In May 2025, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) began phasing out paper mail and, by default, transitioned most business program accounts to online mail. Online mail is delivered through CRA’s portal: My Business Account. Business program accounts start with RC, RP and RT which are for corporate, payroll, and GST/HST, respectively.

Important Transition Dates

• May 12, 2025: New business numbers (BN) and program accounts
• June 16, 2025: Existing businesses that are already registered for My Business account or have an authorized representative (such as D&H Group LLP) will stop receiving paper mail and will start receiving most CRA mail online, regardless of whether there is an email address on file.

How to Prepare

To receive CRA online mail:

The transition to online mail will be automatic on June 16, 2025 unless a request for paper mail is made (see below). 

Receiving CRA online mail may have a significant effect on dealing with your tax obligations. Owners of business program accounts will need to:

• Ensure they have access to My Business Account;
• Register an email address that is actively monitored to receive CRA online mail. This cannot be your accountant’s email address; and
• Promptly log in to CRA My Business Account upon receipt of a CRA notification to check for online mail. If an email address is not on file with the CRA, it will not send notifications, but business owners remain responsible to check for CRA online mail.

Certain CRA correspondence that cannot be delivered by online mail continue to be sent by paper mail. For example, cheques will be mailed if the business isn’t enrolled in direct deposit. We encourage business owners to enroll in direct deposit.

After June 16, 2025, we will be unable to monitor your CRA online mail. It is business owners’ responsibility to retrieve your CRA online mail and to forward to us as necessary.

To continue to receive transition paper mail:

If you wish to continue receiving CRA correspondence by mail or continue to have us receive your CRA correspondence, a request for paper mail must be made in one of two ways:

1. Through My Business Account (we recommend this method to make the request).

OR

• Complete and send Form RC681, Request to Activate Paper Mail for Business (found here) to us. 

Requests to continue to receive paper mail must be made by the business owner/director. CRA will not accept these requests from authorized representatives such as D&H Group LLP.

Even when the request for paper mail has been made, you may still receive CRA online mail until your request is processed. There may be a 30-day delay for CRA to process this form. During this transition and processing period, there may also not be any CRA notifications. You must monitor your CRA My Business Account during this transition period so you do not miss any mail with time sensitive deadlines during this time

A request for paper mail must also be renewed every two years.

Avoid Missing Deadlines or Time Limits to Respond to CRA Online Mail

CRA correspondence includes but is not limited to notices of assessment/reassessment, information request letters, statements of account, audit or review letters/inquiries/proposals, objection confirmations and other important and time sensitive documents. CRA correspondence is considered received on the date it is posted to My Business Account by CRA. Accordingly, owners must actively monitor their business correspondence. Failure to attend to CRA correspondence in a timely manner can result in adverse implications including missing deadlines to respond to CRA inquiries, being unaware of outstanding balances, being unaware of CRA actions or the inability to file an objection to an incorrect assessment before the time limit expires.

Exceptions for Online Mail Default

Exceptions to the default online mail delivery method include:

1. Existing businesses that are not registered for My Business Account and do not have an authorized representative;
2. Charities unless a request is made to receive CRA mail online; and
3. Non-resident businesses that do not have an owner or director that is a Canadian resident and do not have access to My Business Account through an authorized representative.

Need Assistance?

We are here to help you through this transition. If you need support with:

• Setting up My Business Account 
• Reviewing your CRA mail or notification preferences
• Submitting Form RC681

Please reach out to our team with any questions.

For more information, please also visit the CRA’s official page: Online Mail for Business

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