CRA's shift to electronic-first correspondence is accelerating. For most businesses enrolled in My Business Account (MyBA), CRA has moved to online-only delivery of most notices, letters, and correspondence. This is a significant operational change that affects how and when you receive critical tax documents — and the legal consequences of missing them remain just as serious as if the notice arrived by mail.
CRA Online Mail is a secure delivery system within My Account (for individuals) and My Business Account (for businesses) that allows CRA to deliver correspondence electronically instead of by physical mail. Once enrolled, most CRA-issued documents — Notices of Assessment, GST/HST returns and remittance summaries, T2 corporate correspondence, audit requests, and more — are posted to the online portal rather than mailed to your address.
CRA sends an email notification to the address on file when new mail is available. However, the notice is considered received when it is posted, not when the email is read. If the notification email goes to a spam folder or an outdated email address, you could miss critical deadlines.
CRA's electronic mail transition applies to:
CRA has been progressively enrolling new business registrants in online mail automatically. If your business has recently been incorporated or registered with CRA, it may already be set up for electronic correspondence by default.
The 90-day deadline to file a Notice of Objection runs from the mailing date on a Notice of Assessment. For online mail, the "mailing date" is the date the document is made available in the MyBA inbox. Businesses that do not check their MyBA portal regularly may discover an objection deadline has passed before they even knew a reassessment was issued.
CRA audit correspondence — initial contact letters, information requests, proposed adjustments — may all be delivered through MyBA. Time-sensitive requests from auditors can have response deadlines of 30 to 60 days. Missing these because the business isn't monitoring the portal puts the taxpayer in a weak position.
Filing confirmations, remittance summaries, and requests for payroll information are also delivered online. For businesses that use payroll service providers or bookkeepers, ensuring those parties have authorized access to the relevant accounts in MyBA is important.
| Document Type | Delivered By | Critical Deadline? |
|---|---|---|
| Notice of Assessment / Reassessment | Online mail (MyBA) | Yes — 90 days to object |
| Audit information request | Online mail (MyBA) | Yes — stated deadline in letter |
| GST/HST notice | Online mail (MyBA) | Varies |
| Collections notice | Mail or online | Yes — immediate action |
Businesses that work with a tax firm can authorize their accountant as a representative in My Business Account. This is one of the most important steps you can take to ensure nothing is missed. An authorized representative can:
Authorization is done through a Level 2 (full access) or Level 1 (view only) representative access request. At Swift Accounting, all active clients have our firm authorized on their MyBA so we receive notifications and can act on time-sensitive correspondence promptly.
As of 2024, most businesses cannot fully opt out of online mail delivery for corporate account correspondence. Individual taxpayers retain some ability to opt out through My Account settings. The direction of travel is clear: CRA intends online correspondence to become the universal standard, and businesses that resist setting up proper access management do so at their own risk.
Managing CRA's digital portal effectively is now part of good tax administration. Our tax team is authorized on client accounts and monitors incoming CRA correspondence so nothing is missed. If you are not sure whether your MyBA is properly set up or whether your tax professional has current authorized access, contact us today for a review.