How to Register For a CRA My Business Account

All businesses in Canada have to be registered with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), including self employed, partnerships and corporation.  Once registered, these entities will receive a business number, which they can then use to access their CRA My Business Account.    

 

The following article will discuss more on the importance of CRA My Business Account and how to register for one.  

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Table of Contents

What is a CRA My Business Account

CRA My Business Account is an online portal that provides tax return details, filing deadline, account balances and other business important tax information for sole proprietors, partnerships, or corporations.   

In Canada, there are many different types of taxes for businesses, including income, payroll, GST/HST, excise taxes and more.  My Business Account will provide information on each of these programs. For example, some common services are outlined below. 

 

Services What Users Can Do
Income Tax
  • File a return
  • View return status
  • View and pay account balance
  • Request to close account
  • Register disputes
GST/HST
  • File a return
  • Calculate instalment payments
  • View and pay account balance
  • File a rebate
  • Register a dispute
Payroll Tax
  • View and pay account balance
  • Request a refund
  • View remitting requirements
  • File a return
  • Transfer a misallocated payment
Excise Tax
  • View and pay account balance
  • Request a refund
  • View remitting requirements
  • File a return
  • Transfer a misallocated payment

What Do I Need Before I Register for a CRA My Business Account

In order to register for My Business Account, you will need the following key information:

  • Social insurance number 
  • Postal code  
  • Date of birth
  • Business number 
  • Personal income tax return

How To Register for My Business Account

  1. Go to Canada.ca/my-cra-business-account  
  2. Select “CRA register” 
  3. Enter your social insurance number 
  4. Next, enter your postal code, date of birth, and an amount you entered on one of your income tax and benefit returns from the current tax year, or the previous one 
  5. Select a delivery method for a CRA security code 
  6. Depending on the delivery method chosen, confirm your current postal code or enter your email address 
  7. Next, create your CRA user ID and password 
  8. Then, select and answer five security questions 
  9. Review and agree to the terms and conditions of use by entering your password and selecting “I agree” 

How Do I Give Authorization to Accounting Firms

Directors, partners, and officers can set up and have access to My Business Account with a CRA user ID, password and business number. These individuals can further give authorization to other individuals/entities (i.e. accounting firms).  

Below are the steps to authorize an accounting firm that have submitted a request using Efile.

  1. Log into your CRA Business Account. 
  2. The authorization request will appear in a pending status in the “Authorized representatives” section of My Business Account and remain there for 10 business days. 
  3. Review and confirm the electronic authorization request.

If you have any questions or issues regarding setting up an account, feel free to reach out and contact us at info@agilecpa.ca, or you can click here to submit a contact form.

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