What is a Notice of Assessment (NOA) and T1 General?

Knowing what the main documents are for and how they work will help you plan your taxes with more confidence.

It can take a lot of time and stress to gather all the necessary proof of income, keep track of the names of the documents and where to find each one, especially if you’re a first-time homebuyer and have never had to do this before.

But you can make things easier on yourself by giving lenders all the information they need, like a Notice of Assessment (NOA) and T1 General.

In this article, we will review the Notice of Assessment (NOA) and the T1 General to help you better understand them.

What’s a Notice of Assessment and T1 General?

A Notice of Assessment (NOA) is a form that is sent to taxpayers after their tax return has been received and reviewed. It acts as a receipt and shows whether the taxpayer has a refund, an amount owing, or a zero balance. A T1 General is the form used to file personal income taxes.

1: Notice of Assessment: 

A notice of assessment is the Canada Revenue Agency‘s way of letting you know that they have received your tax return. It’s a kind of receipt that shows your tax return was received and looked over. This is a document that is often asked for in the mortgage business. The Canada Revenue Agency put out this document, which is two pages long (CRA). At the end of the tax year, it will be sent to every Canadian taxpayer.

The Canada Revenue Agency issues a Notice of Assessment after you file your taxes. After you send in your taxes, you will get a Notice of Assessment (NOA) in the mail from the CRA. The statement will tell you how much money you owe the CRA in income tax.

This document confirms a number of things, such as how much money you made and how much tax you paid last year. It also shows if you still owe money. Your Notice of Assessment (NOA) will tell you when your tax return was processed and whether you got a refund, owe money, or have a zero balance.

An NOA is a very important document because it tells you how your tax return is going and lets you know about any possible problems so you can fix them.

2: T1 General Form

The Income Tax and Benefit Return is another name for the T1 General Form. It is the form that Canadians use to report their income taxes.

The form is a summary of all the other forms you fill out for your income taxes. It includes your provincial or territorial tax (except for Quebec), your total income, your net income, your tax due, your deductions, your non-refundable credits, and more. This form is used to apply for benefits like the Canada Child Benefit or refundable tax credits like the GST/HST tax credit when you file your taxes.

It is usually at least 4 pages long, and you must give your Broker all of the pages when they ask for them.

Depending on which province or territory you lived in during the tax year, there are some small differences in how to fill out this form.

When you file your T1, you will need to provide information about the following:

• Income earned in the previous year from employment or self-employment
• COVID-19 benefits and any other benefits
• Investment income
• Benefit income

How to Obtain a Notice of Assessment and T1 General?

1- Notice of Assessment

There are three ways in which you can obtain a Notice of Assessment:

1. Online
2. By regular mail
3. The MyCRA app on your mobile device

Let’s take each one in turn:

• Online

Just go to the Canada Revenue Agency’s website and use the “My Account” service. Once the CRA has looked at your T1 General, it will send you a Notice of Assessment. This is where you can find it.

If you already have an account with the CRA, all you have to do is sign in. If you don’t, you can make an account and follow the easy steps on the site. On the government website, your NOA is under the tab called “tax returns.”

In the “My Account” section, you can also check to see if your NOA is ready and make changes to your information.

For example, if you move, you should update your contact information or change your bank information for direct deposit.

• Regular Snail Mail

If you’d rather do things the old-fashioned way, you can still get your Notice of Assessment through the regular mail.

To do this, call the CRA at 1.800.959.8281 and ask them to send you a copy to your home address.

• The MyCRA App

Downloading the MyCRA App is a simple way to get this important piece of information for your mortgage qualifications.

You can change your personal information and other parts of your profile, just like you can with an online account on the CRA website. You can also check your tax balance, statements, and mail from the CRA.

This app is not for businesses but for people who are filing tax returns. You can get the MyCRA app from the CRA website, but first you have to sign up for an online account.

One thing to keep in mind is that this is not a stand-alone app that you can get from Google Play or the Apple app store in the usual way. It works through a web browser on the internet.

2- T1 General

On the CRA website, you can find your T1 General for this year and the last 11 years.

Your T1 General should be given to you by the person who sends in your tax return as soon as the return is done. You can find your T1 General if you do your own taxes using software like TurboTax or UFile.

If you can’t find your return, you’ll need to ask for a copy from the agency or person who filled out your return.

Why is the Notice of Assessment and T1 General Important?

The Notice of Assessment (NOA) and T1 General are important documents used to file personal income tax returns in Canada. The NOA is a critical document that gives the status of a tax return and alerts to any potential problems. It includes the date the tax return was checked, as well as details about any refunds or credits due. The T1 General is essentially the same document, but it is not an official document

Let Us Help with These Income Documents

If you’re having trouble collecting the documents for your mortgage application, you’re not alone! It can be difficult to keep track of document names and where you can go to find each one, especially if you’re a first-time homebuyer who has never had to access them before. 

We hope you’ve found this outline about Notice of Assessment (NOA) and T1 General useful. 

Aspiring homeowners needing more information on these topics and other income documents can contact the Filing Taxes team of professional accountants today at 416-479-8532. start their journey towards owning a home. Schedule an NTR engagement appointment with us and take the first step towards proper management of your finances.

Disclaimer: The information provided on this page is intended to provide general information. The information does not consider your personal situation and is not intended to be used without consultation from accounting and financial professionals. Salman Rundhawa and Filing Taxes will not be held liable for any problems that arise from the usage of the information provided on this page.