Access to corporate tax information

The CRA generally only shares tax information about a corporation through:

• My Business Account
• Represent a Client
• mail
• telephone

The following individuals can request tax information:

• directors of a corporation
• delegated authorities (see level 3 at Levels and scope of authorization that you can give representatives of your business)
• third-party representatives authorized by a director or a delegated authority
• legal representatives for the corporation (such as bankruptcy trustees, court-appointed custodians)

To avoid any delays or issues, the CRA must have up-to-date information on directors.

On this page

• Add or update corporation and director information
• Non-resident directors of Canadian corporations
• Authorize a delegated authority or other third-party representative

Add or update corporation and director information

If a new corporation is created, or the structure or directors of an existing corporation change, inform the CRA by taking the following steps:

1. Register with the federal or provincial authority

   Register and keep your corporation information up-to-date with the appropriate federal or provincial authority. For a new or successor corporation, the information you provide must include:

   • effective date of incorporation
   • address of corporation
   • names of directors

   Incorporating authorities that automatically share information with the CRA

   If you register with one of the following authorities, they will automatically share the information you give them with the CRA:

   • Alberta
   • British Columbia
   • Corporations Canada
   • Manitoba
   • New Brunswick
   • Nova Scotia
   • Ontario
   • Prince Edward Island
   • Saskatchewan

   For a territory or a province not listed above, see Step 2.

2. Provide documentation to the CRA, if applicable

   If you register with an incorporating authority that does not automatically share your information with the CRA, you must provide the following information to support the changes to your corporation or directors:

   • business number and business name
   • details of the request (if the request is related to adding a director, make sure to include the director's social insurance number, name, telephone and fax numbers)
   • printed name, telephone number and signature of the person making the request 
   • official documents supporting the changes, such as:
     • Articles of Amendment
     • the certificate of continuance 
     • the notice of change of directors
     • resolution of Director's documentation

   You can send this information to the CRA using one of the following ways:

   • the "Submit documents" service in My Business Account or Represent a Client
   • by mail to a CRA tax centre (Find a CRA address)

3. Provide the director's social insurance number (SIN) to the CRA

   You must provide a director's SIN to access My Business Account

   This step is necessary for a director to access the services in My Business Account. This includes the service to authorize a delegated authority or other third-party representative for online access to the business tax account using Represent a Client. If you have already provided a director's SIN with the registration documentation, the CRA will update its records.

   If a director's SIN has not been previously provided to the CRA, it can be provided in one of the following ways:

   • a representative may use the "Submit documents" service in Represent a Client to send a request signed by the director to add their SIN to the corporation's account
   • a director can call Business Enquiries at 1-800-959-5525
   • a director (or a representative) can fax a request signed by the director to their tax centre (P.E.I., 1-833-724-7237 or Sudbury 1-855-276-1529)
   • a director (or a representative), can mail a request signed by the director to their tax centre

   For tax centre addresses, go to Find a CRA address.

Non-resident directors of Canadian corporations

Non-resident directors need to take the extra step of informing the CRA of their non-resident status. It is important to ensure residency information is correct and up-to-date to avoid delays. Incorporating authorities do not normally provide it as part of the information they send to the CRA.

One director can attest the non-resident status of all of the directors. Any directors that cannot be confirmed by this director will need to attest to their own non-resident status.

You can provide the CRA with a director's name, non-resident status, address, and phone number in one of the following ways:

• a director can call Business Enquiries at 1-800-959-5525
• a director (or a representative), depending of their physical location, can fax a request signed by the director to their tax centre:
  • from Canada or United States, send the request to P.E.I. Tax Centre at 1-833-724-7237 or to Sudbury Tax Centre at 1-855-276-1529
  • from outside Canada or United States, send the request to P.E.I. Tax Centre at 902-724-7237 or Sudbury Tax Centre at 705-671-3994
• a director (or a representative) can mail a request signed by the director to their tax centre (Find a CRA address)

To confirm that the residency status of directors has been updated, an authorized individual can call Business Enquiries at 1-800-959-5525.

Authorize a delegated authority or other third-party representative

Once the director's SIN has been updated on the corporation's account, that director will be able to:

• access My Business Account
• authorize a third-party to handle tax matters for the corporation

For more information, go to:

• Representative authorization
• Levels and scope of authorization that you can give representatives of your business

The quickest way a director can authorize a representative is by entering their representative's RepID, GroupID, or business number in the "Manage authorized representatives" service in My Business Account.

Third-party representatives can also submit an authorization request through the:

• Represent a Client portal
• Business Consent Service in their certified tax software (EFILE)

However, a director will still need to confirm the authorization requests in My Business Account. For more information on this two-step verification process, go to Confirm my representative's authorization request.

Once the third party representative has submitted the authorization request, directors may be able to reach out to their established CRA large business audit case manager to obtain guidance on the confirm my representative process.