CRA Online Mail
Since our firm does not monitor or manage CRA online mail for any of our clients, this page will provide you with guidance on staying up to date with online letters and requests from the CRA.
I want to receive paper mail from the CRA, is this still possible?
CRA mail for business
Starting in the spring 2025, if you are registered for CRA’s My Business Account, you will only receive mail from the CRA via their online portal by default. This means that businesses will receive notices, information requests, demands to file, assessments and other time-sensitive communications ONLY through the CRA’s secure online portal, My Business Account, instead of by traditional mail.
Here’s our blog about the change to online mail.
Here’s the CRA’s announcement about the change to online mail.
Owners of companies in Canada must be registered with CRA’s My Business Account, and check it regularly in order to ensure that they do not miss important mail from the CRA.
Business owners can opt to get paper mail by doing one of the following starting in May of 2025:
1. Select Paper Mail as your delivery option in My Business Account, OR;
2. Fill out and mail form RC681 – Request to Activate Paper Mail for Business to the CRA.
CRA mail for individuals
As of December 2024, individuals who are registered for CRA’s My Account have the option of receiving mail by paper. Generally, all mail sent by the CRA will appear in CRA My Account.
What are the consequences of ignoring mail from the CRA?
Any online mail that is posted to your CRA account is considered received the moment it appears. If your email address isn’t up to date, you may miss notifications from the CRA, causing adverse consequences, which in some cases can be severe.
The CRA frequently requests supporting documentation for tax returns that have been filed, missing returns, and a variety of other matters. Not responding to the CRA’s request can lead to additional taxes, penalties, and interest being levied, and in some cases these additional taxes, penalties, and interest cannot be reversed.
Unfortunately, ignorance is not an acceptable excuse for not actioning requests which are sent to you by the CRA either by mail or online. It is your responsibility to actively check your mail from the CRA, either in paper or online.
The CRA generally provides 30 days to respond to their requests for additional information. If you do not respond during this time, the CRA will reassess your return, or initiate further action, which is typically punitive and expensive to mitigate. The CRA will generally allow extensions if the timelines to respond are not realistic, however such requests typically need to be made within the initial response window, so it is very important for you to stay up to date on their CRA mail online.
Achen Henderson CPAs does not monitor your CRA mail
All taxpayers are responsible for monitoring their own CRA mail. At Achen Henderson CPAs, we do not receive any notifications when our clients receive mail from the CRA, nor do we monitor our client’s CRA online accounts for online mail. This is true for all our levels of service, including our GURU subscription-based services.
We strongly encourage you to regularly log in to their CRA accounts to check for new correspondence and to monitor your email for notifications from the CRA.
My accountant didn’t notify me that the CRA had sent me mail, what can I do about it?
Nothing. It is not your accountant’s responsibility to check your mail for you. The responsibility for you to stay up to date with your mail, including mail from the CRA, whether online or in paper, is yours, and yours alone.
How do I know when the CRA has sent me mail online?
The CRA sends notifications to the email address that has been registered with the CRA’s My Account (personal) and CRA’s My Business Account (business). The email will come from:
Canada Revenue Agency / Agence du Revenu du Canada do_not_reply-ne_pas_repondre@cra-arc.gc.ca
It is VERY important that your email address is up to date in the CRA’s online portals to ensure that you do not miss mail from the CRA.
We highly recommend that you whitelist the domain “cra-arc.gc.ca” in your email settings to ensure that these emails are not filtered to your junk mail. Unfortunately, the CRA will not defer you obligation to respond to their requests because you didn’t see the email and didn’t check your online mail.
You cannot delegate your responsibility to check your mail to anyone else, including your accountant.
How do I avoid email scams posing as CRA emails?
The CRA will never send specific information or request any information via email. The CRA does not include links in their emails. Rather, the emails that they send you will indicate that there is something new to look at in your online portal.
The CRA does not send text messages.
How do I create and access my CRA online account?
You can monitor you online mail, check you tax balances, download notices of assessment, check RRSP deduction limits, check TFSA limits, and view your tax filing history through the CRA’s online portals:
- Personal Accounts: Log in to My Account in order to view personal tax information, including balances owing, payment history, online mail, filing history, RRSP and TFSA balances, and notices of assessment, among other things;
- Business Accounts: Log in to My Business Account in order to access business tax information, such as GST/HST accounts, payroll accounts, and corporation income tax.
How do I update my address or last name with the CRA?
It is important to keep your contact information up to date with the CRA. Clients can change their addresses and last name through the CRA’s online portals.
Unfortunately, we cannot perform this service on behalf of our clients.
How do I access RRSP and TFSA contribution limits?
You can view you Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) contribution limits by logging into the CRA’s My Account portal.
Please note that we provide these balances only in our year-end transmittal letters during personal tax time, as we are not aware of clients’ TFSA and RRSP contributions made throughout the year.
How can I ensure that I haven’t missed any mail from the CRA?
- Make sure your email address is up to date in your CRA online portals: My Account and My Business Account.
- Whitelist the domain cra-arc.gc.ca to ensure that the CRA’s email is not inadvertently filtered to your junk mail folder.
- Do not ignore emails from the CRA.
- Check your CRA Online account at least weekly, especially if you’re under audit, review, or have other ongoing matters with the CRA.
By staying proactive and regularly monitoring your CRA online accounts, you can ensure that you remain informed about your tax obligations.