On February 26, 2021, CRA updated their website to provide guidance on what to expect when claims are reviewed. It notes:
Keep your records
You must keep records showing information that supports your rent subsidy claim, such as your reduction in revenue and amounts for your eligible expenses.
If you use the online calculator to calculate your subsidy amounts, print the results summary or save an electronic copy for your records. We may ask to see it when validating your claim.
If you calculate your amounts another way, you must still save a record of how you came up with your amounts.
If you have affiliated entities that are also applying for CERS for the same period you are, you must save a copy of the agreement you made about the percentage of the subsidy each business will claim.
Revenue drop – supporting documents
Other documents you may need to show to support your revenue drop include your:
sales journal
general ledger
revenue amounts
working paper calculations
Eligible expenses – supporting documents
Other documents you may need to show to support the expenses you claimed include your:
rental or lease agreements
property tax bills
insurance documents
mortgage documents
provincial land title or property abstract, or
title number, legal description, or other property identifying numbers such as
parcel identifier number (PID)
land identifier numerical codes (LINC)
property identification number (PIN)
mortgage registration number
bank statements
receipts or other proof of payment
Read more about records you should keep
Calls and letters from the CRA
The CRA may need to contact you by phone or mail to confirm details, ask for more information about your application, or notify you that your claim was not approved. Please make sure your contact information is current.
Calls from the CRA
CRA phone agents will never:
use threatening or coercive language
ask for full bank information, or
ask for your full Social Insurance Number (SIN)
CRA phone agents should be able to provide you with information about your CERS application, as well as their name and phone number.
If you have concerns about a call you received regarding your CERS application, please call the CRA's business enquiries line at 1-800-959-5525 and ask them to verify the name and number of the person that called you. You can also read more about how to recognize scams.
Letters from the CRA
You may receive a letter from the CRA if your application for CERS was not accepted, or if your claim was modified after we review the information.