Navigating CRA My Account: A Practitioner’s Guide to Access, Features and Client Authorization

Geoff Currier

T4 and T5 slips must be issued by the last day of February, which this year falls on a Saturday. Therefore the deadline is March 2, 2026. Failing to do so attracts penalties for issuers.  However, there is another important aspect of this common compliance issue: the CRA My Account. Are your clients aware of it and checking it regularly for messaging and copies of the Tslips CRA has downloaded? If not, you are in the best position to educate taxpayers on their active use of this important portal to manage their relationship with CRA. Here’s a tip sheet on how to orient your clients:

Gaining Access. For those who have not registered or who have been locked out of their My Account, the CRA has introduced an online method of regaining access. You can help demystify the process. First thing to know: the session for registration will expire after 18 minutes of inactivity and any progress will not be saved. That can be very frustrating. 

Information to have at hand: start with birthdate, Social Insurance Number. For most people, that’s easy. But the next part is harder: The taxpayer will need to provide information from the most recent assessed T1 return and potentially from a return within the last two years. That’s harder.

Worse, the CRA will want answers based on amounts initially reported on first filing, even if the tax return was reassessed. That’s why it’s so important to keep that original notice of assessment at hand – something you can help your clients with.

Then a multi-factor authentication process must be selected to use on sign-in. There are several sign-in options, which will be used each time the client logs onto their My Account.   

For immediate access, the client can verify their identity with an accepted piece of ID provided with a mobile device.

Reviewing My Account. The services they can access depend on certain procedural steps. If your client uses the documentation verification service, they will have full access to available services. If they choose to receive a CRA security code by mail, access will remain limited until the online registration process is completed.

Then advise your client to always start their session by checking the online mail from CRA. 

Procedures and Features. Among the new features this year is the “Manage Balance” service. If a taxpayer owes more than $1,000, they will be directed to self-service options upon accessing their My Account. They may pay their balance in full immediately or over time, speak directly with a CRA collections officer, or request a callback.

You can also inform clients about the Sign-In Partners option. Organizations such as financial institutions that partner with Interac allow users to sign in using existing online banking credentials. This option enables access to multiple government services through the same sign-in information.

To use a sign-in partner, your client must:

• Have a SIN number
• Have filed taxes for the current or previous year
• Maintain an account with a participating sign-in partner
• Be registered for online banking

You may need to reassure clients that information is not cross-shared between sign-in partners and government agencies.

A provincial partner option allows sign-in using government-issued identification; however, this is currently available only in British Columbia and Alberta.

Your Role. You may require access to your clients’ My Account and will need to explain what that means. You can do much as an authorized representative: access personal tax information, obtain details about business tax accounts, update business numbers and program account information, and access non-resident tax and trust account details.

Clients must verify that they have authorized their representative in My Account under Represent a Client. Authorized reps will then go to the CRA account page and do the following:

• From the Welcome page, select Add account
• Select Representative account
• Select Register with Represent a Client
• Select Register your business or Register yourself
• Receive CRA Confirmation
• Return to the Welcome page and select your Representative account to access Represent a Client
• This authorization remains in place until it is formally cancelled or until any specified expiry date has passed.

While your focus may be on becoming the authorized representative, others may also be eligible, including bookkeepers, spouses, family members, friends, lawyers, customs brokers, executors, or individuals with power of attorney. You may wish to clarify who else may have access and discuss the pros and cons of this.

The Bottom Line. If you are working with a first-time client, you may need to guide them through the steps required to gain entry to a digital relationship with CRA and grant authorized representative access. Some clients may be cautious about sharing personal information, be new to the online process or lack the information required to set it all up.

Patience is important. Trust forms the foundation of a strong long-term relationship, and taking extra time to provide reassurance in this complex process will pay off over the long run as you take the first steps to earning your clients for life.

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