Are you used to getting scammers calling you from the “CRA”? I know, I know… we’ve been telling you for years that they wouldn’t want to call you. What’s new in 2022 is this has changed. Now the CRA might actually want to contact you. When this happens, it is important to protect yourself from scams, and to know how the CRA will contact you.
The Canada Revenue Agency website provides information to Canadians on how to secure their CRA accounts. As fraud prevention measures, the CRA encourages you to use unique and complex passwords, create a Personal Identification Number (PIN) to confirm your identity over the phone, sign up for email notifications for an early warning for potentially fraudulent activity, and finally, monitor your account regularly for suspicious activity.
Apart from potential contact from the CRA, there are a few other new things coming. Those who haven’t signed up for direct deposit are in luck. There is a new, easy way to sign up for direct deposit through many financial institutions. If your financial institution offers CRA direct deposit, they will more than likely be provided on the financial groups’ website.
Tired of Waiting on Hold?
Well, this should be changing soon. The 2020 Fall Economic Statement accounted allocation of additional funding to the Canada Revenue Agency for call centers. The CRA took that investment and hired additional agents to help with increased call volumes. Not only have they upped their personnel, they have also added a new automated callback service and extended their hours.
The callback service, when available, will allow callers to ask for a callback instead of having to wait on hold. Additionally, those who have struggled to make calls during the weekday, the CRA has opened Saturday hours from 9AM to 5PM starting February 27th 2022.
Some other cool changes:
- Beginning in the summer of 2022, you will be able to receive EI sickness benefits for up to 26 weeks. The previous limit has been 15 weeks.
- Those age 75 or over will be receiving more Old Age Security (OAS) payments. Starting July 2022, your regular OAS payments will be increased by 10%.
Want more information? Check out the CRA’s website, or give us a call at 204-509-0753.