To save time this tax season, familiarize yourself with the new, two-step verification process for authorizing a representative using Represent a Client. Introduced in the Fall by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), this process makes it easier for clients to confirm who has access to their personal and tax information, helping them play an active role in protecting their information.
Whether your client is an individual or a business, they can now verify who has access to their personal and tax information by signing in to My Account or My Business Account, without waiting for a confirmation call from the CRA.
The process applies to all new authorization requests submitted through Represent a Client, including when you have a new client or when you are requesting a higher level of access to an existing client’s information.
If you already have a client’s authorization and do not need to change your level of access, you will not be affected.
How it works:
- The first step is making sure your client has My Account or My Business Account. If they haven’t used the CRA’s digital services before, they need to register for an account. We have created two step-by-step videos that walk through the process of registering. We encourage you to share these resources with your client.
- Once registered, we recommend your client enables email notifications to make sure they are notified when they receive a new authorization request. Find out more about how to enable email notifications for individuals or businesses.
- Sign in to Represent a Client and open a new authorization request. You will need to submit a certification page signed by your client using our “Submit Documents” service in order to complete the request.
- Once you have submitted your authorization request, your client will be notified by email – if they have enabled email notifications – that someone has requested access to their account. They must then sign in to My Account or My Business Account to confirm or deny the pending request with the click of a button found in the Authorized Representatives section of their account.
- You can view the status of your authorization requests in Represent a Client. Once a request is confirmed, you will be granted access within one business day. Your client must confirm or deny the authorization request within ten business days, or the request will be cancelled and you will need to submit a new one.
Other options:
If your client is an individual, they can choose to verify access to their account by providing additional information instead of using the new “Confirm my Representative” service. In this case, your client will need to give you information from a notice of assessment that was issued to them at least six months earlier. When you submit your authorization request, you will need to provide this information. If this option is chosen, your client may be contacted by the CRA to verify the request.
If your client is a business, a business’s delegated authority (level 3 representative) can also confirm or deny authorization requests in My Business Account on behalf of the business owner. Owners or directors of businesses who are too busy or do not deal with routine tax matters, can designate another officer of the company (tax officer, financial officer) as a delegated authority by the owner/director. To do this, the business owner/director will still need to sign into My Business Account at least once in order to authorize the delegated authority. This delegate will have almost the same level of access as the owner/director to view and make changes to information in My Business Account, including confirming or denying new authorization requests for other representatives
Please note: The process only applies to new authorization requests submitted through Represent a Client. If you use EFILE and certified tax software to submit your clients’ returns, including authorization requests, you will not be impacted.
Stay connected
To receive updates on what is new at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), you can:
- Like the CRA on Facebook.
- Follow the CRA on Twitter – @CanRevAgency.
- Follow the CRA on LinkedIn.