DOB Error on Return

T1
1

A client just informed me I have been using the wrong day of the month (01 rather than 10) in his DOB for the last few returns. CRA hasn’t said anything. Is this something I should make them aware of or would I be opening a can of worms?

Thanks and hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Tom

2

I’ve had that happen. CRA seemed none the wiser. I changed my records to reflect the correct birthdate and moved forward with the correct info. Never a bump in the road. I think all CRA matches is the SIN and the name.

Sometimes names can be a problem if they are “Rice-Jones” or “Rice Jones” for a last name. Not exactly matching CRA records, whether THEY are correct or not, seems to be what counts. I have had several clients whose actual last names were NOT what CRA had. A phone call from the client fixed CRA.

Pat Gamborg

PAT’s OFFICE

1354 Fed Road

Bear River NS B0S 1B0

902-467-3358

3

You may find that you get an error message when you try to efile the 2022 tax return with the corrected date because it doesn’t match CRA’s records. It’s probably wise to get this corrected now. I believe you send/fax a copy of the birth certificate with a covering letter to the T1 Specialty Services unit of the taxpayer’s Tax Centre. I know 6 months is pushing it but hopefully it can be corrected by the end of April.

4

@tome.

  1. Yes, you should correct this.

  2. Yes, this is very important. CRA, Service Canada, Birth Certificate, and Passport dates need to match. Mismatched dates between Service Canada and CRA and Passport are flagged. In the past these have been shared with other countries. When this was done cross border travel could be blocked or Passport renewal delayed, especially between Canada and the US.

  3. In the past two certified original eligible documents needed to be sent to Canada Revenue Agency. T1 Specialty Services, Tax Centre with a copy letter requesting that CRA correct all years affected with the correct DOB. This cover letter required the Tax Payer’s signature. This can take up to six months or more to fully apply for all years affected. You may be wise to call the CRA Personal Call Centre to verify the tax years affected.

5

I had a client that CRA changed the DOB on from Aug 30 to Aug 31…then wrote to me and told me I had the wrong DOB. I told them to go back and check their records and that THEY had changed it the prior year. They did and they fixed it without further ado or documentation.