In recent months, Canada Revenue Agency ("CRA") has quietly transitioned the default method of delivering most notices and correspondence to its online portal.
Both businesses and individuals are being impacted by the changes to how mail is delivered by CRA.
For businesses, over the past couple of months, CRA has begun sending most business correspondence through the CRA’s My Business Account portal. The transition started May 12, 2025 for new business registrations, and since June 16, 2025 the new policy has been effective for the vast majority of businesses that were previously registered for My Business Account or have granted online access to an authorized representative.
Limited exceptions are available for remaining Canadian resident businesses that are not yet registered for My Business Account and do not have an authorized representative with online access, as well as non-resident businesses that do not have a Canadian-resident owner or director and have not granted a representative with online access.
It is important to note that non-resident businesses that have granted online authorization to a representative but do not have resident owners and/or directors may be automatically registered for online mail with no way to access correspondence through My Business account.
While affected businesses may opt-out of the program, such requests require renewal every two years and will automatically be cancelled if CRA receives any returned undeliverable mail.
Similarly, for individuals, CRA has been undertaking a transition to online mail for personal tax accounts. As of September 4, 2025, they began to automatically switch individuals who are registered for a CRA account from paper mail to online mail.
Individuals impacted by the change to online correspondence can sign into their My Account and update their correspondence preference.
What types of correspondence are affected?
The new policy applies to most correspondence, including CRA notices, letters, forms, statements, and other correspondence, including notices of assessment and/or reassessments, audit review letters, inquiries, proposal letters and objection confirmations.
Why the change matters
CRA has indicated that the change is part of efforts to improve its services with faster, secure, and more convenient access. However, the changes also have important tax ramifications.
Provisions in the Income Tax Act provide that any electronic notices sent by the CRA to businesses are presumed to have been received by the taxpayer on the date of posting, unless the taxpayer has opted for paper mail 30 days prior.
Correspondingly, personal tax clients that have previously provided CRA with an email address and authorized CRA to communicate with them electronically are presumed to receive electronic communications when an electronic message notifying of the communication is sent to the email address on file.
These provisions place the onus on taxpayers to ensure that they are aware of any electronic communications from CRA and to take necessary action to comply with pending deadlines. Deadlines for objections, appeals, or responses are counted from the date of original electronic posting of the communication, without consideration for the date the communication is actually opened or read by the taxpayer.
Recently, we have received “courtesy” phone calls from CRA agents indicating that taxpayers have unopened electronic communications with past-due deadlines. These phone calls are concerning as they signifying that taxpayers are not receiving electronic notifications from CRA.
Clients should be aware that authorized representatives, such as Shimmerman Penn LLP, are not notified of communications sent by CRA and do not monitor CRA accounts on a regular basis for new communications.
Action points
Since CRA is now automatically communicating with businesses electronically, it is important for taxpayers to ensure they are properly registered with CRA and that CRA has up to date contact information to ensure they are receiving the communications.
Taxpayers who have authorized a representative to communicate with CRA electronically but have not yet set up a My Business account should do so as soon as possible. For more information on how to register for My Business account see the following link from CRA: About My Business Account – CRA account help - Canada.ca.
Business owners who already have My Business Account set up and/or Individuals who have previously provided an email address to CRA authorizing electronic communications should sign into their account regularly to ensure no communications are missed and ensure their email address and other contact information are properly recorded and up to date with CRA.
Taxpayers can check the email address on account with CRA by phoning CRA and/or by signing in to CRA online and selecting “Manage notification preferences” under the “Profile” section.
Businesses should consider who is listed to receive emails from CRA. CRA allows up to three email addresses per program account to be registered. Businesses should ensure that appropriate personnel (e.g., controller, finance manager, internal accountant) are registered to receive correspondence for relevant program accounts (i.e. corporate income tax, GST/HST, payroll, etc.). Having more than one person registered to receive communications may reduce the risk of missed correspondence.
Taxpayers should also check the settings on their junk mail filters to ensure communications from CRA will not be filtered out.
Consideration should also be given to opt out of online communications. This can be done online by opting out of electronic mail in the “Notification preferences” section under the profile menu, or for businesses by mailing RC681. If opting out of online communications, taxpayers should still ensure their traditional and electronic contact information is accurate and up to date to ensure paper mail is received and electronic communications will be received in the event CRA automatically reverts to online communications.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is important to be aware of changes in the ways CRA is communicating with taxpayers and the risks this presents. It is recommended that clients review their contact information and settings with CRA and continuously monitor for communications to avoid missing important communications or deadlines.
Should you have any questions or require any further clarification on how the changes may impact you, please be in touch with your Shimmerman Penn LLP advisor, or refer to the following resources available from CRA online:
