Join our Innovation Virtual Lunch and Learn on Twitter

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - April 1, 2016) - The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) invites Canadians to join us and Frank Vermaeten, Assistant Commissioner of Assessment, Benefit and Service Branch (ABSB) of the CRA, for a Virtual Lunch and Learn tweet chat on Twitter. Mr. Vermaeten will discuss the CRA's innovations and improvements to online services introduced this year, such as Auto-fill my return, the MyCRA mobile app, and improved correspondence. Make sure to sign up for My Account to benefit from these online services!

The CRA invites you to join the growing number of Canadians who are filing electronically. As of March 22, 2016, the CRA has received over 6.6 million returns this filing season, with over 87% filed electronically.

When: Thursday, April 7, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. (Eastern Time)

Where: Follow @CanRevAgency and @FVermaeten, and use #CRAInnovation to join the discussion

Here are some things to keep in mind when participating in our #CRAInnovation Virtual Lunch and Learn tweet chat:

1. Please read carefully the CRA's Twitter Terms of Use.

2. Use the hashtag #CRAInnovation.

3. The CRA and Assistant Commissioner will only answer questions related to CRA innovations and online services.

4. Participate in the official language of your choice! Replies will be posted in the same language as the original tweet. Tweets will not be duplicated in the other official language.

5. The CRA will not respond to questions about personal tax situations. For your safety and security please do not provide personal information during the tweet chat. This includes any information that can identify you such as a social insurance number (SIN), phone number, address, or email.

CRA innovations

Auto-fill my return - A secure CRA service that allows individuals and authorized representatives to automatically fill in parts of a current-year income tax and benefit return. Individuals must be fully registered for My Account to use this new service. For more information, go to www.cra.gc.ca/auto-fill.

MyCRA mobile app - A mobile app for individual taxpayers. It lets you securely access and view key portions of your tax information, such as your notice of assessment, return status, and RRSP and TFSA contribution limits. MyCRA now also lets you manage your online mail, contact information, direct deposit information, and request a proof of income (option c) printout. For more information, go to www.cra.gc.ca/mobileapps.

Improved correspondence - In February 2016, the CRA began sending Canadians a new, simple, easier to read notice of assessment after they filed their income tax and benefit return. This will be followed in July 2016 by simplified benefit notices, including those related to family benefits and the GST/HST credit. The improvements are based on a review by the CRA of international best practices, feedback from Canadians, and its own external correspondence. The review focused on how the notices are designed, formatted, and written. For more information, go to www.cra.gc.ca/noticesandletters.

To receive updates when new information is added to our website, you can:

- Follow the CRA on Twitter - @CanRevAgency.

- Subscribe to a CRA electronic mailing list.

- Add our RSS feeds to your feed reader.

- You can also watch our tax-related videos on YouTube.