Beginning Monday, May 12^th, 2025, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is transitioning to online mail as the default method for most communications with businesses, and will move away from traditional letters unless organizations take steps to retain mailed correspondence. While the CRA did provide advanced notice of the change, this may be news to many owners and managers of small- to medium-sized businesses across the country.

Moving forward, business notices will be sent through the CRA’s My Business Account portal. As the CRA notes, the change applies to:

• All new business number and program account registrations
• All existing businesses registered for My Business Account and
• All businesses who have given online access to a representative to view and/or modify information on their behalf via Represent a Client 

The May 12^th effective date for the move to online mail will apply to new business and program account registrations, including new corporations ‘… registered through the federal or provincial incorporating authorities.’ Businesses can register for a CRA account here. The transition to electronic mail for existing businesses will occur on June 16^th, 2025, and will include notices, letters, statements, forms and any other CRA business tax account or returns information. Importantly, correspondence sent to an organization’s my Business Account will be considered received on that date.

The CRA is advising businesses to ensure their preferred email address for communication is up to date in their My Business Account. The agency has clarified that some correspondence cannot be delivered electronically and will continue to be sent through the mail, including cheques if a business is not set up for bank direct deposit. There is another exception to the change, according to the CRA: ‘Existing businesses not registered for My Business Account through the business owner or that do not have an authorized representative (via Represent a Client); Charities; 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 a representative’ will continue to receive mailed correspondence.

Businesses can also request to retain traditional mailed communications by logging into their CRA account, filling out and mailing form RC681 – Request to Activate Paper Mail for My Business. The form will be available on May 12^th. If this request is made between May 12^th and June 16^th, 2025, organizations may still be issued mail electronically to their My Business Account until the request is processed. This requires close monitoring of that account to avoid missing important notices. If a letter is mailed and is undeliverable (e.g., due to an address change that hasn’t been communicated to the CRA), the organization’s correspondence with CRA will automatically revert back to electronic mail. Requests must be made every two years to continue receiving paper mail.

The switch to digital correspondence is designed to save the government time and costs related to administration, while streamlining communications with businesses and reducing the environmental impact of mailed paper letters. Although it may seem like a relatively benign change, the pivot to electronic mail presents a significant compliance risk for businesses.

First, it’s not uncommon for owners of small- to medium-sized companies—and even larger organizations—to miss important notices from the CRA. The hustle and bustle of managing and growing a business is taxing enough. Keeping up with government correspondence, although a crucial requirement of basic tax compliance, can easily fall by the wayside. And if organizations don’t have service level agreements in place with their accounting firm to monitor the My Business Account platform on their behalf throughout the year, a business owner/leader or team member will need to assume that responsibility.

Failure to monitor government communications could result in penalties or interest arrears if key information, such as a notice of assessment, is missed.

The other issue is deciding which company email address should be added to a company’s My Business Account portal to enable online mail communications. Using a generic ‘info@companyx.com’ email address could be a practical way to ensure that CRA communications are not connected directly to a business owner or key executive. After all, people retire, are fired, die or even transition to new email addresses, all of which could disrupt the flow of information from the CRA. Organizations will need to establish and follow processes to protect against a possible communication breakdown, while ensuring they monitor generic email addresses for government notices.

As with any significant CRA policy or procedure change, this one is best handled with a proactive approach and an eye to full compliance. Electronic correspondence can certainly be a simplified, convenient tool for communicating with Ottawa. The trick is to ensure that the information is sent and received in a timely manner—and that the flow of communications is never interrupted.

The RH Partners Tax Team

For more information on the transition to online mail, tax planning or compliance, contact a member of the RH Partners Tax team today.