Authorize a representative to access your CRA account

Before an accountant or other representative can deal with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) on your behalf, you need to authorize them. You can do it online in My Account, choose how much access they have, and remove it later.

This article covers how to authorize a representative, what each level of access allows, and how to take access away.

What does it mean to authorize a representative?
How do I authorize a representative?
What level of access should I give?
Can I remove access?

What does it mean to authorize a representative?

Authorizing a representative means you’re letting someone act for you with the CRA. That someone can be an accountant, bookkeeper or lawyer, for example. They can access your tax information, such as your notices of assessment and tax slips, and, depending on the level you choose, deal with the CRA for you. You only need to do this if you want someone else to access your information or deal with the CRA on your behalf, such as responding to a CRA letter.

It also means you never need to hand over your sign-in details. The CRA’s guidance is to not share your user ID and password with anyone, and it recommends authorizing a representative instead. They then sign in with their own credentials through the CRA’s Represent a Client service.

How do I authorize a representative?

There are three main ways to authorize a representative. The fastest requires a CRA account. If you don’t have one yet, here’s how to create a CRA My Account.

Adding a representative yourself

Ask your representative for their RepID, GroupID or business number. Sign in, go to Profile, and select Add under Authorized representative(s). Enter their identifier, then choose Level 1 or Level 2, choose whether to give online access or offline access only, and set an expiry date or select Does not expire. Review the details, confirm that the CRA may deal directly with your representative, and submit.

Confirming a request from your representative

If your representative submits the request, sign in, go to Profile, and select Confirm pending authorizations. You have 10 business days to confirm or deny it. If you don’t, the request is cancelled and your representative has to submit a new one. Your representative can also submit the request using tax information from a notice of assessment that was processed at least six months ago. In that case there’s no waiting period for you to confirm, though the CRA may also require a signature page.

Business owners

The steps are the same in My Business Account, under Authorized representatives. Business accounts also have a Level 3, which lets a representative authorize others on the business’s behalf.

What level of access should I give?

For individuals, the CRA offers two levels of access.

EXAMPLE You received a CRA letter asking for documents about your return

Level 1 Your representative can view your return and notice of assessment, but can’t submit documents to the CRA for you
Level 2 Your representative can view them and also submit the documents the CRA asked for

If you want your representative to submit documents or change a return for you, Level 2 is the level that allows it. Level 1 is enough if you only want them to review your information. An expiry date means access ends on its own instead of continuing until someone cancels it.

Can I remove access?

Yes. If you decide to remove a representative for any reason, such as a finished project or a change in who handles your taxes, you can do it yourself. Sign in to My Account, go to Profile, select your representative under Authorized representative(s), and delete their authorization. Business owners do the same in My Business Account.

Access stays in place until you or your representative cancels it, or until the expiry date if you set one. The CRA also lists managing who is authorized to represent you among the things to do in your CRA account before tax time, so it’s worth reviewing your list from time to time.

Questions?

If you have any questions about this article, need help authorizing a representative, or just want to know more about the services we offer, please contact one of our Tax Experts or complete the contact form below.