Program directory · Canada Revenue Agency
Taxpayers' Ombudsperson
- Department
- Canada Revenue Agency
- Program code
- BRC01 (CCRA)
- Core responsibility
- Taxpayers' Ombudsperson
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
The Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson allows people to request independent and impartial examinations of service-related complaints if they feel they have been treated unfairly or unprofessionally by the CRA.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2017-18. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taxpayers' Ombudsperson | This program | 2017-18 – 2028-29 | $34.5M |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Indicators added: % of complaint examination files closed within 120 business days; % of initial contacts made with complainants within five business days of receipt of their complaint | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2019-20 | Indicators dropped: % of individual complaint examinations resulting in the CRA taking action.; % of taxpayer complaints acknowledged within two business days. | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2022-23 | Renamed from “Taxpayers' Ombudsman” to “Taxpayers' Ombudsperson”. | GC InfoBase program names by year |
| 2026-27 | Indicators added: % of urgent requests closed within 30 business days of receipt | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
% of complaint examination files closed within 120 business days
Expected result: Canadians have access to trusted and independent review of service complaints about the CRA.
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | ≥ 80% | 2020 | 69% The realization of the target for this indicator in its first year of implementation was impeded due to a backlog of complaint examination files carried over from the previous year. | Not met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 80% | 2021 | 93% The result includes cases that were opened in 2019-2020 and closed in 2020-2021. | Met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 80% | 2022 | 95% | Met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 80% | 2023 | 99% | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 80% | 2024 | 88% | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 80% | 2025 | 34% The Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson (OTO)was unable to meet this performance indicator due to an ongoing backlog. Despite changes in our procedures to enhance efficiency and requests for additional funding, a lack of resources is also negatively impacting our ability to keep up with demand for our services. The missed target is also due to changing the way workload is measured inside the OT… | Not met |
% of initial contacts made with complainants within five business days of receipt of their complaint
Expected result: Canadians have access to trusted and independent review of service complaints about the CRA.
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | ≥ 95% | 2020 | 97% | Met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 95% | 2021 | 88% The Office of the Taxpayer Ombudsman (OTO) postposed non-urgent requests received early in the pandemic in order to focus on critical services, resulting in a backlog when business resumed. The OTO expects to meet the target in 2021-2022. | Not met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 95% | 2022 | 93% The year 2021-2022 was the Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson (OTO) busiest year in its history. Enquiries increased by 183% and complaints increased by 134% compared to the previous fiscal year. Although, we didn’t meet the initial contact by the end of fiscal, we did meet 8 months out of the 12. | Not met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 95% | 2023 | 61% The Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson was unable to meet this performance indicator due to an increase in complaints and enquiries compared to pre-pandemic volumes. A backlog occurred and ultimately prevented the OTO from meeting this performance indicator. | Not met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 95% | 2024 | 30% The OTO was unable to meet this performance indicator due to a high level of complaints, enquiries, and phone calls compared to pre-pandemic volumes. An ongoing backlog is preventing the OTO from meeting this performance indicator. Despite changes in our procedures to enhance efficiency and requests for additional funding, a lack of resources is also negatively impacting our ability to keep up wi… | Not met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 95% | 2025 | 36% The Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson (OTO) was unable to meet this performance indicator due to a high level of complaints, enquiries, and phone calls compared to pre-pandemic volumes. An ongoing backlog is preventing the OTO from meeting this performance indicator. Despite changes in our procedures to enhance efficiency and requests for additional funding, a lack of resources is also negati… | Not met |
% of recommendations made by the Ombudsperson to the Minister of National Revenue in systemic examination reports and the Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson's Annual Report that the Canada Revenue Agency has agreed to act upon
Expected result: Canadians have access to trusted and independent review of service complaints about the CRA.
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 90% | 2019 | 100% | Met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 90% | 2020 | 93% | Met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 90% | 2021 | 97% | Met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 90% | 2022 | 100% | Met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 90% | 2023 | 100% The Ombudsperson also makes recommendations in Annual Reports. | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 90% | 2024 | 100% | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 90% | 2025 | 84% The CRA did not agree with three recommendations made by the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson in his systemic report on the CRA’s administration of the Canada child benefit to temporary residents. | Not met |
% of individual complaint examinations resulting in the CRA taking action.
Expected result: Canadians have access to trusted and independent review of service complaints about the CRA.
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 80% | 2019 | 84% | Met |
% of taxpayer complaints acknowledged within two business days.
Expected result: Canadians have access to trusted and independent review of service complaints about the CRA.
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 95% | 2019 | 94% The result for this indicator was 94.21%. We have implemented measures to increase the efficiency of the processing of complaints in order to better meet the expectations of Canadians. | Not met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
% of complaint examination files closed within 120 business days
Expected result: Canadians have access to trusted and independent review of service complaints about the CRA.
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 80% | 2027 | — | Planned |
% of initial contacts made with complainants within five business days of receipt of their complaint
Expected result: Canadians have access to trusted and independent review of service complaints about the CRA.
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 95% | 2027 | — | Planned |
% of recommendations made by the Ombudsperson to the Minister of National Revenue in systemic examination reports and the Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson's Annual Report that the Canada Revenue Agency has agreed to act upon
Expected result: Canadians have access to trusted and independent review of service complaints about the CRA.
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 90% | 2027 | — | Planned |
% of urgent requests closed within 30 business days of receipt
Expected result: Canadians have access to trusted and independent review of service complaints about the CRA.
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 95% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | — | $3.2M |
| 2018-19 | $3.1M | $3.1M |
| 2019-20 | $3.5M | $3.8M |
| 2020-21 | $3.8M | $4.6M |
| 2021-22 | $3.9M | $4M |
| 2022-23 | $4.4M | $4.6M |
| 2023-24 | $4.4M | $5.5M |
| 2024-25 | $4.7M | $5.6M |
| 2025-26 | $5.3M | — |
| 2026-27 | $4.6M | — |
| 2027-28 | $4.6M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $4.6M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | 31 | 25 |
| 2018-19 | 31 | 29 |
| 2019-20 | 31 | 38 |
| 2020-21 | 33 | 33 |
| 2021-22 | 34 | 34 |
| 2022-23 | 39 | 37 |
| 2023-24 | 37 | 42 |
| 2024-25 | 35 | 43 |
| 2025-26 | 38 | — |
| 2026-27 | 33 | — |
| 2027-28 | 33* | — |
| 2028-29 | 33* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $3,132,365 | $3,141,688 | $3,146,233 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $3,471,070 | $3,474,081 | $3,476,519 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $3,780,057 | $3,622,239 | $3,618,943 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $3,875,779 | $3,882,560 | $3,881,560 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $4,424,229 | $4,294,351 | $4,032,882 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $4,403,913 | $4,129,457 | $4,127,305 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $4,708,163 | $4,515,645 | $4,548,335 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $5,324,936 | $4,780,970 | $4,784,123 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $4,609,959 | $4,599,720 | $4,598,392 | ||||||||
| Actual | $3,097,900 | $3,804,533 | $4,614,641 | $4,049,529 | $4,551,186 | $5,532,722 | $5,611,233 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
