OTTAWA, ON, Feb. 19, 2026 /CNW/ - Tax season officially launches next week. For many taxpayers, this may be the only time of year when they interact with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). It is therefore important for the CRA to respond to enquiries in a timely manner to make sure it meets taxpayers' expectations.

But this season feels different. Last September, after a long period of public scrutiny and criticism of the CRA's contact centres, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance and National Revenue, and the Honourable Wayne Long, Secretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions), requested that the CRA implement a 100-day service improvement plan. Until the plan ended in December, the CRA reported weekly on its 100-day Service Improvement Plan web page about its progress related to four pillars: increasing its ability to answer calls, expanding digital self-service options, addressing the root causes of service issues, and accelerating service modernization.

As a result of initiatives it undertook, the CRA processed many taxpayer requests last fall and is currently managing the call volume at its contact centres. However, it remains unclear how the CRA's improvements will set it up for better results this tax season compared with last year. The coming weeks will be the real test.

I was pleased to see that the CRA has carried over the practice of reporting on its progress from the 100-day plan by launching its Continuous Service Improvement web page. The CRA is using this page to increase transparency by detailing the actions it is taking to improve service, sharing some of the results, and announcing new service offerings. Our Office will continue to monitor these improvements, and if we identify further opportunities, we will ask the CRA to pursue them.

That being said, it is important that the CRA avoid unintentionally introducing new service issues as it continues to make improvements. The CRA has started prompting CRA account users to add a backup multi-factor authentication (MFA) option to improve security and prevent taxpayers from needing to call if they cannot use their main MFA option. Although it is not mandatory to add the backup option this tax season, taxpayers may still face challenges if they choose to add one. We have sent a request to the CRA with suggestions for how it can make the implementation smoother for taxpayers.

Tax season can be a stressful time for many Canadians. Overall, we look forward to seeing how the CRA's work from the past few months will affect the service experience for the public during this tax season.

Mr. François Boileau, Taxpayers' Ombudsperson

Background information

The Taxpayers' Ombudsperson works independently from the CRA. Canadians can submit complaints to the Office if they feel they are not receiving the appropriate service from the CRA and its Service Feedback Program. Our main objective is to improve the service the CRA provides to taxpayers and benefit recipients by reviewing individual service complaints and service issues that affect more than one person or a segment of the population.

The Taxpayers' Ombudsperson assists, advises and informs the Minister of Finance and National Revenue about matters relating to services provided by the CRA. The Ombudsperson ensures, in particular, that the CRA respects eight of the service rights outlined in the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

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SOURCE Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson