Help with My Account

General information

1. What can I do on My Account?
2. Will I see information on My Account before receiving it in documents from the CRA?
3. Can my representative view my information online?
   • Is there an advantage to authorizing my representative online?
   • Why can't my representative view information for me using my own epass?
   • I am trying to view information for a deceased person. Why can't I?

See it online

Summary of assessment/reassessment

1. Tax returns
   • View returns - general information
   • View returns - assessment
   • View returns - reassessment
   • Carryover amounts
   • Disability tax credit
2. Financial information
   • Account balance
   • Statement of account
   • Payments made on filing
   • Instalments
     • Instalment payment summary
     • Instalment reminders
     • Can I print the instalment reminder and use it to remit an instalment at my bank?
   • Direct deposit
   • Pre-authorized payment plan
3. Benefit payments
   • Canada Child Tax Benefit, GST/HST credit and Universal Child Care Benefit payments
4. Pension plans
   • RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings Plan)
     • 2006 RRSP deduction limit
     • Prior year RRSP deduction limits and calculations
     • Unused RRSP contributions available to deduct for 2006
     • Prior year RRSP contribution history
   • Home Buyers Plan (HBP) and Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP)
5. Other
   • Authorized representatives
   • My address and telephone numbers

Do it online

1. Change my return
2. Change my address
3. Apply for child benefits
4. Arrange my direct deposit
5. Authorize my representative
6. Set up a pre-authorized payment plan
7. Register my formal dispute

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General information

1. What can I do on My Account?

With My Account you can see information about your:

• tax refund or balance owing;
• direct deposit;
• RRSP, Home Buyers' Plan, and Lifelong Learning Plan;
• tax returns and carryover amounts;
• disability tax credit;
• account balance and payments on filing;
• instalments;
• Canada Child Tax Benefit and related provincial and territorial programs payments, account balance, and statement of account;
• GST/HST credit and related provincial programs payments, account balance, and statement of account;
• Universal Child Care Benefit payments, account balance, and statement of account;
• pre-authorized payment plan;
• authorized representative; and
• addresses and telephone numbers.

With My Account you can also manage your personal income tax and benefit account online by:

• changing your return;
• changing your address or telephone numbers;
• applying for child benefits;
• arranging your direct deposit;
• authorizing your representative;
• setting up a payment plan; and
• formally disputing your assessment or determination.

2. Will I see information on My Account before receiving it in documents from the CRA?

Yes. It is possible to see information on the My Account pages before you receive the official document or documents from the CRA. For example, if your return is reassessed, you may see details of the reassessment on My Account before you receive your Notice of Reassessment in the mail. This happens because the most up-to-date information is displayed immediately on My Account, while the notice goes through several manual processes before you receive it by mail.

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3. Can my representative view my information online?

Yes, but first your representative, whether it is a family member, friend, tax professional, or tax services business, must authenticate and register online with the Represent a client service. Then you can authorize him or her online using their representative identifier (RepID), which the CRA will electronically provide to them once they register. To authorize a tax services business, you would use their Business Number (BN), once it has been registered for the Represent a client service. Your authorization will then allow your representative to access the information needed to help complete your Income Tax and Benefit return and/or complete certain transactions on your behalf with the CRA, depending on the level of permission you have granted your representative.

Is there an advantage to authorizing my representative online?

Yes. Authorizing your representative online using the "Authorize my representative" option found on My Account will give your representative instant access to the information and services needed to help you with your income tax and benefit information. Authorizations submitted on paper, i.e., by completing a T1013, Authorizing or Cancelling a Representative, will only grant him/her access after the CRA has processed the form. Also, for your protection and peace of mind, you can change or revoke your representative's authorization online at any time.

Why can't my representative view information for me using my own epass?

Only the person with the SIN associated with the epass can use the My Account service to access his or her information. If you want them to represent you, see "Can my representative view my information online?".

I am trying to view information for a deceased person. Why can't I?

You cannot use this service or the Represent a client service to view information for deceased persons. You will have to call, write, fax, or visit a CRA office. See Contact us for our toll-free telephone numbers and addresses and fax numbers of the tax services offices and tax centres.

See it online

Summary of assessment/reassessment

This page provides a summary of the latest assessment or reassessment for the taxation year shown in the shaded box at the top of the Welcome page.

The first part provides the explanation of the changes to your tax return and other important information. The next part gives you the amounts in the summary lines of the major sections of your tax return.

1. Tax returns

View returns - general information

The View returns service allows you to view general or detailed information about your income tax and benefit returns.

