Access our online services for charities

Steps to access My Business Account for charities

1. Does your organization already have a business number and a charity account with the CRA?

   Many organizations applying for charitable registration already have a BN and an associated RR account with the CRA.

   Consider the following before requesting a new BN and RR account:

   • Is your organization already registered?

     If your organization is already a registered charity, a registered Canadian amateur athletic association, a registered national arts service organization, or a registered head body, you are ready to go to step 3 - Sign in to My Business Account.

     Is your organization incorporated under federal, provincial, or territorial statutes?
     

     If your organization is incorporated but not yet a registered charity, a registered Canadian amateur athletic association, or a registered national arts service organization, you already have a BN.

     You will need to request an associated RR account.

     Is your organization an internal division under a head body?

     If yes, you will need to contact your head body to confirm its BN and that an associated RR account was created for your internal division.

     To access your RR account:

     1. Register for Represent a client to get a representative identifier (RepID).
     2. Your head body will then need to authorize you under their BN and your RR account.

      

     For more information about internal divisions, visit Guidance CG-028, Head bodies and their internal divisions.

     Has your organization submitted an application to be a registered charity in the past?

     If your organization started the application process in the past but was never registered, a BN and an associated RR account may have already been assigned. 

     Before resuming the application process, contact us to confirm if an account already exists for your organization. This will help you ensure that the right people are authorized on your organization’s account.

     Is your organization trying to access MyBA after having its charitable status revoked?

     If yes, when a charity or RCAAA's registration is revoked, it can no longer access its RR program account on MyBA.

     To apply for re-registration, you need to contact us. After confirming that you are authorized on the file, we will restore access to your organization’s RR account on MyBA.

   If you answer no to all the questions above, proceed to the next step.

2. Get your business number and charity account

   Business Registration Online is a one-stop, online, self-serve application that lets you register for the following:

   • a BN (example: 123456789)
   • an associated RR account (example: 123456789 RR 0001)

   After you get a BN and an associated RR account, your organization can start using online services for charities through MyBA.

   • Sign in to Business Registration Online

     1. Go to Business Registration Online, and click on "Register now."
     2. Enter your Social Insurance Number (SIN).

     Protecting your private information: Your SIN is secure with us!

     Providing your SIN is necessary for us to confirm your identity when creating your BN. Other directors or owners of the BN will not be able to see your SIN.

     Your personal information is protected under the Privacy Act. For more information about our commitment to keeping your information safe, go to Personal Information Collection Statement.

     3. Enter your last name, date of birth, and postal code.
     4. Read the terms and conditions, as well as the disclaimer.
     5. Enter your telephone information.

   After you are signed in to Business Registration Online, choose one of the following options:

   • My organization has a BN and needs an associated RR account

     If your organization is incorporated or already has another CRA program account (for example, payroll or GST/HST), then you may already have a BN. Follow these instructions to add an RR program account to your BN:

     1. Select "I already have a business number."
     2. Enter your organization's BN, and select one of the following:
        • Business – Corporation (if your organization is incorporated)
        • Trust (if your organization is governed under a trust document)
        • Other (if your organization is governed under a constitution)
     3. If prompted, review/update the owner or business activity information.
     4. Enter your legal name, corporation and owner/director information.
     5. Select "Register CRA accounts for this business."
     6. Select "Register an RR account."
     7. Enter your language preference for the RR program account.
     8. Select one of the following:
        • Charity
        • RCAAA (registered Canadian amateur athletic association)
        • RNASO (registered national arts service organization)
     9. Enter your mailing address.
     10. If your physical location is different from the mailing address, provide details. Post office box numbers and rural routes for this address are not sufficient.
     11. If the location of your books and records is different, provide details. Post office box numbers and rural routes for this address are not sufficient.
     12. If you want to receive email notifications, add one or more email addresses.
     13. After you've submitted your information, your BN and RR account number will be displayed on the following page.
     14. Add additional owners to share access to your organization's RR account.
     15. Select "Finished registering accounts with the CRA for this business."
     My organization needs both a BN and an RR account

     You will need a BN if your organization is not incorporated and doesn’t have another CRA program account (such as, payroll or GST/HST), or if your organization was incorporated but did not receive a BN.

     Follow these instructions to request a BN for your organization:

     1. Select "I need a business number."
     2. Select one of the following:
        • Trust (if your organization is governed under a trust document)
        • Other (if your organization is governed under a constitution)
        • Business – Corporate (if your organization was incorporated but did not receive a 9-digit BN)
     3. Enter the first name and last name of the owner(s) (and SIN, if you selected "Trust" or "Other"), and their role and phone information.
     4. Provide general information about your organization:
        • operation type
        • legal name and operating name
        • language preference
        • corporation information
        • email address
     5. Enter your mailing address.
     6. If your physical location is different from the mailing address, provide details. Post office box numbers and rural routes for this address are not sufficient.
     7. Enter the major business activity that describes your organization and the main products or services it provides.

