CRA NO LONGER SENDING PAPER MAIL TO BUSINESSES

May 28, 2025

On February 6th Ward & Uptigrove provided communication to clients regarding the CRA’s plan shift to online correspondence for all businesses in the spring of 2025. A formal announcement with further details was provided by CRA on May 12th. This announcement means that all businesses will need to update their communication preferences either through their CRA My Account or by submitting the new Request to Activate Paper Mail form, further details on both are provided below.


These changes can have a significant impact on your business taxes, therefore we encourage clients to take time to read this letter as it provides important information.


Why is CRA Defaulting to Online Mail

CRA believes that online mail allows business owners to securely and conveniently receive CRA correspondence faster than paper mail. CRA also expresses the positive environmental impact of removing paper waste.

What do you need to know

Starting on May 12, 2025, online mail will be the default method of communication for all businesses either registering a new business number or creating a new specific program account for an existing business such as HST or Payroll.


For existing businesses and program accounts, these changes come into effect on June 16, 2025.


Existing businesses that do not have online access either through My Business Account or through their authorized representatives such as Ward & Uptigrove via the Represent a Client service may be exempt, however for many of our clients this will not be the case.


CRA will not send notifications to authorized representatives, as such Ward & Uptigrove will not be monitoring your CRA online mail.

How will this affect businesses

Any correspondence posted to your CRA My Account is considered received the moment it appears. If your email address is not up to date, you will not receive notifications. Therefore, to avoid missing critical correspondence you will need to check your CRA account at least every two weeks, more frequently if you’re under audit, review, or have other ongoing matters with the CRA.

Missing CRA correspondence could lead to significant consequences, such as interest, penalties, or large, unexpected tax assessments. For example, there are strict time frames the CRA provides for you to be able to provide information or object to an assessment – if these time frames lapse then you may be unable to object to the assessment. For businesses, efficient monitoring of the My Business Account portal will become an operational necessity starting in 2025 and will be an important responsibility for every business owner. 

Updating CRA Notifications

  1. Update your notification preferences through your My Business Account with CRA.CRA_Notification_Preferences.pdf
  2. If you do not have a My Business Account, then an individual with signing authority must make a request by completing and submitting the newly created form RC681 to CRA via mail or fax for each business number. A form must also be submitted for every new business number or for the creation of a new specific program account such as HST or Payroll. 


Note: The RC681 does expire and will need to be resubmitted to CRA every two years. There will also be a transition period where businesses will only receive online correspondence until CRA can process the RC681 forms submitted. Therefore, it will be important to continue to monitor your online correspondence during this transition period.

Important Steps

  • Register for My Business Account if you haven’t already. How_to_Create_a_CRA_Account.pdf 
  • If you wish to continue to have paper mail, you can either update your Profile through My Business Account or Submit Form RC681 – Request to Activate Paper Mail for Business. A fillable PDF version is available here:

o   https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/forms/rc681.html

  • Log into your My Business Account on a regular basis to ensure that you do not miss important correspondence from CRA
  • Update your email address with CRA under My Business Account and ensure that you are set up to receive notifications


To read the May 12th CRA communication please visit: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/e-services/digital-services-businesses/business-account/about-business-account/online-mail-for-business.html

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