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Income Tax Refunds
How Long Will it Take to Get a Refund?
Check the Status of Your Tax Return
Will I Get Interest on My Tax Refund?
Direct Deposit to Your Bank Account - Mandatory
Can CRA Withhold My Tax Refund or Benefits or Garnish My Wages? - on separate page
Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Resources
How Long Will it Take to Get a Refund?
Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) says it takes about 2 weeks to process returns filed using NetFile, EFile, or Telefile, but they do not start processing returns until mid-February. For paper tax returns, CRA says it takes about 4 weeks to process returns filed before April 15, and about 6 weeks for returns filed after April 15.
Uncashed Tax Refund Cheques
CRA indicates that there are approximately $1 billion in tax cheques that have not been cashed. These cheques apparently never become stale-dated. As of May 19, an estimated 7.6 million cheques were uncashed, dating back to 1998. You can now check in CRA's My Account to see if you have any uncashed cheques - you may be surprised! If you have uncashed cheques, from My Account you can request that the cheques be reissued.
See the CRA information Uncashed cheques from the CRA.
Check the Status of Your Tax Return
To check with CRA on the status of your tax return, you need the following information:
 | your social insurance number |
| your date of birth |
| the Total Income amount that you calculated and entered on line 150 of your tax return for the current year or the past year (use the past year if you aren't sure if CRA has received your current year tax return). |
The methods to check on the status of your return or your refund are:
| online through the CRA My Account, which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To use the My Account service, you can log in using your web banking account with your financial institution, or using a CRA user ID and password. The My Account web page has a link to the online registration process. | ||
| by phoning the automated Tax Information Phone Service (TIPS), which will require either a PIN or other authentication. | ||
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by phoning the refund enquiries line.
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Will I Get Interest on My Tax Refund?
CRA will pay compound daily interest on your refund, with the interest calculation starting on the latest of the following three dates:
| the 30th day after the balance due date for the tax year |
| the 30th day after you file your return, or |
| the day after you overpaid your taxes. |
See CRA's Tax refunds.
Direct Deposit to Your Bank Account - Mandatory
The federal government has phased out all government cheques in favour of direct deposits. This includes:
| your personal income tax refund |
| GST/HST tax credit |
| Canada Child Benefit (CCB) |
| advance payment of Canada Workers Benefit (CWB) |
You can set up direct deposit to your bank account online through the CRA My Account, or through your financial institution.
Setting up or changing direct deposit information can no longer be done via EFILE or by phone starting March 24, 2025. See the CRA March 21, 2025 announcement.
Another method: You can complete and submit a Canada Direct Deposit Enrolment Form (pdf) and mail it to CRA. See Direct deposit for individuals with a Canadian bank account. This form applies to:
| payments received from CRA
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| payments received from Service Canada
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For more information, see the CRA web page on Direct Deposit.
TaxTips.ca Resources
Personal Income Tax Return Due Date
How to File Your Personal Income Tax Return
Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Resources
CRA Contact Information including toll-free telephone numbers and approximate wait timesTax Information Phone Service (TIPS)
Revised: March 24, 2025