Setting up a My Business Account with the CRA

A My Business Account gives directors, officers, and partners access to their corporate taxes, GST, and payroll accounts online. Follow these steps to set up a My Business Account with CRA.

Having a My Business Account with the CRA will make your tax life much easier. Whether you’re looking to review outstanding balances or expected refund amounts, check your past returns or add information to your account, My Business Account is the one place where you can do it all.

Once you have set up your My Business Account, you will be able to:

• Update any information related to your business (name, address, banking information, etc.)
• View and file GST returns, payment transactions and GST instalment schedules
• View T slips that were filed and transactions made
• View notices of assessment for corporate tax returns filed and any account transactions and balances

What You Need For Setting Up A My Business Account

Setting up a My Business Account with the CRA is a straightforward process, but you will need your CRA business number and your program account identifiers (GST/HST, payroll, corporation income tax, exercise tax and others) to complete the registration process.

In addition, you will have to provide some personal information, including your social insurance number (SIN), postal code, date of birth and information from a previously filed personal income tax return.

Follow these simple steps to register for your CRA My Business Account.

1. Navigate to the CRA’s sign in services webpage and select “My Business Account” from the list of services.
2. Scroll down the page to “Option 2 – Using a CRA user ID and password” and select “CRA register.”
3. Enter your SIN and click next to continue.
4. Enter your postal code, date of birth, and the requested tax information from a previously filed tax return. Click next to continue.
5. Confirm that the mailing address CRA has on file for you is correct before selecting next to continue.
6. Create a CRA user ID consisting of 8 to 16 characters, no more than 7 digits, no spaces, and no special characters except: dot (.), dash (-), underscore (_), and apostrophe (‘).
7. Create a password consisting of 8 to 64 characters with at least 1 upper-case letter, 1 lower-case letter, and 1 digit. No spaces, accented character or special characters except: dot (.), dash (-), underscore (_), and apostrophe (‘) will be accepted.
8. Select and provide the answers to five security questions.
9. Enroll in mandatory multi-factor authentication by selecting your preferred method (telephone or passcode grid).
10. Enter your business number.
11. Review and agree to the terms and conditions of use by entering your password and selecting “I agree.”
12. Registration is now complete until you receive your security code in the mail. Once you do, log in to My Business Account using the CRA user ID and password created in steps 6 & 7 and enter the code when prompted.
13. Review and agree to the My Business Account terms and conditions of use.
14. You will now have full access to My Business Account.

Note: Internal accountants and employees (that are not officers) should not use the My Business Account system but are welcome to create a CRA RepID and access the company’s information using the Represent a Client system.

When you work with Avisar CPA, you can authorize us as your representative with the CRA through your My Business Account.

Disclaimer: Avisar Chartered Professional Accountant’s blog deals with a number of complex issues in a concise manner; it is recommended that accounting, legal or other appropriate professional advice should be sought before acting upon any of the information contained therein. Although every reasonable effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this post, no individual or organization involved in either the preparation or distribution of this post accepts any contractual, tortious, or any other form of liability for its contents or for any consequences arising from its use.