Notice of Assessment: Verify Amounts and Keep the Record
Compare income, contributions and credits with your return and verify carried-forward room before filing the notice away.
Published 2026-07-21
The notice of assessment too often gets read on a single line — the refund — before being filed forever; ten minutes of method draw far more from it. The comparison first: income, contributions and credits confronted line by line with the return, each discrepancy carrying an explanation code, a credit denied for a missing document recoverable through a simple online adjustment request, scanned document in support. The carried-forward room next, the document's hidden wealth: unused RRSP room and the TFSA ceiling as the tax authority calculates them, to be copied down before any contribution, the excess paying in a monthly penalty. The balance last, interest included, confirmed at deposit. The formal objection deadline, noted at receipt, frames the recourses — ninety days that pass quickly. The original notice, amended notices and documents join the permanent tax file, kept the prescribed number of years. This article guides the full reading, the adjustment request and the archiving that prepares every sequel.
Compare the notice with the return filed
A notice of assessment is not a simple confirmation: it is the result of processing your return, and it can differ from what you filed. The verification compares the key amounts line by line: income reported, deductions allowed, credits applied, tax calculated. Discrepancies often come from a slip received by the administration but missing from your return, or from a credit denied for lack of supporting documentation. That comparison is done on receipt, while the documents are at hand and the facts are fresh.
Note the carried-forward contribution room
The notice contains information that serves all the following year: registered retirement savings plan contribution room, unused tax-free savings account room, carried-forward losses, unused tuition amounts, carried-forward donations. Those figures are the single most useful piece of the whole document, and they get transcribed into your financial notes rather than rediscovered a year later. Contribution room misjudged produces excess contributions, which trigger a monthly penalty that runs as long as the excess remains.
Confirm the balance and the interest
The notice states a refund or a balance owing, with interest and penalties where applicable. A refund gets verified in fact, its deposit being subject to offset against another government debt, a situation the notice explains. A balance owing carries a due date after which interest accrues daily at a rate well above commercial rates. Paying even partially by the due date reduces that interest, and a payment arrangement is requested from the administration rather than letting the balance accumulate with no contact.
Note the objection deadline on receipt
Disagreement with an assessment is contested through a notice of objection, within a limited period calculated from the notice's date, often ninety days. That deadline is the first thing to note, because it conditions every later recourse. A simple calculation error or a forgotten slip is corrected more simply through an adjustment request, with no formal objection. The notice and supporting documents are kept with the return for the prescribed retention period, the administration being able to request the supporting records several years after the notice was issued.
Quebec scenario: compare before confirming
The notice of assessment lands in the portal of an electrician in Terrebonne three weeks after his return, and his reflex of the past fifteen years would be to check a single line — the refund — before filing the document forever. This year, an error found in a colleague's notice convinces him to give it ten minutes of method. The comparison first, the notice laid beside the return: total income, contributions and credits line by line, where he spots a discrepancy — a tool credit denied, with an explanation code pointing to a missing attachment. The carried-forward room next, the document's hidden wealth: his unused RRSP room, his TFSA limit as the tax authority calculates it — figures he copies into his planning note, because contributing on the strength of memory leads to over-contribution penalties. The balance last, confirmed with its interest: the refund, reduced by the denied credit, arrives by direct deposit — a $212 difference he does not accept in silence. The objection deadline, noted upon receipt, frames what follows: ninety days to formally object, but first the simple route, an online adjustment request with the tool invoice scanned. The adjustment arrives six weeks later, amended notice attached, $212 and change in interest. The original notice, the amended notice and the invoice join the permanent tax file, kept for the prescribed number of years: a notice of assessment, he retains, is not a receipt to file but an answer to verify — and sometimes to contest.
Checklist
- Compare the notice with the return line by line
- Decode each discrepancy by its explanation code
- Copy down the calculated RRSP and TFSA room
- Confirm the balance or refund with interest
- Note the objection deadline upon receipt
- Settle discrepancies through an adjustment request
- Attach the scanned document to the request
- Escalate to a formal objection if necessary
- Archive the notices and documents for the prescribed years
Frequently asked questions
What should be checked on a notice of assessment, beyond the refund?
Three zones: income, contributions and credits compared line by line with your return, discrepancies carrying an explanation code; the carried-forward room, RRSP and TFSA as the tax authority calculates them, to copy down before any contribution; and the balance or refund, interest included, confirmed at deposit.
What should be done with a discrepancy found on the notice?
The simple route first: an online adjustment request, supporting document attached, settles most documented discrepancies within weeks. The formal objection deadline, noted upon receiving the notice, frames the next recourse if the adjustment fails: ninety days that pass quickly.
How long should notices and documents be kept?
The number of years the tax rules prescribe — original notices, amended notices and supporting documents together: a future audit or a retroactive request will lean on that file. A notice of assessment is not a receipt to file away but an answer verified, sometimes contested, always archived.