Do you need an accountant or a tax lawyer for a CRA audit?

For most CRA reviews and audits, an experienced tax accountant is the right first call. The work is about records, numbers and a clear written response. A tax lawyer matters in a few specific situations: when there's a risk of a criminal investigation, when you need your communications protected by legal privilege, and when a dispute is heading to the Tax Court of Canada. Some files need both, at different stages.

You choose who deals with the CRA

You can authorize a representative to deal with the CRA for you. Authorizing someone online through your CRA account gives them online access to your information, while Form AUT-01 gives offline access by phone, mail, fax and in person. Once someone is authorized, the CRA can contact them about your file and they can send documents on your behalf.

Why an accountant is usually the right first call

Reviews and audits are decided on evidence. The CRA wants the amounts on your return reported correctly and properly supported, and an auditor works through your books and records to check. Winning that argument means rebuilding the paper trail (receipts, ledgers, bank statements, contracts, reconciliations) and writing an explanation that ties it all back to what you claimed. That's accounting work. So is most of the objection that follows, if the dispute is about the numbers.

When you need a tax lawyer

The file could turn criminal

Tax evasion is a crime, and CRA investigations can end in court. In August 2026, a Vancouver realtor received a nine-month conditional sentence and a $103,785 fine after a CRA investigation found she had falsely claimed a tenant-occupied property as her principal residence. If there's any sign the CRA is treating your file as possible evasion rather than an ordinary audit, speak to a lawyer before you say anything more.

Privilege matters

Communications with a lawyer for the purpose of legal advice can be protected by solicitor-client privilege, and the Income Tax Act recognizes it (section 232). There's no equivalent for accountants. The Federal Court of Appeal confirmed in Tower v. Minister of National Revenue (2003 FCA 307) that tax advice from an accountant isn't privileged. That's also why the CRA can require an accounting firm to hand over client records. In September 2026, the Federal Court of Appeal ordered the firm Zeifmans LLP to comply with a CRA requirement for information under section 231.2 of the Income Tax Act.

The dispute goes to the Tax Court

If an objection doesn't settle things, the next step is an appeal to the Tax Court of Canada, and that's litigation. Under the Court's general procedure rules, an individual can act in person or be represented by counsel, but a party that isn't an individual, such as a corporation, has to be represented by counsel unless the Court gives leave. Smaller disputes may qualify for the Court's informal procedure, which has simpler rules. For a general-procedure appeal, you'll want a tax lawyer.

Accountant, lawyer, or both

In practice it's often a sequence rather than a choice. An accountant handles the review or audit and prepares the objection. If criminal exposure appears, or the file heads toward general-procedure litigation, a tax lawyer takes over the legal side, often working from the accountant's analysis. Either way, get someone who knows what they're doing answering the CRA from the first letter. What you send early shapes everything that comes after.

How Elliott & Lee can help

Elliott & Lee represents businesses and individuals in CRA reviews, audits and objections, from offices in Penticton and Vancouver. If we think your matter needs a lawyer, we'll tell you.

Received a CRA notice? Talk to us before you reply. Send us the complete notice, and in a free 30-minute review we'll tell you what it covers and how we'd respond. Contact us

Related: CRA review vs. CRA audit: what's the difference?

Sources

• Canada Revenue Agency, Authorize a representative
• Income Tax Act, section 232 and section 231.2
• Tower v. Minister of National Revenue, 2003 FCA 307
• Canada (National Revenue) v. Zeifmans LLP, 2026 FCA 147
• Tax Court of Canada Rules (General Procedure), section 30
• Tax Court of Canada Rules (Informal Procedure)
• Canada Revenue Agency, Location, location, fabrication: Vancouver realtor pleads guilty to tax evasion (August 26, 2026)

This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Tax rules and CRA practice change, so talk to an adviser about your own situation.