Overview

This article explains what to do if you see the following error message when you submit your tax return:

“There was a problem submitting your federal return. Communication with the CRA server failed. Please try again in a few minutes. If this problem persists, please send us an email so we can help you submit your return.”

This error can happen when the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) servers are busy. In many cases, waiting a few minutes and trying again will fix the problem. If the error continues, it may be due to a known issue affecting multiple tax software providers, which the CRA is working to resolve.

Troubleshoot the error

Before trying other options, please follow these troubleshooting steps:

1. Clear your browser's cache and history, then log back in and try to submit your return again.
   • Google Chrome: Settings > Privacy and Security > Clear browsing data
   • Safari: Preferences > Privacy > Manage Website Data > Remove All
   • Firefox: Options > Privacy & Security > Cookies and Site Data > Clear Data
2. Try submitting your return using a different web browser. We suggest Google Chrome.
3. Attempt to submit your return at a different time of day when CRA servers may have less traffic.

If you still can't submit your return after trying these steps, you are likely affected by the CRA server issue.

What to do if the error continues

If the issue continues, you have two options:

1. You can wait for us to confirm that the CRA has fixed the issue, and then try to submit your return again.
2. You can print your return and mail it directly to the CRA.

Our next steps

We’ve escalated this issue to the CRA and will continue to work with them while they investigate. We’ll update this article as soon as we get confirmation that the issue is resolved and submissions are processing normally.