Penalty and Interest Relief Request
Can CRA cancel your penalties and interest? Get an honest chance rating under the taxpayer relief rules and a drafted request for form RC4288.
CRA can cancel penalties and interest when life got in the way. It almost never does for “I was busy.” This request tells you plainly which one you are, and drafts it properly if you have a case.
The short version
- Taxpayer relief can cancel or waive penalties and interest, never the tax itself.
- CRA considers extraordinary circumstances (serious illness, a death in the family, a flood or fire), its own errors and delays, and real inability to pay.
- Requests cover the 10 calendar years before the year you ask. CRA's average processing time is about 16 months, and interest keeps running meanwhile.
- You answer a short set of questions; we rate your chance (good, fair or poor), list what would strengthen it, and draft the explanation for form RC4288.
- $79.00 + HST, up to four drafts.
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Owe tax you can't pay at all? Read payment arrangements first; relief and a payment plan often go together.
What CRA Will and Won't Forgive
Background: taxpayer relief explained, late-filing penalties and interest on late payments.
The relief program exists for situations you couldn't control. CRA's own examples include natural or human-made disasters such as a flood or fire, civil disturbances or service disruptions like a postal strike, serious illness or accident, and serious emotional or mental distress such as a death in the immediate family. It also covers CRA's own mistakes and delays, like being told the wrong thing or not being told for a long time that you owed money, and genuine financial hardship where interest makes up a major part of the debt.
What it won't cover: the tax itself, forgetting, being busy, not having the money because you spent it, or blaming a preparer (that one is between you and the preparer). CRA also looks at your history: someone who files on time for twenty years and stumbled once gets a different reading than someone who's late every spring.
How It Works
- Tell it the way it happened. Which penalties or interest, which years, roughly how much, what caused it, with dates, and what you did once you could.
- Get an honest chance rating. Good, fair or poor, with the reasons, and the facts or proof that would move it up.
- Get the draft. If it's really a disagreement about the tax, not the penalty, you need a notice of objection instead. A factual explanation in the order CRA reads it, with [ADD: …] blanks for anything missing. You edit it.
- Send it. In My Account under Accounts and payments (“Request relief of penalties and interest”), or by mailing form RC4288 to the office on its last page, with copies of your proof.
Not sure where the penalty came from?
Letter Check reads the notice or statement and explains each penalty and interest charge, then tells you whether relief, an objection or a payment plan fits.
If CRA Says No
You can ask for a second administrative review, with any facts the first reviewer missed. CRA recommends that first. After that, a judicial review in the Federal Court must be filed within 30 calendar days of receiving the decision. A Federal Court review looks at whether CRA's decision was reasonable, not at the facts all over again, so it's worth talking to a tax lawyer before that step.
Taxpayer Relief Questions
Can CRA cancel interest and penalties?
Yes, under the taxpayer relief provisions, when they resulted from extraordinary circumstances, CRA’s own actions, or inability to pay or financial hardship. CRA cannot cancel the tax itself through this program.
How far back can I ask for taxpayer relief?
CRA considers penalties and interest for tax years or fiscal periods ending in any of the 10 calendar years before the year you make the request.
How long does a taxpayer relief request take?
CRA reports an average of about 16 months. Interest keeps running on any balance while it decides, so pay what you can in the meantime.
How do I apply for taxpayer relief?
Sign in to My Account and choose Request relief of penalties and interest under Accounts and payments, or mail form RC4288 with a detailed description of your circumstances and supporting documents.
What if my request is denied?
Ask for a second administrative review. After that, you can apply to the Federal Court for judicial review within 30 calendar days of receiving the decision.
Sources: CRA, Cancel or waive penalties and interest; CRA, After you apply; CRA, Form RC4288; CRA, IC07-1R1 Taxpayer relief provisions. Checked October 2026. Not tax or legal advice. CanadianTaxes.ai is not the Canada Revenue Agency.
Last reviewed October 5, 2026 against CRA and Government of Canada sources. How we check our facts.