Liaison Officer service - free tax help for small business owners and self-employed individuals

Personalized support to help you save time and money

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) offers free, personalized support to owners of small businesses and self-employed individuals. The Liaison Officer service is available across Canada to help you understand your tax obligations. A visit from a liaison officer is 100% confidential; the information you choose to discuss with a liaison officer will not be shared with other areas of the CRA, or anyone else.

There are two ways to access the Liaison Officer service:

1. Request a personalized visit (service is available in person, by phone or online via MS Teams)
2. Organize an in-person seminar or online webinar for your association or group

During a visit or seminar/webinar, the liaison officer will:

• help you better understand your tax obligations and possible business deductions
• explain general bookkeeping concepts and best practices
• explain how to avoid common tax errors
• give you an overview of helpful online tools and electronic services offered by the CRA
• answer your tax-related questions and address concerns
• show you how to use the Financial Performance Data to compare your business revenues and expenses with others in the same industry  

If you’re having a personalized visit, the liaison officer will provide recommendations on how to strengthen your bookkeeping system and offer suggestions related to your books and records.

NEW! - Free webinars for groups and associations on the Underused Housing Tax 

The Underused Housing Tax (UHT) is an annual 1% tax on the ownership of vacant or underused housing in Canada that took effect on January 1, 2022. The tax usually applies to foreign national owners of residential property in Canada. In some situations, however, it also applies to Canadian owners.

Starting from the 2022 calendar year and onwards, owners of residential properties that are situated in Canada have to determine if they are an affected owner and if they have to pay the UHT. 

If you are an individual or a corporation with questions regarding the UHT, please visit the Underused Housing Tax technical information web page to contact the CRA.

The Liaison Officer service is offering free educational webinars on the UHT to groups or associations to help owners get the information they need. During a UHT webinar, the liaison officer will:

• provide an overview of the UHT
• explain who must file a return and pay the tax
• discuss the exemptions available from paying the tax
• show how to calculate the UHT and file the return
• answer general questions about the UHT

Please click the “Request a Liaison Officer service” button below if you would like a liaison officer to call you to schedule an UHT webinar for your group or association.

Additional resources

• Video: Liaison Officer Initiative
• CRA Multimedia library
• Information for small businesses
• Information for all businesses
• Financial Performance Data
• Make a payment to the Canada Revenue Agency
• My Business Account
• My Account
• RC4022 General Information for GST/HST Registrants
• T4002 Business and Professional Income 
• T4012 T2 Corporation Income Tax Guide
• Taxpayer Bill of Rights
• Voluntary Disclosures Program
• Underused Housing Tax

Stay connected

To receive updates on new documents, policies, guidelines, and forms, you can:

• Follow the CRA on Twitter - @CanRevAgency
• Subscribe to our Business - Tax information newsletter electronic mailing list.
• Add our Business - Tax information newsletter RSS feed to your feed reader.

More information
CRA media contact list