RC4288 taxpayer relief request: how to ask the CRA to cancel penalties and interest

What does an RC4288 taxpayer relief request cover?

An RC4288 taxpayer relief request is how you ask the CRA to use its discretion to cancel or waive penalties and interest. The form's full name is RC4288, Request for Taxpayer Relief, Cancel or Waive Penalties and Interest. You can also make the same request online through your CRA account.

Relief never touches the tax you owe. If your return shows $4,000 of tax, that $4,000 stays. What can go away are the charges added on top, such as the late-filing penalty, instalment interest and arrears interest.

A worked example of what is at stake

Say you owed $4,000 on a return filed 3 full months late. The late-filing penalty is 5% of the balance ($200) plus 1% for each full month late ($120), for a total of $320. Arrears interest is added on top at the prescribed rate, which is 7% compounded daily for October to December 2026, the same as the previous quarter. A successful request could remove the $320 and some or all of that interest. The late-filing penalty page shows how the penalty grows for repeat late filers.

Situations the CRA considers for taxpayer relief

The CRA groups qualifying situations into three categories, and it also reviews other situations on their merits. Your request should say clearly which category applies to you and show how the event stopped you from meeting the deadline.

Events affecting your authorized representative can also count, for example if the person who prepared your return had a serious illness at filing time.

What a CRA penalty waiver will not cover

• The tax assessed on your return
• Penalties or interest outside the 10-year window
• Amounts the CRA has no legal authority to cancel or waive
• Bank fees and similar administrative charges
• Mistakes by a third party, except in exceptional cases

The 10-year limit on CRA interest relief

You can only ask about penalties and interest tied to the 10 calendar years before the year you make the request. For penalties, the tax year must end within the window. For interest, the interest must have built up during the window, even if the tax year itself is older.

If you are close to the edge of the window, submit before December 31. A request sent in January loses one year of coverage. Right now that matters for 2016: penalties for tax years ending in 2016 can be included only in a request made by December 31, 2026.

How to apply with the taxpayer relief form or online

You can apply online or by mail. Choose the route that lets you send all of your supporting documents together.

1. Online (individuals): sign in to My Account, go to Accounts and payments and choose Request relief of penalties and interest. A representative can do the same in Represent a Client.
2. Online (businesses): in My Business Account or Represent a Client, select the program and account involved, such as GST/HST, and choose Request relief of penalties and interest.
3. By mail: fill in Form RC4288 and send it to the designated office listed on the last page of the form, based on where you live.

Documents that support each type of request

The CRA asks for a detailed, complete and accurate description of your circumstances and all relevant supporting information. For hardship requests, include Form RC376, Taxpayer Relief Request, Statement of Income and Expenses and Assets and Liabilities for Individuals, plus your bank and credit card statements for the most recent 3 months. For illness or a death, documents such as a doctor's letter with treatment dates or a death certificate show the timing. For CRA errors, include the letters or notes of calls that show the delay.

RC4288 or FP-4288 in Quebec?

Form RC4288 covers penalties and interest charged by the CRA. In Quebec, Revenu Québec administers the QST and, for most businesses, the GST/HST, and it has its own form: FP-4288-V, Application for the Cancellation or Waiver of GST/HST- and QST-Related Interest or Penalties, or of QST-Related Charges (FP-4288 in French). Interest and penalties on your Quebec provincial income tax return are also decided by Revenu Québec, so ask Revenu Québec, not the CRA, to cancel those. A selected listed financial institution with GST/HST or QST matters uses CRA Form RC7288 instead of RC4288.

After you apply: decisions, second review and court

The CRA reports an average processing time of 16 months for relief requests. You can follow the file with the Progress Tracker on the Overview page of My Account. If the penalty is tied to an assessment under objection or appeal, no final decision is made until that dispute is settled.

You will receive a letter saying the request was approved, partly approved or denied. If you disagree, ask for a second administrative review, giving your reasons and supporting documents. None of the officials from the first review take part, so add any new facts or documents you did not send the first time.

You can apply to the Federal Court for judicial review within 30 calendar days of receiving a CRA relief decision. The CRA recommends asking for the second administrative review first.

Relief is only one fix. If the penalty came from a registered account, the rules are different: see TFSA over-contribution penalty and RRSP over-contribution. If you have not filed yet, file first; the guide to filing a tax return covers every method, and a payment arrangement can stop collection pressure while you wait.