The CRA is the largest organization in the Canadian federal public service by number of personnel, employing 54,933 people and has an operating budget of $5.1 billion[7] as of the 2018–19 fiscal year.

[15] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the CRA joined several other government departments in transitioning to temporary remote work arrangements.

The agency was also tasked with delivering emergency financial benefits to Canadians on behalf of the federal government, processing millions of applications through its IT systems.

The minister is accountable to Parliament and Cabinet for the CRA's operations, and in matters pertaining to tax and benefit administration in Canada.

The commissioner manages the day-to-day operations of the agency, and advises the minister on the duties and functions of the CRA as prescribed by legislation.

[28] The board develops the CRA's Corporate Business Plan each year, which sets out objectives, performance expectations, and financial allocations within the agency.

[29] These committees allow for a detailed review of items brought before the board, and establish work plans for their respective activities each year.

[4] The CRA maintains four advisory committees to assist it in operational planning and decision-making as it relates to different sectors or issues.

Advisory committees consist of tax professionals, lawyers, accountants, and community leaders that help the agency improve its service delivery within a specific area.

[30] The current advisory committees are as follows: The CRA's headquarters are located in Ottawa, and is responsible for several agency-wide functions, including ministerial reporting, corporate planning, human resources, information technology, communications, and interpreting tax legislation.

[34] There are three NSCs located across the North: As of the 2018-19 fiscal year, the CRA employed about 43,908 people,[7] making it the largest organization within the federal government by personnel.

For other entities, such as charities, corporations, sole proprietorships, partnerships, or self-employed individuals, the tax deadline may vary widely.

[citation needed] The CRA processes most tax returns with very limited review and promptly issues a notice of assessment.

Not-for profit organizations, are normally exempt for income tax purposes, but are required to register for GST/HST accounts under the current rules.

[44] As a separate agency, the CRA maintains partnerships and agreements with provincial, territorial, and other levels of government to administer non-harmonized sales tax programs on a cost-recovery basis.

[citation needed] Taxes for provincial corporations in Canada are administered by the CRA, except for provinces of Alberta and Quebec.

[citation needed] CRA administers social benefits and tax credits on behalf of the federal government and most provinces and territories.

Notable benefits and credits at the federal level include the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), which aims to assist families with children, the Climate Action Incentive (CAI), which pays dividends directly to Canadians as part of Canada's carbon pricing scheme and the Disability Tax Credit (DTC), which helps eligible recipients with disabilities reduce the amount of income tax they owe.

The CCB was implemented in July 2016, and builds upon existing benefit programs (UCCB and CCTB) in addition to other child-related credits.

[citation needed] The economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the temporary and permanent closure of businesses throughout Canada, leading to the loss of several thousand jobs.

This resulted in the creation of several economic measures targeting different sectors of Canadian society, which the CRA was tasked with administering.

[citation needed] When an auditor feels as though they cannot rely upon the books and records of the taxpayer being audited, they can avail themselves of the net worth methodology.

[citation needed] If a non-filer officer determines that insufficient info is available for issuing an arbitrary assessment, they may refer the file to Investigations, who would then take the taxpayer to court.

The CRA, acting on behalf of the Minister of National Revenue, is represented by a tax litigation lawyer from the Department of Justice Canada.

In 2007, the Harper government introduced the Taxpayer Bill of Rights and the Commitment to Small Business to help improve the CRA's service to Canadians.

[68] In September 2019, the CRA was criticized for sending nearly 900,000 financial records of Canadian residents to the Internal Revenue Service in the United States.

[citation needed] In 2016, the Financial Post reported that the auditor general criticized the CRA for taking too long to respond to tax complaints.

The CRA admitted in December 2020 that "unclear" instructions given to call centre agents relating to CERB led to confusion around eligibility.

[75] In March 2016, it was claimed that the CRA violated its own policy by offering to forego imposing gross negligence penalties or criminal investigation of wealthy clients of KPMG engaged in what the CRA alleged were sham transactions to hide offshore assets if those taxpayers agreed to pay tax and arrears interest without contesting amounts owing.

In May 2022, Federal Court filings revealed that the CRA granted tax deals to a major, unnamed corporation based in the United States and Netherlands relating to transfer pricing allocation of international goods and services..[77]