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New alternative authorization process for sole proprietors

Sole proprietors who may want to use the same representative for both their business and personal taxes may now be eligible to do so without them having to register for the Canada Revenue Agency’s My Business Account and go through the Confirm my Representative process.

Sole proprietors who may want to use the same representative for both their business and personal taxes may now be eligible to do so without them having to register for the Canada Revenue Agency’s My Business Account and go through the Confirm my Representative process. Under this new alternative authorization process, new business authorization requests for sole proprietors submitted electronically by their representative will be approved automatically if certain conditions are met. These conditions include:

  • The business must be a sole proprietorship
  • The social insurance number of the sole proprietor is linked to the business account
  • The sole proprietor already has the representative authorized on their individual account
  • The sole proprietor does not have access to My Business Account to confirm their representative

The request will need to be made through Represent a Client (RAC) or certified tax software (EFILE). If the sole proprietor has access to any of CRA’s portals related to their business, then they will need to go through the confirm my representative process.

If eligible requests are made through RAC, the advisor will need to:

  • Log into RAC
  • Go to the authorization request section
  • Select business
  • Provide the requested information including the sole proprietor’s business number
  • Send the system generated form to your client for their signature, and upload it within 30 days from the request
  • Once the signature page is uploaded, access is generally granted within five business days.

If eligible requests are e-filed through certified tax software, these requests will also be processed without an online taxpayer confirmation if the conditions above are met. For more information on the EFILE process, check with your software vendor.