Canada: Complaints about an adviser

A complaint works best when it goes to the right place in the right order, in writing, with the engagement letter and the correspondence attached. Take advice before you start if the claim itself is in doubt, because a complaint about the adviser and a correction of the return are separate matters with separate deadlines; the when things go wrong pages cover the second.

Put the complaint to the firm in writing first: what was agreed, what happened and what you want done. A professional body will want to see that record, and it is what every later step rests on. The fee disputes page covers what to do about a disputed invoice while the complaint runs.

If the adviser is a chartered professional accountant, the CPA body of their province is the next step. CPA Ontario, for example, says it is responsible for protecting the public interest by ensuring that its members, students and firms act in accordance with its rules and regulations, and takes complaints through its digital complaint intake form.1Source 1CPA Ontario, Professional misconduct and complaints guide (April 2025). Other provincial bodies have their own processes, and engineers or other professionals who worked on the claim may belong to bodies of their own. Check membership first using the credentials page. If the person belongs to no body, this step does not exist, which is one reason to check before you sign.

The CRA pages read for this page state no licensing requirement for tax preparers and describe no complaints service for clients of a preparer.2Source 2Canada Revenue Agency, Using a professional tax preparer (5 March 2026) and Evaluation: CRA programs used by tax preparers (24 March 2025). The CRA's Leads Program lets anyone report, anonymously, a business, charity or individual it suspects of not complying with tax or benefit rules, online, by mail or by fax. The page does not mention tax preparers, so it is a route for reporting suspected non-compliance, not a complaints service about a preparer.3Source 3Canada Revenue Agency, Reporting suspected tax or benefit cheating in Canada (7 August 2026).

What the CRA does enforce is the claim itself. The $1,000 penalty for missing or inaccurate claim preparer information in Part 9 of Form T661 falls on the preparer and the claimant together,4Source 4Canada Revenue Agency, T4088, Guide to Form T661, Part 9 (18 February 2026); Income Tax Act section 162(5.1) to (5.3). and third-party civil penalties can apply to a person who prepares a false statement.5Source 5Canada Revenue Agency, IC01-1R2, Third-party civil penalties (17 February 2026). Those are matters the CRA raises on review. They are not a way for you to complain, and they do not correct your own return. If your own claim is in doubt, the your responsibility page sets out the reassessment route, and the correcting a claim page says what to settle first.

A complaint to a professional body can lead to discipline of the member. It does not change the corporation's own tax position, which is decided by the return and any CRA review, and it does not of itself recover a fee. A fee dispute is a contract matter between you and the firm, and the engagement letter is where it is decided; take legal advice before withholding any payment.

• Complaints about an adviser in general terms, and fee disputes
• Checking an adviser's credentials and if your claim is reviewed in Canada
• Switching advisers

Sources

1. CPA Ontario, Professional misconduct and complaints guide (April 2025).  Back
2. Canada Revenue Agency, Using a professional tax preparer (5 March 2026) and Evaluation: CRA programs used by tax preparers (24 March 2025).  Back
3. Canada Revenue Agency, Reporting suspected tax or benefit cheating in Canada (7 August 2026).  Back
4. Canada Revenue Agency, T4088, Guide to Form T661, Part 9 (18 February 2026); Income Tax Act section 162(5.1) to (5.3).  Back
5. Canada Revenue Agency, IC01-1R2, Third-party civil penalties (17 February 2026).  Back