By Jennifer M. Leddy

CRA Introduces New Way to Confirm Authorized Representatives in My Business Account

As of October 18, 2021, the CRA has introduced a new way to confirm authorized representatives online, including those for charities and not-for-profits, using the CRA’s My Business Account. According to the CRA announcement, the new process is intended to help protect organizations’ tax information and assist with authorizing new representatives more efficiently and securely. In particular, if the organization is registered for My Business Account and has enabled email notifications in My Business Account, it will be notified by email that someone has requested access to their account as their authorized representative. The organization will then be able to confirm or deny the request online in the authorized representatives section of their account. If the organization does not confirm or deny the request within ten business days, the request will be denied.

Authorized representatives include individuals, such as accountants, bookkeepers, and lawyers, who are authorized by an organization to manage its tax information, and can view, obtain information about, and update the organization’s tax information on file with the CRA. Given the nature of what authorized representatives are permitted to do, the CRA notes that it is important for organizations to know who their authorized representatives are, what information they have access to, and to ensure that the representatives on file with the CRA are current.

Detailed instructions for setting up a My Business Account and confirming new representatives are set out in the CRA announcement.

Read the October 2021 Charity & NFP Law Update