Dedicated telephone service for income tax service providers

Tax Topics
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The Dedicated Telephone Service (DTS) offers free technical help for small and medium income tax service providers. Experienced CRA officers are available by telephone to help you find the information you need to interpret the provisions of the Income Tax Act.

[https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/tax-professionals/dedicated-telephone-service.html]

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The ACTUAL legislation (ie the Income Tax Act and Regulations, the CPP Act and Regulations, the ETA Act and regulations, etc, etc) are the ACTUAL prime items that persons offering tax services to the public need to be intimately familiar with first, as primary research.

DTS does not provide specific assistance on files, but rather secondary research.

Uncomplicated

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Thank you so much, I had no idea about this service.
You really are a “nice guy” lol

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DTS is not very useful. The agent will take your question, look up what he/she “thinks” is relevant and send you an email with references to CRA web pages, ITA sections, and court cases - all stuff you could just do yourself…

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I did not find it useful.

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I had a treaty-related question and got half a dozen references that had nothing to do with the treaty. :confounded: What a waste!

I wish CRA would transition the program to deal with complex client-specific questions which would be NOTED in their files. Trying to get from front line staff to a senior agent (expert in the area at issue), isn’t always easy.

A couple of years ago, a foreign missionary who had been determined to be a factual resident by CRA was looking at a possible change in his situation which could trigger a change his residency status. He did not want a determination because he was trying to decide if he should or should not proceed with the change and CRA will only provide a determination until AFTER the change. The first rep only heard he was living in another country. I repeatedly informed her that the taxpayer had a determination of factual-resident. All she had to say was: “He’s a non-resident so the change won’t matter.” [I submitted an RC193 but was essentially informed: sharing what we did would violate the employee’s privacy.]

The second representative just happened to be a senior agent and was able to give me an opinion and direction to support it.

I wish we still had an international tax centre. They ALL knew foreign missionaries could qualify as factual residents.

As I live in a town with a Bible College, a good portion of my clients are pastors or missionaries.

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They have sent you court cases?

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Yes - references to court cases, with text excerpts.

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