Tax Insights: Canada Revenue Agency transitions to online mail for business correspondence ─ Are you ready?

Issue 2025-24

In brief

What happened?

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is switching to online mail for most business communications and correspondence on:

• May 12, 2025, for new businesses and program accounts registered with the CRA on or after that date
• June 16, 2025, for existing businesses that have already registered for CRA’s My Business Account or authorized a representative for their account online using Represent a Client

Why is it relevant?

These changes are of particular concern to businesses, including sole proprietors, partners of a partnership and corporations, that:

• are not registered for My Business Account (but have an authorized representative using Represent a Client), or
• have not enabled notifications of CRA correspondence being received

Important CRA notices or communications, which were traditionally sent by paper mail, will now be delivered online and could be overlooked. These communications will be considered received by the business unless proven otherwise. Businesses are obligated to review and respond to the CRA notices delivered using online mail in My Business Account, and failure to do so could result in negative consequences, such as missed payments, accrued interest and penalties, and reassessments due to disregarding time-sensitive requests.

Actions to consider

Businesses should:

• ensure they have access to their My Business Account and review their existing e-mail and mailing addresses, and notification preferences in the account
• if they wish to continue receiving paper mail:
  • opt out of online mail by updating paper mail preferences through My Business Account or form RC681, “Request to Activate Paper Mail for my Business,” and
  • continue to monitor their CRA accounts in My Business Account for any correspondence while paper mail preferences are being processed

In detail

CRA transitions to online mail

The CRA’s transition to online mail as the default method of delivering most business correspondence applies to businesses that:

• are registered for My Business Account, or
• have given online access to their account to an authorized representative  

Businesses will receive most CRA notices and other correspondence, including audit review letters, inquiries, proposal letters and objection confirmations, through their My Business Account, instead of in the mail, starting:

• May 12, 2025, for new business numbers and program account registrations (i.e. GST/HST (RT), payroll deductions (RP), corporation income tax (RC), information returns (RZ))
• June 16, 2025, for all existing businesses and associated program accounts

This change is part of the CRA’s efforts to improve its services (e.g. faster communication, convenient access, secure delivery of mail) and consider the environment when corresponding with businesses.

Opting out of default online mail

Businesses can opt out of default online mail and request to continue receiving correspondence by paper mail. This request can only be made by an individual with signing authority, such as an owner, director or legal representative.

Businesses that want to receive paper mail must:

• make the request in their My Business Account, or
• complete form RC681, “Request to Activate Paper Mail for my Business” and mail it to the CRA tax centre for their business

This request must be renewed every two years.

Exceptions to default online mail

Existing businesses will continue to receive their CRA correspondence by paper mail if they:

• are not registered for My Business Account, and
• have not given an authorized representative online access to their account using Represent a Client

This means that a business that has never registered for My Business Account, but has given its adviser authority to access its account:

• online through Represent a Client will have its default communication method switched to online
• offline by phone, mail, fax or in‑person using CRA form AUT-01, “Authorize a Representative for Offline Access” will not be transitioned to online mail

Charities and certain non‑resident businesses that do not have a Canadian resident owner or director, or have not given authorized online access to a representative, will also continue to receive correspondence by paper.

How does this affect businesses?

As the CRA transitions to online mail correspondence, businesses who do not regularly access their My Business Account and have not updated their notification preferences in their profile may miss important or time‑sensitive CRA correspondence.

Under subsection 244(14.2) of the Income Tax Act, any electronic notice sent by the CRA to businesses in respect of a business number or partnership is presumed to have been received by them on the date that it is posted, unless they have opted for paper mail 30 days prior.

Consequently, the taxpayer bears the responsibility to read their online communication on a timely basis and comply with relevant deadlines imposed under the Income Tax Act. Businesses should also be aware that their authorized representatives do not receive all of their client’s CRA communications and may not monitor their CRA accounts on a regular basis. Businesses need to take action now so that they do not miss any time‑sensitive documents from the CRA. Inaction could result in various adverse tax consequences, including failing to remit instalments on a timely basis and missing a deadline to file a notice of objection.  

How to prepare for the change

To prepare for the change to paperless communications:

• businesses that do not have a My Business Account, but have previously authorized a representative on their account, should:
  • register for the CRA’s My Business Account
  • enable notifications to ensure they have access to correspondence, and
  • review their list of authorized representatives on the account and remove those that should no longer have authorization

Authorized representatives will be able to manage notification preferences and update e‑mail addresses on the account using Represent a Client. The business will be automatically switched to online mail unless a request to activate paper mail is made by an authorized signer. Up to three e‑mail addresses can be added for each program account.

• businesses that have a My Business Account should:
  • ensure they are able to log in to their My Business Account and access correspondence, and
  • enable or update notification preferences, and e‑mail and mailing addresses on the profile page
• non-resident businesses that have a My Business Account or have authorized online access using Represent a Client should update their e‑mail addresses and notification preferences through their:
  • My Business Account, or
  • authorized representative,   

to ensure that they will not miss receiving correspondence from the CRA

• new businesses with non‑resident directors or officers who are unable to access My Business Account must inform the CRA during the business number or program account registration

The takeaway

As the CRA transitions its primary method of communication with taxpayers operating a business to an online format, there is a risk that important correspondence may be missed, which could potentially result in significant negative consequences. It is essential for businesses to be aware of these changes,¹ determine if they are relevant to their situation, and ensure that CRA communications reach the appropriate individuals to prevent any oversight.

^{1. For additional resources, see the following CRA web pages at www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency.html:
 - Online mail for business
 - Register for a CRA account
 - Sign in to your CRA account
 - Email notifications from the CRA – Businesses
 - Access to corporate tax information (for non-resident directors of Canadian corporations)}