Best time to call the CRA
The best time to call the Canada Revenue Agency is 8am–9am Eastern Time, when the wait averages 16 minutes across all 9 CRA phone lines. The worst is 6pm–7pm ET at 31 minutes. Wednesday is the quietest weekday and Monday the busiest.
Measured, not estimated: from wait times recorded every 5 minutes since March 2025. Figures cover the 30 days to 18 October 2026 and are regenerated hourly. The CRA is also known as Revenue Canada; these are the same phone lines.
Average CRA wait by hour of day
Pooled across all 9 lines, so this is the shape of the day rather than one line's quirk. The hour you call is the single biggest thing under your control.
| Hour | Average wait |
|---|---|
| 8am–9am ET | 16 min |
| 9am–10am ET | 22 min |
| 10am–11am ET | 24 min |
| 11am–12pm ET | 27 min |
| 12pm–1pm ET | 27 min |
| 1pm–2pm ET | 27 min |
| 2pm–3pm ET | 30 min |
| 3pm–4pm ET | 28 min |
| 4pm–5pm ET | 28 min |
| 5pm–6pm ET | 31 min |
| 6pm–7pm ET | 31 min |
| 7pm–8pm ET | 27 min |
Average CRA wait by day of the week
Volume accumulates over the weekend and clears as the week goes on.
| Day | Average wait |
|---|---|
| Monday | 33 min |
| Tuesday | 28 min |
| Wednesday | 22 min |
| Thursday | 24 min |
| Friday | 25 min |
Does the day matter?
It depends on the line. Monday is the busiest weekday overall and Wednesday the quietest. On the personal and benefit lines that gap is large. On the business-facing lines (business enquiries, GST/HST, payroll, business number, corporate self-service) waits sit near 30 minutes every weekday, so which line you need matters more than when you ring.
Which line you need matters as much as when you call. The Registered Plans line averages 22 minutes, while Business Enquiries averages 29 minutes.
Best and worst time to call each CRA line
| CRA line | Avg | Best day (avg) | Best hours | Worst day (avg) | Worst hours | Day matters? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Plans | 22 | Wednesday (15) | 8am–9am | Monday (29) | 6pm–7pm | yes |
| Benefits Enquiries | 25 | Wednesday (18) | 8am–9am | Monday (32) | 5pm–6pm | yes |
| Individual Tax Enquiries | 26 | Wednesday (20) | 8am–9am | Monday (33) | 5pm–6pm | yes |
| E-Services | 26 | Wednesday (19) | 8am–9am | Monday (33) | 5pm–6pm | yes |
| Payroll | 27 | Friday (22) | 8am–9am | Monday (33) | 2pm–3pm | barely |
| Corporate Self-Service | 28 | Friday (23) | 8am–9am | Monday (34) | 2pm–3pm | barely |
| Business Number | 28 | Friday (23) | 8am–9am | Monday (34) | 2pm–3pm | barely |
| GST/HST | 28 | Friday (23) | 8am–9am | Monday (36) | 6pm–7pm | barely |
| Business Enquiries | 29 | Friday (24) | 8am–9am | Monday (35) | 6pm–7pm | barely |
Why these windows
- Early morning is quietest. Queues have not built up yet, and callers who wait until mid-morning join a backlog that persists for the rest of the day.
- 6pm–7pm ET is the slowest stretch, averaging 31 minutes across all lines.
- Mondays are busiest and Wednesdays calmest on the lines where the weekday matters at all. Volume accumulates over the weekend and clears as the week goes on.
- Tax season changes everything. From February to April waits lengthen across every line. The CRA opens earlier (around 6:30 a.m. ET), runs later, and adds Saturday coverage.
Frequently asked questions
When is the best time to call the CRA?
8am–9am Eastern Time. Averaged across all 9 CRA phone lines over 30 days it runs 16 minutes, against 31 minutes at 6pm–7pm.
What time can I call the CRA?
CRA phone lines answer Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. From February to April they open earlier, around 6:30 a.m. ET, and add Saturday coverage. Of those hours 8am–9am ET is the quietest, at 16 minutes.
Is it better to call the CRA in the morning or the afternoon?
Morning. Pooled across all 9 lines the quietest stretch is 8am–9am ET at 16 minutes, and queues build through the day to 31 minutes at 6pm–7pm ET.
What is the best time to call Revenue Canada?
Revenue Canada is the former name of the Canada Revenue Agency, so the answer is the same: 8am–9am Eastern Time, averaging 16 minutes across all 9 lines.
When is the worst time to call the CRA?
6pm–7pm Eastern Time, averaging 31 minutes across all lines. Monday is the busiest weekday overall.
Is Monday a bad day to call the CRA?
On the personal and benefit lines, yes: a Monday can run several times longer than a Wednesday. On the business-facing lines it makes little difference, as those sit near 30 minutes on every weekday.
Does it matter more which CRA line I call, or when?
Both, but they differ by line. Across all lines the wait roughly doubles between 8am–9am and 6pm–7pm ET. The gap between lines is wider still: Registered Plans averages 22 minutes while Business Enquiries averages 29 minutes.
Figures regenerated 2026-10-18T05:49:57+00:00 from a rolling 30-day window. See live CRA wait times for current figures.