     Now that you have created your BN, continue to request an associated RR account.

     8. Select "Register CRA accounts for this business."
     9. Select "Register an RR account."
     10. Enter your language preference for the RR program account.
     11. Select one of the following:
         • Charity
         • RCAAA (registered Canadian amateur athletic association)
         • RNASO (registered national arts service organization)
     12. Enter your mailing address.
     13. If your physical location is different from the mailing address, provide details. Post office box numbers and rural routes for this address are not sufficient.
     14. If the location of your books and records is different, provide details. Post office box numbers and rural routes for this address are not sufficient.
     15. If you want to receive email notifications, add one or more email addresses.
     16. After you've submitted your information, your BN and RR account number will be displayed on the following page.
     17. Add additional owners to share access to your organization's RR account.
     18. Select "Finished registering accounts with the CRA for this business."

   A BN and RR account do not automatically make your organization a registered charity

   To become one, you will still need to submit an application to register a charity under the Income Tax Act.

3. Sign in to My Business Account

   Important: Are you trying to access MyBA for a registered charity that is an internal division?

   1. Contact your head body to confirm that it has a BN and an associated RR account for your internal division.
      • If your head body doesn’t have them, it can obtain them by following the instructions in step 2 – Get your business number and charity account.
   2. Register for Represent a client to get a repID.
   3. Your head body can then authorize you under their BN and your RR account.

   For more information about internal divisions, see Guidance CG-028, Head bodies and their internal divisions.

   If you already have a CRA sign-in account, you can use the same username and password to access all of our online services:

   • My Account
   • My Business Account
   • Represent a client
   I have used CRA’s digital services before

   Go to step 4 – Access your business number through My Business Account.
   This is my first time using CRA's digital services

   You will need to register for a CRA sign-in account. This gives you access to our online services.

   There are two ways to register for My Business Account:

   Option 1 – Sign-In Partner

   Use your financial institution’s account information to sign in to MyBA.

   Option 2 – CRA sign in

   Click on “CRA register” to create an account and get a user ID and password to sign in to MyBA. Follow these steps to register for the CRA sign in:

   1. Provide information to confirm your identity (social insurance number, date of birth, postal code, and an amount from your last income tax return)

   2. Create a CRA user ID and password.
   3. Create your security questions and answers.
   4. Enter your organization’s BN and click on “Add.”

   After you’ve submitted this information, you will need to verify your identity to gain access to the CRA sign-in services. There are two options to do this:

   • Interac document verification service

     Using this secure method, validate your identity in real-time and obtain full and immediate access to the CRA sign-in services. Using a mobile device, you will need to verify your identity by taking a picture of an accepted government-issued photo identification and a picture of yourself.

     The following original government-issued identification documents are accepted:

     •  Canadian passport
     •  Canadian driver's license
     •  Provincial/Territorial photo ID card

     We do not accept:

     •  Provincial health cards
     • Documents that have been reported as lost or stolen
     • Expired or damaged identification documents
     • Photocopies of identification document
     • Pictures of yourself that were not taken in real-time

   • CRA security code by mail

     Select this option to receive a CRA security code by mail to the address you have on record with the CRA. You should receive it within 5 to 10 days. Once you have entered the security code, you will be able to access your organization’s account on MyBA.

   Don't see your organization's BN in MyBA?

   If you don’t see your organization’s BN after you signed in to MyBA, and you can’t add it to your profile, contact us. We will need your social insurance number to link your identity to your organization’s account. Other directors or owners of the BN will not be able to see your SIN.

4. Access your business number through My Business Account

   Now that you have access to MyBA, you’ll need to access your BN.

   Choose one of the following options:

   • If you are new to MyBA

     1. Sign in to MyBA.
     2. Enter your organization's BN and click on "Add."
     If you already use MyBA to manage other businesses or organizations

     1. Sign in to MyBA.
     2. Click on "Profile" at the top.
     3. Select "Manage business number(s) in your profile."
     4. Click on "Add a business" to add your organization's BN.
     5. Enter your organization's BN and click on "Add."
     6. After you are done, click on "My Business Account" to return to the Overview page.

   Don’t see your organization’s BN in MyBA?

   If you don’t see your organization’s BN after you signed in to MyBA, and you can’t add it to your profile, contact us. We will need your social insurance number to link your identity to your organization's account.

   Congratulations! You are ready to manage your organization’s affairs through MyBA:

   • File your T3010 information return
   • Make a change to your organization
   • Apply to register as a charity or a registered Canadian amateur athletic association