DENIED CLAIMS

The CRA said no. That is not the end of it.

A denied rebate is a decision, not a verdict. You have 90 days from the date on your notice of assessment to file a Notice of Objection — and a denial that goes unchallenged inside that window becomes permanent.

Most people who are denied simply accept it. A denial is often a disagreement about facts or interpretation, and disagreements can be argued.

2,500 claims filed · $65 million recovered · 15+ years in Excise Tax · Never a percentage of your rebate.

90 days. From the date on the notice, not the date you opened it.

The 90 days run from the date printed on your notice of assessment. Not the day it arrived, not the day you read it, not the day you decided to do something about it.

If you’re inside that window, you have options. If you’re outside it, you may still have one — an application for an extension of time, which must be made within one year after the 90-day limit expires, and which requires an explanation the CRA finds acceptable.

Past that, the assessment stands.

If you have a notice in front of you, check the date on it now, before you read the rest of this page.

Why rebate claims get denied

Denials cluster into a handful of patterns, and most of them are arguable.

Primary residence questioned. The CRA doesn’t accept that the home was acquired as your primary place of residence — often on thin evidence, sometimes because of how quickly the property was later sold or rented.

Intent at acquisition challenged. Common on pre-construction purchases where circumstances changed between signing and closing. What you intended years ago is being inferred from what happened afterwards.

The 90% test on a renovation. Whether a renovation was substantial is a matter of fact and degree, which makes it inherently contestable. Substantial renovation claims →

Fair market value disputed. On owner-built and converted properties, the CRA has arrived at a different number than you did.

Rental use questioned. Whether there was a qualifying long-term tenancy, and whether it was genuine. Rental property claims →

Documentation gaps. Sometimes the claim was right and the file was thin. This is the most fixable category of all.

Filed by the wrong person, or twice. Increasingly common as the new programs create situations where a builder has filed and the buyer must file separately.

What an objection actually is

It isn’t an appeal to a court and it isn’t a complaint. It’s a formal statement of why the assessment is wrong, filed on Form GST159 or submitted through your CRA account, which puts the file in front of an appeals officer who was not involved in the original decision.

That last part matters. The person reviewing your objection is looking at the file fresh. A well-argued objection with proper evidence often succeeds where the original claim was denied on incomplete information.

What makes an objection work:

Every ground stated, at the outset. The objection sets the frame for everything that follows. Grounds left out are difficult to introduce later.

Evidence, not assertion. “It was my primary residence” is a claim. Utility bills, insurance, driver’s licence, mail, banking, employment records — those are evidence.

The right legal argument. Denials usually turn on a specific provision applied to specific facts. Arguing the wrong point courteously and at length achieves nothing.

Filed on time. Everything above is irrelevant if the 90 days have run.

If the objection doesn't resolve it

You can appeal to the Tax Court of Canada within 90 days of the CRA’s notice of confirmation, reassessment or redetermination.

And there’s a feature of GST/HST disputes worth knowing. If the CRA has not decided your objection within 180 days of filing, you may appeal to the Tax Court without waiting any longer. For income tax the equivalent period is 90 days; for GST/HST it’s 180 — but the right exists, and it means a file cannot be left indefinitely in the appeals queue.

If you miss the appeal deadline, an extension can be applied for within one year and 90 days of the decision. You’d need to show you intended to appeal within the original period, applied as soon as you were able, have reasonable grounds, and that granting it would be just.

Most matters do not reach court. Objections are resolved at the appeals stage far more often than not. But the appeal right is what gives an objection its weight — an appeals officer knows the alternative exists.

What we do

We’ve filed more than 2,500 GST/HST rebate applications and recovered over $65 million. The Excise Tax Act is the whole of this firm’s practice — not a service line within a general accounting business.

We read the denial properly. Free. Send us the notice of assessment and we’ll tell you what the CRA has actually decided, whether it’s arguable, and how long you have. Sometimes the answer is that the denial was correct — you’ll hear that from us plainly.
We build and file the objection. Grounds, argument, evidence, filed inside the deadline.
We carry it through. If another firm prepared your application, or you filed it yourself, that doesn’t affect whether we can help. Bring us the notice.

And if we filed your claim, the objection is included — same engagement, not a separate bill.

An hourly fee. Not a percentage.

We charge an hourly professional fee, quoted before you commit. Objection work on a claim we didn’t originally file is quoted on the scope of the matter.

Your initial review is free. If we think the denial was correct, we’ll tell you and it will have cost you nothing to ask.

Michael Sproule has spent 15+ years dealing with the CRA on GST/HST matters specifically — not general accounting practice. Excise Tax is the whole of what this firm does.

Common Questions

How long do I have?

90 days from the date printed on your notice of assessment. If that has passed, you can apply for an extension of time, but the application must be made within one year after the 90-day limit expired.

Does filing an objection cost me my rebate if I lose?

No. An objection asks the CRA to reconsider a decision it has already made. If it’s unsuccessful you’re where you started.

Can you object to a claim another firm filed?

Yes. It doesn’t matter who prepared the original application, or whether you filed it yourself. What matters is what the notice of assessment says and how long ago it was dated.

What if the CRA just doesn't respond to my objection?

For GST/HST matters, if there’s been no decision within 180 days of filing, you may appeal directly to the Tax Court of Canada. That right is one of the reasons objections tend to get resolved.

Is this going to end up in court?

Usually not. Most objections are resolved at the appeals stage. The right to appeal matters because it exists, not because it’s ordinarily used.

My claim was denied years ago. Is there anything left?

Possibly not — the limitation periods are firm. But the dates are worth checking rather than assuming, and checking costs nothing.

Check the date on your notice

That one date determines what’s possible. Everything else can be worked out afterwards

Free review of your notice. An hourly fee, quoted upfront. If the denial was correct, we’ll tell you.

This page describes the GST/HST objection and appeal process in general terms as of August 2026 and is not legal or tax advice. Limitation periods are strict and depend on the dates applicable to your assessment. For source material see CRA Form GST159 and the Tax Court of Canada.