Tax Tip - Small Business Week is here! Tap into the Canada Revenue Agency's entrepreneur-focused resources and information Français

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Canada Revenue Agency

Oct 21, 2024, 09:00 ET

OTTAWA, ON, Oct. 21, 2024 /CNW/ - As we celebrate Small Business Week from October 20 to 26, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is here to support Canada's small business community. This week is dedicated to helping you connect, learn, and grow your business knowledge. We're excited to share tax resources, tools, and services to help you tackle the challenges of running a business and keeping your tax affairs in check.

New: Factsheet with 2025 tax deadlines for Canadian businesses and self-employed individuals

Check out this new factsheet that highlights the 2025 tax deadlines for Canadian businesses and self-employed individuals. It's designed to help you stay organized and manage your tax obligations with ease.

Keeping up with changes to business taxes

Keeping up with changes to business taxes is an important part of managing your business effectively. Recent updates include electronic filing thresholds for businesses filing six or more information returns, the requirement for corporations with annual gross revenue of more than $1 million have to file their T2 return electronically, and the requirement for most GST/HST returns to be filed electronically. For more information about the 2024 changes affecting business taxes, please visit Businesses: Here are the top changes this year that will affect business taxes in 2024.

Receiving mail from the CRA – online

Starting as early as spring 2025, the CRA will transition to online mail as the default method of delivering most business correspondence. Going online means a faster, easier and more secure way for your business to manage its tax obligations. It also means you or your authorized representative may need to register to use My Business Account and sign up to receive email notifications, so you don't miss out on important tax notices (for example, notices of assessment) and other information.

Read about Monique who has been a key part of the CRA for 50 years, experiencing firsthand the shift from traditional paper forms to the digital services we offer today!

A new way to navigate SR&ED: introducing the SR&ED Client Portal

The Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) Tax Incentive Program is the largest Government of Canada program supporting research and development in Canada, providing more than $3.7 billion in tax credits to over 17,400 businesses annually. As part of our commitment to develop more accessible support and tools, the CRA is proud to present the new Client Portal for SR&ED claimants, now available through My Business Account or Represent a Client. The portal is a one-stop workspace designed to help you start building your SR&ED claim, interact directly with the CRA, and more!

Gustavo is a subject matter expert who played a key role in developing the portal. To celebrate Small Business Week, he shared his insights on how this new service will support businesses performing research and development work in Canada.

Alternative formats

The CRA wants to ensure Canadians are aware of the alternate formats we offer for forms, publications and correspondences – as well as how to find them.

Some of the CRA's forms and publications are available in e-text or large print format on Canada.ca. To use this service:

  1. Go to CRA forms or CRA publications
  2. Select the form of your choice and download the e-text or large print format

If the product you are looking for is not available in your preferred format, you can order it using our alternate formats order form. Individuals and business owners can get most of their CRA correspondence online through My Account, My Business Account, or by using the services of an authorized representative through Represent a Client.

The CRA has programs and services with an overall goal of supporting full participation in the Canadian tax and benefit system. A key focus is ensuring that anyone who is eligible for benefits and credits can and will access them. Read about how Cindy worked on the CRA's Indigenous Strategy for 2024-2027, which strengthens the Agency's commitment to inclusiveness and its potential to serve Indigenous peoples and businesses in a meaningful way.

Free Liaison Officer service

The CRA offers a free Liaison Officer service to owners of small businesses and self-employed individuals to help them understand their tax obligations. A free in-person or virtual visit with a liaison officer is 100% confidential. The information you choose to discuss with a liaison officer will not be shared with other areas of the CRA, or anyone else. These personalized sessions exist to provide support, guidance, and help ease the stress of filing.

Read about how Anthony and Rob, CRA Liaison Officers, approach their work with a focus on practical support and empathy, offering small businesses the help they need to manage their business tax affairs.

The CRA's digital services for businesses

Our digital services make handling your business tax matters faster and easier. You and your authorized employees and representatives can file, pay, and access detailed information about your tax accounts with ease. To help you get started, here are the most commonly used services:

  • My Business Account: File GST/HST, payroll, and manage your tax accounts online.
  • Represent a Client: Authorize a representative within My Business Account to access and manage your tax information on your behalf.
  • Email Notifications: Receive email notifications when important changes are made on your account and when you have mail to view in My Business Account.
  • Make a payment: Easily make payments for your taxes and view your payment history online.

The CRA has introduced a new a new document verification service (DVS) as an identity validation option when registering for the CRA sign-in services, making it easier than ever to sign up. This secure method validates your identity in real-time, granting full and immediate access without the delay of waiting for a mailed CRA security code. For more information on DVS, visit How can I verify my identity without a CRA security code?

Providing clear and simple tax information to small businesses

The CRA offers a variety of tools and services to help small businesses understand and meet their tax obligations. Whether it is through the Liaison Officer service or the resources for small and medium businesses page, we are here to help!

Read about Eric, a senior planning officer who plays an important role in creating tools for Liaison Officers and other teams who work directly with businesses.

For more information

For more information on the CRA's digital services, check out our latest tax tip featuring Charlie the chatbot. This year, Charlie has answered over 1.1 million questions in English and 160,000 in French, assisting businesses and Canadians with their tax-related inquiries. You can find Charlie on the Canada.ca/CRA webpage.

Visit the resources for small and medium businesses page for tools and guidance on how to better manage your business tax obligations. This page provides clear information on business number registration, income tax, payroll, GST/HST, and excise taxes, helping you effectively manage and run your business.

Contacts 

Media Relations
Canada Revenue Agency
613-948-8366
[email protected]

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SOURCE Canada Revenue Agency

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Canada Revenue Agency

Related Organization(s)

Government of Canada