How the CRA's Online Mail Shift Impacts Your Business
Starting in spring 2025, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will transition to online mail as the default method of delivering most business correspondence. This means you’ll start receiving most of your business notices and other correspondence through the CRA’s secure online portal, My Business Account, instead of by mail.
Who Does This Change Apply to?
- New business number and program account registrations
- Existing businesses registered for My Business Account
- Businesses who have a representative that accesses the CRA’s services on their behalf via Represent a Client
This change is part of the CRA’s ongoing efforts to improve service delivery by making it faster, easier, and more secure for businesses to manage their tax obligations online. Online mail means businesses must sign in to My Business Account to receive correspondence, such as a notice of assessment.
How to Prepare for This Change
To prepare for the switch to online mail, the CRA recommends signing into My Business Account and making sure your email address is up to date. This allows the CRA to notify you when important changes are made to your account and when you have new mail to view in My Business Account.
Up to three email addresses can be on file for each program account, so you can also add your representative, accountant, or other authorized individuals.
Without an updated email address, you may miss important notifications about updates and correspondence.
New business owners should register for My Business Account and provide a valid email address after they register for their business number and program accounts so they can receive notifications about updates and correspondence.
Business Correspondence
Business correspondence refers to notices, letters, forms, statements, and other documents the CRA sends to communicate important information about your business tax account or returns.
Businesses registering for a new business number or program account must register for My Business Account to access their business correspondence.
With the change to online mail, your business correspondence will be considered as received when posted to your My Business Account. To access, view, print, or download your business correspondence, follow the steps below:
Step 1: Sign in to My Business Account (if you are an authorized representative, sign into Represent a Client)
Step 2: From the navigation menu on the left, go to the “Correspondence” heading and select “Mail.”
Step 3: Select and review your mail
Exceptions
Certain groups—like charities, non-resident businesses, or businesses not registered for online services—will continue to receive correspondence by paper mail unless they choose otherwise.
Benefits of Online Mail
By using the CRA’s digital services, businesses can:
- Enable quicker communication with the CRA, making it easier to get updates and support
- Receive earlier confirmation for tax information
- Manage business taxes quickly and easily from a computer or mobile device
- Help reduce paper use, contributing to a cleaner and greener future by cutting down on waste
Requesting Paper Mail
If you still want to receive your correspondence by paper mail, you must request to activate paper mail. Starting in May 2025, paper mail can be requested in one of two ways:
- Select paper mail as your delivery method for correspondence in My Business Account
- Fill out and mail form RC681 – Request to Activate Paper Mail for Business
Still Have Questions?
If you have any questions or need clarification on these changes, please contact a member of the Empire CPA team. We’re here to help!
Canadian and foreign tax laws are complex and have a tendency to change on a frequent basis. As such, the content published above is believed to be accurate as of the date of this post. Before implementing any tax planning, please seek professional advice from a qualified tax professional. Empire, Chartered Professional Accountants will not accept any liability for any tax ramifications that may result from acting based on the information contained above.