There are three types of errors that you can receive from the CRA when submitting your return: an “information doesn’t match” error, a "there was a problem submitting your return" error, or an error code and description.

Information doesn’t match

Most often, this is because:

1. You made a mistake entering either your social insurance number or birthday.

2. You’re filing a tax return for the first time. When it comes to first-time filers, the CRA’s systems are very strict. In our experience, we’ve found that name matching causes the most problems. Your name should match exactly what appears on your SIN letter or card from Service Canada. We recommend calling the CRA to find out exactly what name (first, middle, last) they have on file for you before you try submitting again. Try submitting your return with:

   • your full middle names
   • if you have multiple middle names, just your first middle name
   • your middle initials
   • no middle name at all (even if you have middle names)

3. You immigrated to Canada and the date of entry you entered doesn’t match the date the CRA has on file. You might need to call the CRA to get your correct date of entry.

4. You incorrectly answered the “Are you filing an income tax return with the CRA for the first time?” question in the About You section.

If you can’t NETFILE your return because your account gets locked, you’ll need to print and mail your return this year.

There was a problem submitting your return

You may receive an error stating "There was a problem submitting your return. Please try again in a few minutes. If you still see this message, please send us an email so we can help you submit your return." 

If you get this error, it means that the CRA's servers are busy. We suggest trying to submit your return again after a few hours, and your submission should go through.

Error codes & description

If you received a different error from the CRA and can’t figure out what to do, please send us an email that includes the error code and we’ll help you get your return filed.