Form RC4288, Taxpayer Relief Request, asks the Canada Revenue Agency to cancel or waive penalties and interest when circumstances beyond your control stopped you from meeting your tax obligations. Common grounds are disasters, serious illness, financial hardship and CRA errors or delays. Requests must relate to the last 10 calendar years, and you can file the form or use the online relief service in My Account or My Business Account.
Everything below comes from the CRA's taxpayer relief pages and Form RC4288 E (25), as of October 2026.
Situations the CRA considers
| Ground | Examples from the CRA |
|---|---|
| Extraordinary circumstances | Flood or fire, a postal strike, serious illness or accident, serious emotional or mental distress such as a death in the immediate family |
| Financial hardship | You can't pay, interest makes up a major part of the debt, or paying it would leave you without basic necessities or put a business at risk |
| Actions of the CRA | Processing delays, errors in CRA materials, incorrect information from the CRA, delays resolving an objection, appeal or audit |
| Other circumstances | Situations outside the categories above, reviewed case by case |
Financial hardship relief applies to interest only, once the CRA has confirmed you can't pay what you owe. Errors by your accountant or representative are generally your responsibility, though the CRA may consider exceptional cases.
What doesn't qualify
- Penalties and interest outside the 10-year period.
- The tax itself. Relief covers penalties and interest, not assessed tax.
- Amounts the CRA has no legislative authority to cancel, such as the GST/HST gross negligence penalty under section 285 of the Excise Tax Act.
- Administrative charges such as bank chargeback fees.
If you think the tax is wrong, that's an objection, not a relief request. Other routes include a voluntary disclosure or changing your return.
The 10-year rule
For penalties, the CRA only considers a tax year or fiscal period ending in any of the 10 calendar years before the year you make the request. For interest, it only considers amounts that accrued in those 10 calendar years. The CRA's own example: a request made in 2023 must relate to periods ending, or interest accruing, in 2013 or later. If an old debt has been building interest for longer, part of it can no longer be relieved.
How to fill in RC4288
- Section 1: your name, address and phone numbers.
- Section 2: a representative can only submit it for you with at least level 2 authorization for every account involved.
- Section 3: the penalty types, such as late-filing or instalment penalty, the interest types, the amounts and every tax year or period. Your notice of assessment or statement of account has these.
- Section 4: tick each reason and the supporting documents you're including.
- Section 5: only if you're asking the CRA to reconsider an earlier decision, with the case number.
- Section 6: explain why you couldn't file or pay, with key dates. The CRA's example is a fire on April 29 that destroyed your records before an April 30 deadline.
- Section 7: sign and date.
For financial hardship, the CRA strongly recommends Form RC376 and bank and credit card statements for the last 3 months. A business can send current financial statements, and self-employed people can include their T2125.
The part people don't plan for
Relief takes a long time, and interest doesn't stop while you wait. The CRA says it's seeing a big increase in requests, with an average processing time of approximately 16 months. Interest keeps accruing on anything you owe during the review, and paying all or part of the balance reduces it. If relief is approved, the cancelled penalties and interest are generally refunded.
So the practical move is to pay what you can now and ask for relief at the same time. A refund can be applied to other tax debts or held until you file any past due returns, so get those up to date too. If an objection or appeal is open on the same assessment, the CRA won't make a final relief decision until it's resolved.
Online or on paper
The CRA's quickest route is the Request relief of penalties and interest service in My Account, My Business Account or Represent a Client. If you'd rather use the form, download the fillable PDF and open it in Acrobat Reader 10 or later, rather than in your browser. If you're unsure whether relief is the right route, the CRA's self-evaluation and learning tool walks you through it. You can also call 1-800-959-8281 for individuals or 1-800-959-5525 for businesses and the self-employed.
If the CRA asks for more documents during the review, you can submit them online with the Submit documents service or by mail to the address on the letter.
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How the CRA decides
- Your filing and payment history.
- Whether you knowingly let a balance sit and build interest.
- Whether you took reasonable care with your tax affairs.
- Whether you acted quickly to fix any delay or omission.
If you disagree with the decision, you can ask for a second administrative review, which is done by officials who weren't involved in the first. Track either review with the Progress Tracker in My Account or Represent a Client. You'll need your business number or SIN on every request.
The verdict
RC4288 is worth filing when something outside your control caused the penalty, and the evidence is what wins it: dates, certificates, statements. Apply online if you can, keep it within the 10-year window, and keep paying the balance in the meantime, because 16 months of interest adds up.
Frequently asked questions
What is Form RC4288?
The CRA's Taxpayer Relief Request, used to ask for penalties and interest to be cancelled or waived when circumstances beyond your control stopped you meeting your tax obligations.
How far back can I ask for relief?
Penalties for tax years or fiscal periods ending in the 10 calendar years before your request, and interest that accrued in those 10 years.
Can RC4288 cancel the tax I owe?
No. Taxpayer relief covers penalties and interest, not assessed tax. To dispute the tax, file an objection.
How long does a CRA taxpayer relief request take?
The CRA says the current average processing time is approximately 16 months, and interest keeps accruing while it's reviewed.
Can my accountant submit RC4288 for me?
Yes, if they have at least level 2 authorization for all the accounts involved in the request.
