type, you can still elect the Informal Procedure by agreeing to limit your appeal to $25,000 (income tax) or $50,000 (GST/HST, or a $50,000 loss), as the case may be — anything above the limit is given up. Otherwise the appeal proceeds under the General Procedure, which follows formal court rules, involves disclosure and examinations, and is where most represented litigation happens. The choice of procedure affects cost, complexity and how much is at stake; it is a decision to make with advice, not by default.
What the Court can do
The Tax Court hears the appeal fresh — it is not limited to checking whether the CRA was reasonable. For income tax, the Court may vacate the assessment or vary it; for GST/HST, it may vacate the assessment or direct a reassessment. If the Court decides against you, further appeal routes exist, but they are beyond the scope of this guide.
Keep the objection record together
An appeal builds on what came before it. Keep your notice of objection, the CRA’s confirmation or reassessment notice, and the documents you submitted in one place, and note the date the CRA’s notice was sent — that date, not the day the envelope reached you, starts the 90-day clock. If you take the file to a lawyer, that record is what they will work from, and assembling it takes no time away from the deadline if it is already in order.
This step is lawyer territory
Nyphron does not prepare court appeals, and nothing in our packet is a Tax Court document. A court appeal has filing forms, service requirements, deadlines that do not forgive mistakes, and cost consequences. If you are considering appealing a confirmation — or the CRA has not decided and the waiting period has run — get a tax lawyer involved while the 90-day window is still open, not after it closes.
Check the official sources
Reviewed October 11, 2026. General information only; check the current instructions and your notice before filing.