During the summer of 2025, CRA made three announcements about switching individuals and businesses to Online Mail only. Much of the information in this article is from CRA’s website. My own comments and information are in italics.
Starting September 4, 2025, more individuals will begin receiving their CRA mail online. If you are registered for a CRA account and currently receive paper mail, you may now receive most of your mail in CRA My Account.
There are millions of Canadians that already regularly use CRA My Account and CRA My Business Account and are happy with the ability to access their tax information quickly and easily. We are happy to receive emails from CRA to advise us that we have mail and access the mail by signing in. But now CRA is forcing online mail on many individuals and businesses that may not be ready for it.
Change from paper to online mail for some individuals
If you are registered for a Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) account and currently receive paper mail, the way you receive your mail from the CRA may have changed.
Starting July 3, 2025, the CRA transitioned the delivery method for most mail from paper to online for approximately 500,000 benefit recipients (those receiving Canada Child Benefits, GST credits, Canada Workers Benefits). As of September 4, 2025, Phase 2 of this project expanded to include an additional 900,000 individual taxpayers, broadening the scope beyond just benefit recipients.
If you are part of this change, you will have received an email notification and, in some cases, a letter from the CRA with more information on what is changing.
(But what if you have changed your email address and did not know or remember to update your CRA account information?)
You’ve Got Mail!
Going forward, you will receive email notifications when new mail is available to view in My Account. You will no longer receive most CRA mail by paper.
This change applies to some individuals who are registered for a CRA account and currently receive paper mail.
This change does not impact any payments for benefit, credit, or refunds going forward. Eligible individuals signed up for direct deposit will continue to receive their payments directly into their bank accounts. Those who receive mailed cheques will continue to get them as usual.
This transition is part of the CRA’s ongoing commitment to making services:
- Faster – receive important tax information more quickly than by paper mail
- Convenient – access your tax information anytime, all in one place from your computer or mobile device, 21 hours a day, 7 days a week
- Secure – the CRA uses advanced security measures to protect your information and privacy
- Reliable – continue to receive mail and avoid delays caused by a natural disaster or postal strikes
- Cost efficient – online mail reduces government costs related to sending paper mail, including postage
- Eco-friendly – online mail reduces paper use and contributes to a cleaner environment by cutting down on waste
Note: Some mail cannot be added in My Account and will continue to be mailed by paper.
Ensure your email address is up to date in My Account
The CRA recommends signing in to your CRA account and ensuring your email address is current.
Our concern is individuals and business that have an email address listed with CRA that is no longer valid. How will these taxpayers know they have been switched to online mail? I realize it was your responsibility to keep your account up to date, but if you previously received paper mail from CRA, you may not have checked your CRA online account very often, or at all, and may no longer have access. So how do you know if you missed some CRA online mail?
If you have ever in the past accessed your CRA account online, we recommend you get access again so you can review any missed mail and ensure your email address is up to date.
Go to Sign in to your CRA account to log in or how to get help from CRA if you cannot get signed in.
Bottom of Form
Online mail for business
Starting May 2025, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) transitioned to online mail as the default method of delivering most business correspondence. This means you now receive most of your business notices and other correspondence through the My Business Account portal in your CRA account, instead of by paper mail.
How CRA’s digital mail shift may cost businesses
Shifting to mandatory online correspondence may bring unexpected challenges to business owners.
Many businesses may not be aware that they will no longer receive paper mail from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA); this started in spring 2025. Instead, affected (almost all) businesses will need to log in to My Business Account to retrieve most of their CRA notices and correspondence. While we understand CRA’s efforts to modernize tax services, the mandatory transition to online mail for businesses could create difficulties. Without existing online access, businesses will need to promptly sign up for My Business Account to avoid losing access to important CRA correspondence (including notices of assessment), increasing the risk of missed deadlines and compliance issues.
Businesses that have been transitioned to online mail that wish to continue receiving notices and correspondences through paper mail must either file Form RC681 Request to Activate Paper Mail for Business or select “paper mail” in My Business Account.
“I did not know I had mail”
For both Individuals and Businesses, according to the Income Tax Act, any electronic notice sent to someone is presumed to have been read by the person unless they’ve requested paper mail 30 days in advance.
So, you may have digital mail issued by CRA and not know about it. But it is still your responsibility to pay attention to it. Especially if you end up owing CRA some money!
We encourage all our clients and readers to sign up to CRA My Account if you are able to. You need to stay in touch with CRA via online and review any mail issued to you.
Older people in your lives
If you have an individual in your life that you currently assist with their taxes (or you will in future years), we recommend contacting a professional tax service like us. Let us get CRA authorization now so we can continue to access their CRA information in the future. Even if you want to continue filing their simple taxes each year, add us as a “back-up” for when they die. Once they have died, CRA has made it very difficult for executors or administrators (and professionals like us) to get online access to ensure taxes are filed correctly and completely or to make corrections. Without online access, it can make the estate administration more frustrating and often takes longer.
Anni Markmann is a Personal Income Tax Professional, living, working, and volunteering in our community. Contact Ste Anne Tax Service at 204.422.6631 or 36 Dawson Road in Ste Anne (near Clearview Co-op gas bar) or Info@SteAnneTaxService.ca