This page provides general information about your tax returns for the current and 7 prior years and contains the following information:

Year

The tax year covers the calendar year from January 1 to December 31 and represents the tax year for the return filed or due to be filed.

Status

Describes the current status for your return:

• Not received
  Means that we have not received your return, or it has been received but not entered into our computer system. If you filed your return on or before April 15, it could take four weeks before it shows as received. If you filed your return after April 15, it could take six weeks before it shows as received.
  
  If you filed your return using EFILE, NETFILE, or TELEFILE, shortly after you receive your confirmation number, your return status will show as received. However, the information will not be updated immediately on My Account.
  
  
• Received
  Means that we have received your return, but that it has not yet been assessed.
  
  
• Assessed
  Means that this tax return has been processed by our computer system for the first time, and your Notice of Assessment has been mailed to you.
  
  
• Reassessed
  Means that your return has been changed, and a Notice of Reassessment has been mailed to you.

Date

This is the date your return was assessed or reassessed. A dash (-) in this field means that the return has not yet been received or assessed.

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Result of assessment

The calculation of income tax results in money owed to you (a refund), money you owe (a balance), or a nil balance ($0; no refund or balance). The result shown is the calculation as of the date of assessment or reassessment. It includes instalments and payments made when the return was filed. It does not include payments made after filing.

You can view detailed information about assessments or reassessments by selecting Assessed or Reassessed.

You can request a change to your return by selecting Change my return.

View returns - assessment

This page provides the detailed information on a particular assessment to your income tax and benefit return - the current year or four prior years.

Use one of the following methods to view your return:

• Scroll down the page
• Use the "Navigate to section" box to select the area of the return where the line is located
• Use the search feature of your Internet browser to find specific line numbers or text

Only the lines that you completed on your return are shown on these pages. The amounts shown were used in the calculation of your tax refund or balance owing for that year. If you left any lines blank, those lines will not appear here, although you can add them to include new information.

You can navigate between assessment and reassessment by selecting the tabs located above the personal identification area.

You can change this return by selecting Change this return.

You can print a copy of this return by selecting Printer-friendly version.

View returns - reassessment

This page provides the detailed information on a particular reassessment to your tax return - the current year or four prior years.

Use one of the following methods to view your return:

• Scroll down the page
• Use the "Navigate to section" box to select the area of the tax return where the line is located
• Use the search feature of your Internet browser to find specific line numbers or text

Only the lines that you completed on your return are shown on these pages. The amounts shown were used in the calculation of your tax refund or balance owing for that year. If you left any lines blank, those lines will not appear here, although you can add them to include new information.

You can navigate between assessment and reassessment by selecting the tabs located above the personal identification area.

The changes are summarized in the section Reassessment Information.

You can change this return by selecting Change this return.

You can print a copy of this return by selecting Printer-friendly version.

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Carryover amounts

This page provides the detailed record of your capital gain/loss, non-capital loss, investment tax credit (ITC), allowable business investment loss (ABIL), capital gains deduction, and tuition and education data history that applies to your tax situation.

Use one of the following methods to view your carryover information:

• Scroll down the page
• Use the "Navigate to section" box to select the area where the information is located
• Use the search feature of your Internet browser to find specific text

You can navigate between assessment, reassessment and carryover by selecting the tabs located above the personal identification area.

You can change this return by selecting Change this return.

You can print a copy of this information by selecting Printer-friendly version.

Disability tax credit

The disability tax credit page provides information concerning the Disability Tax Credit (DTC). Individuals may view DTC eligibility information for self, spouse and dependants. Information concerning recently submitted T2201 applications and DTC related correspondence is also displayed here.

In some cases, specific messages concerning the status of your application and correspondence are displayed here, as well as contact numbers for circumstances in which information cannot be displayed or if your records disagree with the displayed information.

This page provides information about your disability tax credit for the current calendar year and 2 prior years and contains the following information:

Year
The year is the calendar year from January 1 to December 31.

Status
Describes your eligibility status for the disability tax credit or the current status of your DTC application.

2. Financial information

Account balance

The first section shows your tax account balance, including arrears interest that may apply, calculated to the current date. If you have a balance under appeal, it is shown on a separate line and is not included in the account balance. 

The date shown near the top of this page is usually today's date. However, if an assessment or reassessment has been processed to your account with an effective date later than the current date, that date will be shown.

Statement of account

The statement of account shows the recent transactions that have occurred on your personal tax account, including assessments, reassessments, payments, and any interest charged. It also shows your current account balance.

Payments made on filing

When you submit a return with a balance owing (your total payable is more than your total credits), you can pay in several different ways:

• by attaching a cheque to your paper return;
• by sending a cheque with a remittance form;
• by making a payment at a financial institution; or
• by using one of your financial institution's electronic services.

If the payment is processed before your return is assessed, it is called a payment made on filing, and it will appear on your Notice of Assessment. If not, we will apply the payment to your account on the date of the payment and then send you a revised statement of your account.

Please note that it could take a few days to process your payment.

Instalments

Instalment payment summary

This section shows, for the years listed, the total instalment payments we received from you. These payments appear here only for returns that have not yet been assessed and only until they are applied to the amount owing on a specific return.

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Instalment reminders

If we mailed you any instalment reminders this year or last year, a chart will be displayed showing the mailing dates of the instalment reminders, the payment due dates from box 1, and the corresponding amounts from box 2 on each instalment reminder. You can select a mailing date to view more information from that instalment reminder, if your return for that tax year has not yet been assessed.

Every February and August, we send instalment reminders to individuals who may have to pay tax by instalments. The February reminder covers payments due on March 15 and on June 15, and the August reminder covers payments due on September 15 and December 15. In November, we send an instalment reminder to farmers and fishers for the payment due on December 31.

Can I print the instalment reminder and use it to remit an instalment at my bank?

No. You need a remittance form to make a payment at a financial institution. Remittance forms contain special magnetic ink for processing at financial institutions. You can get remittance forms by contacting us at 1-800-959-8281. For information on other ways to make a payment, see Tax payments.

Direct deposit

You can view the direct deposit information for your income tax refund, GST/HST credit, Canada Child Tax Benefit payments and Universal Child Care Benefit payments. You provided this information to us either through your income tax return, by submitting a direct deposit request to the Canada Revenue Agency or by using our online My Account service.

The institution name is the official name of your bank, for example, Scotiabank. The institution number is a 3-digit number that represents your bank.

The branch name identifies the branch location, for example, Main Street branch. The branch number is a 5-digit number that represents that branch.

The account number is your personal bank account number, and it has a maximum of 12 digits, for example, 123456789123.

The effective date is the date your request for direct deposit was recorded on our system.

Pre-authorized payment plan

You can view the details of the latest pre-authorized payment plan you set up to pay your tax arrears or instalments. This page provides the details of the payment and banking information you submitted to CRA when you originally set up this payment plan through My Account.

Payment information includes the frequency of the payments, the payment amount and the payment start date. The banking information you provided to CRA to carry out the payments is also shown.

3. Benefit payments

Canada Child Tax Benefit, GST/HST credit and Universal Child Care Benefit payments

The benefit payments page provides an entry point to information concerning the Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB), the GST/HST credit, related provincial and territorial programs, and the Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB). Information concerning recently submitted CCTB applications is also displayed here.

Current payment links provide information on the most recent issuance, and can include:

• payment date, amount, and type (cheque or direct deposit);
• a breakdown of federal, provincial, and territorial contributions;
• retroactive amounts from prior years;
• information used to calculate the payment.

In some cases, specific messages concerning the status of the payment are displayed here, as well as contact numbers for circumstances in which payment information cannot be displayed.

Account balance links provide the account balance for the specified program, and for any current and prior provincial and territorial programs for which there is either an outstanding balance or account activity. A link to the corresponding statement of account page is also displayed for each program listed.

Payment summary links provide a listing of expected, current, and prior payments. They are displayed in order from the earliest prior payment at the bottom of the page, the current payment (in grey), usually in the centre of the page, with any expected payments appearing at the top of the page. The date associated with each payment links to a detail page for that specific payment.

Notice summary links provide a listing of recently issued notices. Each issuance date provides a link to the corresponding Notice Information page where details about a specific notice can be viewed.

Note: Benefit payments are calculated in June and July following the assessment of your income tax and benefit return. As a result, there will be times when your expected benefit payments will not be available on the payment summary page. To estimate your future benefit payments, use our Benefits Online Calculator.

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4. Pension Plans

RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings Plan)

A registered retirement savings plan allows contributions made to your, your spouse's or common-law partner's plan to be sheltered from tax for the period the funds remain in the plan. Generally you have to pay tax when you receive payments from the plan.

Information displayed on the RRSP pages is a record of clients RRSP contributions and deductions.

The RRSP main page displays the dollar amount of the current year deduction limit and the dollar amount of the unused RRSP contributions available to deduct for the next return to be filed.

It also provides the links to the following options:

Home Buyers Plan (HBP) and Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP)

This page shows the clients statement of account for the HBP and/or the LLP if the client is a participant in either or both programs and has an amount outstanding. For each program, it will indicate the total withdrawals, previous annual repayments, cancellations and income inclusion as well as the repayable balance remaining and the required repayment for the current year.

