Nov 4, 2026
If you’re counting on support from CRA this tax season, you may need a backup plan.
Late last month, the federal tax agency told hundreds of employees their jobs could be affected by its latest round of cuts. Up to 260 are expected to leave in the coming months — just as Canadians start collecting their tax slips for the 2026 tax year.
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The agency claims services won’t be disrupted. The union representing many of the affected workers says the exact opposite. What isn’t in dispute: the CRA team is getting smaller, and its phone lines were struggling with long queues long before this announcement. While you could struggle to get answers to questions and concerns about the process, the good news is that most refunds and benefit payments don’t require talking to anyone — if you set things up right.
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How many CRA jobs are actually being cut?
Not as many as the headline number suggests. The CRA notified 735 executive and non-executive employees on Oct. 28 that their positions may be affected, according to CTV News. It guaranteed continued employment to 110 of those employees, mainly in compliance roles, and expects up to 260 to leave the agency.
The Union of Taxation Employees (UTE), the arm of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) that represents CRA workers, says 534 of its members received termination notices. Those include staff in the Assessment, Benefit, and Service Branch — the part of the agency that processes returns and benefits.
The job cuts are part of a broader trend. The CRA employed 48,774 people as of March 31, 2026, down from 52,499 a year earlier — roughly 7% fewer staff. Its 2026-27 departmental plan targets $1.2 billion in spending reductions planned over three years.
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Will the cuts delay your tax refund?
So far, there’s no evidence that your refund could be processed slower as a result of the cuts, and, for their part, the CRA says it expects “services to Canadians will continue without disruption.”
PSAC national president Sharon DeSousa is unconvinced. “Cutting more jobs at CRA isn’t how you improve service — it’s how you increase delays and frustrations of people across Canada when they’re trying to access services,” she said in a statement.
Most refunds are processed automatically. The CRA’s goal is to send your notice of assessment and any refund within two weeks if you file online, or eight weeks for a paper return — if you file on time. Where staffing matters more is the exceptions: returns flagged for review, reassessments and anything that needs a phone call to fix. So basically, when you need them, they will be harder to find.
Can you count on reaching the CRA by phone?
If you’re hoping to sort out a problem by calling, the numbers aren’t encouraging. In the 2024-25 fiscal year, the CRA received more than 32 million calls, and just over 10 million reached an agent, according to the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG), which audits federal departments for Parliament.
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Callers who chose to wait out to speak with an agent waited about 31 minutes on average — nearly twice as long as the year before, and that audit was published a year before the latest round of cuts.
What happens to your benefits if you don’t file?
The biggest risk to getting your refund and benefits isn’t staffing — it’s paperwork. Both the Canada child benefit (CCB) and the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (formerly the GST/HST credit) are calculated based on your tax return. If you don’t file or your details are out of date, payments can stop or be inaccurate — and fixing that may mean waiting on hold.
Young adults need to pay particular attention. To start receiving the CGEB soon after turning 19, you must file a tax return for the previous year. If you miss that step, the first payments can be held up until a return is filed and processed.
The CRA is cutting jobs but, according to them, you won’t notice a difference. Whether that promise holds will become clear by spring. In its statement, the CRA says it “remains dedicated to protecting services that Canadians rely on.” The safest move is to file in a way that never puts that promise to the test.
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Leslie Kennedy served as an editor at Thomson Reuters and for Star Media Group, followed by a number of years as a writer and editor and content manager in marketing communications, before returning to her editorial roots. She is a graduate of Humber College’s post-graduate journalism program and has been a professional writer and editor ever since.
