How to report and send supporting documents

After you send a lead, you cannot take it back.

Thank you for helping to fight tax or benefit cheating.

Submit a new lead online (You will be directed to CRA’s website)

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
  • individuals receiving the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) who do not meet the eligibility criteria
  • individuals receiving the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) who do not meet the eligibility criteria
  • businesses or charities that are misusing the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS)

Your Privacy

You will remain anonymous

When you report suspected tax or benefit cheating (by submitting a lead), you will not be asked to disclose personal information about yourself. The protection of personal information is important, and the CRA is committed to protecting your identity. This means that the CRA will do all it can, under the law, to protect your identity along with any information that suggests you submitted a lead. Accordingly, if asked to disclose that information under a formal Access to Information Act request or Privacy Act request, the CRA will claim an exemption from such disclosure under subparagraphs 16(1)(c)(ii) of the Access to Information Act and 22(1)(b)(ii) of the Privacy Act.

CRA’s use of information and documents

The information you provide is collected under the authority of federal tax and benefit laws, and it is protected under the confidentiality provisions of those laws, as well as by privacy laws that impose strict limits on what the CRA can disclose. The CRA may use the information you provide to make sure taxpayers meet their tax obligations and that claimants are entitled to benefits.

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

Key identifiers

Include specific information about the subject of your lead (could be a person, business or charity), such as:

  • full name of the suspected tax or benefit cheat / spouse’s name / address / birthdate / social insurance number / social media accounts
  • business name / business address / business number
  • any related businesses, shareholders, contractors, etc.
  • description of the suspected tax or benefit cheat’s properties, vehicles, loans, mortgages, banking information, or personal expenditures

Facts

Describe what you know about the subject of your lead, with as many details as possible, including:

  • why you believe this person, business or charity is cheating
  • dates or length of time the suspected cheating occurred
  • whether anyone else was involved
  • any lifestyle issues like lavish spending not in line with income level (include details of purchases such as where, when, how, how much)

Supporting documents

If you have supporting documents to complement the lead, send them by mail. Examples of supporting documents are:

  • emails with details that help identify the suspected tax or benefit cheat
  • invoices and/or receipts
  • cheques
  • financial statements
  • contracts, leases
  • bank account numbers

If you submit your lead online or by phone, you will be given a reference number. Write your reference number on your supporting documents and mail them to the National Leads Centre. The CRA will match your supporting documents to the lead you submitted. The documents will not be returned to you.

Examples of complete and incomplete leads

The following examples show the differences between a lead that is complete and one that is incomplete.

A complete lead has enough details to help the CRA conduct a review to figure out if someone is cheating. An incomplete lead makes it more difficult to conduct a review and may not allow the CRA to address the suspected cheating. Give as much information as you can; the CRA will take it from there.

 

Details to include in your CERB, CESB, or CEWS lead submission

In Step 3 of the online submission form, you will find a free text field to describe the allegation. Alternatively, if you call the National Leads Centre to submit your report, the agent will guide you through your submission.

Below are details that can enhance your CERB, CESB, or CEWS lead submission and help the CRA review the facts. It’s not necessary to provide all the information below in your submission, simply tell us as much as you can.

For the CERB, provide details about the individual’s:

  • work situation
    • employee or self employed
    • type of business
    • current status of income
  • employer
    • name and type of business
    • frequency of work
    • reasons for loss of employment
  • eligibility
    • earns more than $1000 in allowable income in the 4-week period
    • did not earn at least $5000 in employment or self-employment income in 2019
    • is also applying for other benefit programs
    • is receiving multiple CERB payments from both the CRA and Service Canada
    • is using other SINs to apply

For the CESB, provide details about the individual’s:

  • schooling situation
    • name of educational institution
    • area of study
    • expected graduation date
    • plans for future enrollment
  • work situation
    • status of employment
    • type of business
    • methods of seeking work
  • employer
    • name and type of business
    • frequency of work
    • reasons for loss of employment
  • eligibility
    • is not a recent graduate, not currently enrolled and/or international student
    • earns more than $1000 in allowable income in the 4-week period
    • is receiving other benefits for the same period

For the CEWS, provide details about:

  • the employer (the business name and the legal name)
  • type of business (goods and/or services provided by the business)
  • the loss of employment
    • changes to employee’s hours of work
    • when these changes occurred
    • timeline of events
  • the number of employees affected
  • the employer’s payroll (are workers employees or sub contractors?)

How to report and send supporting documents

After you send a lead, you cannot take it back.

Thank you for helping to fight tax or benefit cheating.

Submit a new lead online (You will be directed to CRA’s website)

Other ways to report a new lead

  • By phone:
    • 1-866-809-6841
      Office hours: 8:15 am to 4:45 pm, Eastern time
  • By mail:
    • National Leads Centre
      Canada Revenue Agency
      200 Town Centre Court
      Scarborough ON M1P 4Y3
  • By fax:
    • 1-888-724-4829

If you prefer to send a lead by mail or fax, make sure you give as much relevant information as you can to allow the CRA to review the file to determine if tax or benefit cheating occurred.

Sending documents to support your lead

If you have already made a lead submission using the online form or by calling the National Leads Centre, please send any supplemental information to our attention by mail or fax:

  • By mail:
    • National Leads Centre
      Canada Revenue Agency
      200 Town Centre Court
      Scarborough ON  M1P 4Y3
      Lead number: XXXXXXX
  • By fax:
    • 1-888-724-4829
      (include your lead number)

You were given a lead number in response to your first submission. Clearly write “Lead number: XXXXXXX” at the top right corner of every page you send us.  If you don’t have that number, you should send a new lead.