How Long Does a Tax Refund Take in Canada?

Key takeaways

CRA goal for the 2026 season: notice of assessment within 2 weeks online and 12 weeks on paper
Official service standard: 95% of on-time digital returns within 4 weeks and paper within 8 weeks
Non-resident returns: within 16 weeks
Direct deposit is faster than a cheque; set it up in My Account or through your bank
The CRA can keep a refund to pay debts, and pays interest only in some cases

How long does a tax refund take?

The CRA publishes two kinds of timelines. A goal is what it aims for during tax season. A service standard is the official target it reports on each year.

How you file	2026 tax season goal	Service standard
Online (NETFILE or a preparer’s EFILE)	Notice of assessment within 2 weeks	95% within 4 weeks
Paper	Notice of assessment within 12 weeks	95% within 8 weeks
Non-resident return	–	Within 16 weeks

The service standards apply to returns received by the filing deadline. They do not apply to some returns, including those of non-residents and emigrants. The refund itself follows the assessment.

CRA pages give different paper times. The CRA’s newcomers page says paper returns take at least 8 weeks. Its 2026 tax season tip says 12 weeks. Plan for the longer time if you file on paper.

Why can a newcomer’s first refund take longer?

No CRA account yet. Your notice and any letters come by paper mail, which is slower.
Review. The CRA screens every return and may select some for review. Reasons include amounts that do not match slips, the credits you claimed, or random selection. If the CRA asks for documents, the refund waits until you answer.
Missing details. A missing date of entry, a wrong SIN or an old address can slow things down. Use the first tax return checklist.
Paper filing. Newcomers can file online with certified software.

How does direct deposit speed things up?

With direct deposit, your refund goes straight into your Canadian bank account. Without it, the CRA mails a cheque.

Through My Account: Profile, then Direct deposit. The CRA says it updates the next business day.
Through your bank: most Canadian banks and credit unions can set it up for you.
By mailed form: this can take up to 3 months or longer.

The same account receives your CRA benefits. Full steps are in CRA My Account.

How do you check your refund status?

Sign in to My Account and look at your return status.
Call the CRA at 1-800-959-8281.

The CRA’s refunds page asks you to wait 12 weeks if you live in Canada, or 16 weeks if you live outside Canada, before you contact it about your return. If a payment is 10 business days late after the date the CRA gave you, contact the CRA.

Why might the CRA keep or reduce your refund?

The CRA can keep all or part of a refund when:

you owe money to the CRA or to another government program
there is a garnishment order against you
you have not filed a GST/HST return you were required to file
the refund is $2 or less

If your refund is less than you expected, read the explanation of changes on your notice of assessment.

Does the CRA pay interest on late refunds?

In some cases. The CRA pays compound daily interest on a refund starting on the latest of these dates:

30 days after the balance-due date (April 30)
30 days after you file your return
the day you overpaid

The rate the CRA pays individuals is 5% from October 1 to December 31, 2026.

Example: filing in March

Sam files his 2026 return online on March 10, 2027. Thirty days after he files is April 9. Thirty days after April 30 is May 30. The later date is May 30, 2027. If his refund arrives by then, he gets no interest. If he gets his notice in 2 weeks, around March 24, there is no interest.

Example: what a typical online refund timeline looks like

Mei arrived in Calgary in 2026 and works full time. Her employer took more tax off her pay than she owes for the part of the year she lived here.

Late February 2027: her T4 arrives. She checks it against her last pay stub.
March 5, 2027: she files online with certified software and enters her date of entry and world income before arrival.
Around March 19, 2027: if her return is not reviewed, the CRA’s 2-week goal means her notice of assessment could be ready. Because she has no CRA account yet, it comes by mail.
After the notice: the refund arrives as a cheque, because she did not set up direct deposit. A cheque takes extra days in the mail.
Next step: she registers for My Account, turns on online mail and adds direct deposit. Next year, her refund can go straight to her bank.

If the CRA had asked her for documents, the clock would have paused until she replied. Answer CRA letters quickly, and send documents through My Account once you have it.

What if you owe tax instead?

Some newcomers owe tax on their first return. Common reasons are foreign income after arrival with no tax taken off in Canada, two jobs at the same time, or self-employment income.

Pay by April 30, 2027, even if you file later. Interest is compound daily from May 1.
File on time even if you cannot pay. This avoids the late-filing penalty.
If you will owe again, you can ask your employer to take more tax off each pay.

Details are in tax deadlines, penalties and interest.

Refunds and benefits are not the same

A refund is tax you overpaid. Benefits, such as the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit and the Canada Child Benefit, are separate payments on their own schedule.

Newcomers do not need to wait for a refund to start benefits. Apply with Form RC151, and Form RC66 if you have children, soon after you arrive.

Common refund mistakes and scams

Filing on paper when you could file online. Paper takes weeks longer.
Closing your old bank account before the first payment reaches the new one.
Filing twice to fix a mistake. Use Change my return or ReFILE instead.
Trusting “refund” messages. Real CRA emails tell you to sign in to My Account. The CRA never asks for personal or financial information by email, never asks for gift cards, and never threatens arrest. See CRA scams.

Common questions

How long does a Canadian tax refund take?

For the 2026 tax season, the CRA aimed to issue notices of assessment within 2 weeks for online returns and 12 weeks for paper returns. Its official service standard is 95% of digital returns within 4 weeks and paper returns within 8 weeks.

Is direct deposit faster than a cheque?

Yes. The refund goes into your Canadian bank account instead of the mail. Set it up in My Account or through your bank.

Why is my refund smaller than my software said?

The CRA may have changed something, or used part of the refund to pay a debt. Read the explanation of changes on your notice of assessment.

Does the CRA pay interest if my refund is late?

Sometimes. Interest starts on the latest of 30 days after April 30, 30 days after you filed, or the day you overpaid.

How long do non-resident returns take?

The CRA says non-resident returns are processed within 16 weeks.

Sources

Checked against these sources on October 10, 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.

Tax refunds in Canada: how long they take, direct deposit and delays