5. Other

Authorized representatives

You can view a list of all your authorized representatives as of today's date.

• Representatives - this column lists all the representatives the Canada Revenue Agency has on file for you.
  • If the link under the representative's name shows Update or Delete, this means you authorized this representative using his/her RepID or the Business Number (BN) of the company he/she works for, giving that representative online access. You can update or delete this authorization online.
  • If the link under the representative's name shows View or Delete, this means you authorized this representative using the paper form T1013, Authorizing or Cancelling a Representative, and you did not enter a RepID or BN on the form. You will have to complete a new T1013 to update this authorization. You can delete this authorization online or by calling us at 1-800-959-8281.
  • If the link under the representative's name shows View online transactions, this means you gave that representative online access. You can view online transactions performed on your behalf by your representative.
• Authorization expires - this column displays the date the authorization will expire. If no date was entered, the authorization is valid indefinitely.
• Online access - this column shows whether or not your representative has online access to your tax and benefit information.

My address and telephone numbers

The CRA has collected your addresses and telephone numbers from the identification area of your latest income tax return or from other communications with you. We may have modified your address to meet Canada Post's requirements; therefore, the address shown on My Account may differ slightly from the one you gave us. You can make changes to your address and telephone numbers by phone, in writing, in person, or by Internet using our Change my address service.

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Do it online

1. Change my return

The Change my return service allows you to make changes to your income tax and benefit return for the current year and two prior years.

• To begin the process, select the year you want to change from a list of available years. As certain restrictions apply, you may receive a message advising that you cannot use the service.
• The T1 General electronic form follows the format of the T1 General Income Tax and Benefit paper return by providing tabs at the top of the screen that represent the sections of the return.
• The Search tab allows you to search T1 lines by description or line number.
• Select the line that you wish to adjust and enter the new amount for that line.
• Make sure to review the changes and make any corrections necessary before submitting them to us.

You will receive a confirmation number. Generally, you will either be contacted for more information or receive a Notice of Reassessment within two weeks.

2. Change my address

You can change your home address, your mailing address, and your phone numbers through the My Account service.

The CRA has collected your addresses and telephone numbers from the identification area of your latest income tax return or from other communications with you. We may have modified your address to meet Canada Post's requirements; therefore, the address shown on My Account may differ slightly from the one you gave us.

3. Apply for child benefits

With the Apply for child benefits service, you automatically apply for all of the following at the same time:

• apply for the Canada Child Tax Credit (CCTB) and related provincial and territorial benefits;
• register children for the Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) credit and related provincial programs; and
• enrol for the Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB).

You will be asked to complete a five-step process:

Step 1- Confirm contact information.
Step 2 - Confirm marital status.
Step 3 - Confirm citizenship.
Step 4 - Add a child.
Step 5 - Submit and sign application.

4. Arrange my direct deposit

The Arrange my direct deposit service allows you to start, update or stop your direct deposit information for your income tax refunds, GST/HST credit, Canada Child Tax Benefit and your Universal Child Care Benefit payments through the My Account service.

5. Authorize my representative

The Authorize my representative service allows you to authorize someone online, such as a family member, friend, tax professional, or tax services business to deal with the Canada Revenue Agency on your behalf. Your representative will have access to most of the tax and benefit information and services found on My Account.

Your representative will not have access to the following:

• Change my address
• View my address
• Authorize my representative
• Direct deposit
• Disability tax credit
• Apply for child benefits
• Set-up my pre-authorized payment plan

Your representative will have to authenticate and register through the Represent a client service. Once registered, he/she will give you his/her RepID or in the case of a business the Business Number which you will use to authorize your representative. Also, for your protection, you can change or revoke your representative's authorization at any time using the Authorized representatives feature.

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6. Set up a pre-authorized payment plan

The Set up my pre-authorized payment plan service allows you to start a payment arrangement for personal income tax arrears or instalments. You will be asked to complete a four-step process.

Step 1 - Choose a payment plan and start date.
Step 2 - Enter banking information.
Step 3 - Review and confirm information.
Step 4 - Authorize the payment plan.

7. Register my formal dispute

You can use our Register my formal dispute service to challenge an assessment, reassessment, determination, or redetermination notice we have sent you.

After you select the Submit button at the bottom of the "Register my formal dispute" page, a message thanking you for your submission is displayed. This message means we have received your submission.

Your submission is then routed to an agency employee. This person will read your submission and may contact you for clarification.

The Internet option to register a formal dispute currently does not let you submit attachments. You should keep your documents and any additional information until we contact you about your disagreement.