The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will only send you a Notice of Reassessment (NOR) if changes are made to your assessed tax return. It is an updated summary of those changes — the same shape of document as the notice of assessment, covering the same year, with different figures.
What this document is
A revised summary of an assessed return. Like the original notice, it shows your name and the address the CRA has on file, the tax centre where the return was processed, and the calculated balance. Where it differs is the section that explains the changes: a detailed explanation of the changes or corrections the CRA made, based on the information you sent with your return and the information the CRA has on file.
Who issues it, and why one arrives
The CRA. A reassessment follows either from something you did or from something the CRA found:
- You changed your return. If you make changes after filing, the notice follows the CRA's processing of your adjustment request.
- The CRA found errors. If the CRA found errors on the return you filed, you receive your NOR right after the reassessment is complete.
Generally, the processing time for issuing an NOR is the same as for a notice of assessment. If you provide new information that changes your returns for several consecutive years, the CRA will do a concurrent reassessment, and the result appears in the account summary on the last notice of the series.
You receive it the same way as a notice of assessment: in your online CRA account once the reassessment is processed, or by letter mail to the address on file if that is your preference.
What it supersedes
The figures on the reassessment replace the ones on the original notice for that year. The original is not wrong to keep — it shows what was assessed first, and the reassessment shows what changed — but the reassessment is the current statement of the year.
If you disagree with it
If you forgot to include information, or something was entered incorrectly, you can make changes to your return. If the information is complete but you disagree with the reassessment, you have ninety days from the date of your notice to register a formal dispute.
What to keep
Keep the Notice of Reassessment with the year it reassesses, not with the year it arrived in. The notice details give both the tax year of the reassessment and the date the notice was issued, and the tax year is the one that decides where it belongs.
Keep the original notice of assessment beside it. Read together, the two documents show the assessment and the correction, and the explanation of changes tells you why the figures moved. If you need a copy of either, you can view or print your notices in your CRA account, or call the CRA to have a paper copy mailed.
Dossier files the reassessment against the tax year it reassesses, so the two notices for that year sit together when you file.
Official CRA sources
Source: Canada Revenue Agency (canada.ca). Not tax advice.