HOW TO REGISTER FOR CRA MY BUSINESS ACCOUNT AND MY ACCOUNT
Setting up your business and individual Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) accounts is not only important, it makes your tax life a lot easier.
If you run a business, you’ll need both business and personal CRA accounts.
The My Business Account and My Account for individuals are your portals to the CRA. They centralize your communication with the government: It’s where you can access your notice of assessments and view the payments you made. When you work with Transcend LLP and authorize us as your representative with the CRA, this grants us access to your CRA account, so we can handle this stuff on your behalf.
We’ve laid out the steps for setting up your account, what information you’ll need and what options to choose.
CRA My Business Account
If you have a corporation, or a GST or payroll account, as a sole proprietor, you need a My Business Account. From your account, you can:
- 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
The CRA’s My Business Account page has the full rundown on what you can do with this account.
How to set up a CRA My Business Account
The CRA has a nice video that gives you an overview of how to set up a CRA My Business Account for your corporation. We go into a little more detail below:
Step 1 – Go to CRA My Business Account website.
Scroll down to Option 2 – Using a CRA user ID and password and click the CRA Register link.
Step 2 – Start the registration application.
Have your business number and copies of your corporate and personal tax returns from the current and previous tax years ready. The applications will ask for specific information from these returns (e.g. entering the amount on Line 400). The line number amount requested will vary. It may be from the current tax year or the previous one.
Step 3 – Have your code sent to you by mail or email (if you select email, you will have to call the CRA, which can take a lot of time).
Receiving your CRA code by mail typically takes 10 business days. Make sure they have your current address on file. The CRA’s phone number is 1-800-959-5525.
Step 4 – Sign into your CRA My Business Account for the first time.
How to authorize Transcend as your representative
Step 1 – Sign into your My Business Account.
Go to My Business Account, scroll to Option 2 – Using a CRA user ID and password, then click CRA login and enter your CRA user ID and password. When prompted, enter your CRA security code.
Option 1 – Using one of our Sign-In Partners. There can sometimes be complications in the bridge between the CRA site and your bank sign-in. This is an option, but not the method we recommend.
Step 2 – Go to the “Profile” Section.
Near the top of the browser window, there will be a dark bar that spans the width of the window. This will have your business name and business number and 3 clickable icons for Mail, Submit Documents, and Profile. Click on the one that says Profile.
Step 3 – Go to “Authorized Representatives” section.
On the Profile window, scroll down and on the right-hand side you will see a heading for Authorized Representatives. Click on Manage Authorized Representatives. This will show you a list of any business, or individual, that you have authorized to represent you with the CRA.
Step 4 – Authorize a representative.
On the Authorized Representatives window, click the Authorize a Representative button.
On the next window, it will say *RepID, GroupID, or BN (required), in the box below this, enter 814248225 (this is Transcend’s business number) and then click next.
On the next window it will say *Level of authorization for this representative (required), choose the option of Update and view (level 2).
Do not enter anything into the Expiry date field.
Then under Accounts this representative will be authorized to access (select one or more) (required), choose the box at the top that says All Accounts.
Finally, click Next.
Step 5 – Review authorized representative.
The next screen will show a summary that includes your business number and name, Transcend’s name and business number, the accounts you authorized us to access and the level of authorization.
There will be a box to check off that says, I confirm that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) can deal directly with this representative on my behalf.
Once the box is checked click Submit.
A final window will appear to confirm the authorization.T
CRA My Account for individuals
Everyone should have one of these. From your account, you can:
- View your notice of assessment
- Track your refund
- See account transactions and balances
- See your instalment schedule
- Check your benefit payments
- View your RRSP limit
- Set up direct deposit
- Receive email notifications from the CRA
Get the full list of everything you can do from your Individual CRA account.
How to set up a CRA My Account for individuals
Setting up a personal account is similar to setting up your business account. Please remember that they are two separate accounts; make sure you register for both.
Step 1 – Go to the CRA My Account for Individuals website.
Scroll down to Option 2 – Using a CRA user ID and password and click CRA register.
Step 2 – Start the registration application.
Grab your Social Insurance Number (SIN) and copies of your current and previous year’s personal tax returns. They will ask for information from these returns (e.g. entering the amount on Line 15000). The line number amount requested will vary. It may be from the current tax year or the previous one.
Step 3 – Have your CRA security code mailed to you.
You’ll typically receive your CRA security code by mail within 10 business days. Make sure they have your current address on file.
Step 4 – Sign into your CRA My Account for individuals for the first time.
To access your account, go to CRA My Account, scroll to Option 2 – Using a CRA user ID and password, then click on CRA login. Enter your CRA user ID and password. When prompted, enter your CRA security code.
We do not recommend using Option 1 – Using one of our Sign-In Partners. Again, there are often glitches with this process (while using your security code is a sure thing).
How to authorize Transcend LLP as your representative
Step 1 – Sign into your CRA My Account for individuals.
Step 2 – Go to your Profile.
On the left-hand side of the window it will say Navigation, Overview, and then Profile. Click on Profile.
Step 3 – Authorized representative(s)
In the new window you will need to scroll down a little and it will say Authorized Representatives, click the Add button just to the right of this.
Step 4 – Authorize a representative.
On this screen you will see a description of what an authorized representative can do, a Start button, and 1 – Enter representative information, 2 – Enter representative authorization and 3 – Review and submit.
Click the Start button and then Section 1 will expand.
Under Section 1 it will say RepID, GroupID or BN, enter 814248225 into the box, and click the search button next to the box. The screen will now say The following representative has been identified: and show the firm name, phone and fax number.
Click Next.
Under Section 2, for Authorization level choose Level 2 – Allow the CRA to disclose information to your representative and make changes to your account.
For Online access choose Yes.
Leave the Expiry date field empty and click Next.
Under Section 3 it will summarize all the information, click the box that says I confirm that the CRA may deal directly with the above named representative for the specified level of authorization. I acknowledge that these activities may occur without the CRA advising me., click Submit.