Business number and CRA accounts
This guide explains the nine-digit business number and the Canada Revenue Agency program accounts a corporation opens under it. It covers the corporate tax, payroll, HST and import program accounts. We prepare and file your articles of incorporation for $35.00, HST included. The government fee is separate and charged at cost: $200.00 to Corporations Canada under the CBCA, or $300.00 to the Ontario Business Registry under the OBCA. Open Corporation for $35 is a department of Gondaliya CPA. A Chartered Professional Accountant reviews this guide against Canada Revenue Agency guidance before it is published, and again after each federal budget.
What the business number is
The business number is the nine-digit number the Canada Revenue Agency uses to identify a business. A corporation has one business number for its whole life.
Each tax obligation sits in a separate program account under that number. The account adds two letters for the program and four digits for the account itself.
| Part | Example | What it identifies |
|---|---|---|
| Business number | 123456789 | The corporation, across every program |
| Program identifier | RC | The type of account, here corporate income tax |
| Reference number | 0001 | The individual account within that program |
| Full program account number | 123456789 RC0001 | The account used on returns and payments |
The business number is not the corporation number. The corporation number comes from the registry, and the business number comes from the Canada Revenue Agency.
How a new corporation gets its business number
A corporation incorporated federally or in Ontario receives its business number through the incorporation itself. The registry passes the new corporation to the Canada Revenue Agency.
The corporate income tax account comes with it. The other program accounts are registered separately, under the same business number, when the corporation needs them.
| Account | How it is opened |
|---|---|
| Business number | Through the federal or Ontario incorporation |
| Corporate income tax, RC | Through the incorporation, with the business number |
| Payroll, RP | Registered separately before the first payroll |
| GST/HST, RT | Registered separately when required or chosen |
| Import and export, RM | Registered separately before goods are imported or exported commercially |
Our business bank account guide explains why a bank asks for it.
Our $35.00 fee includes HST. Government fees are passed through at cost with no mark-up. Every figure is on our full pricing page.
The four program accounts
Each program account carries its own returns, payments and deadlines. A balance on one account is not paid by money sitting in another.
A new corporation needs the corporate income tax account at once, and the others as its business requires them. Each one is opened under the same nine digits.
| Program | Code | What it handles |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate income tax | RC | The T2 return, instalments and the balance of corporate tax |
| Payroll deductions | RP | Income tax, CPP and EI withheld from salaries, and the T4 slips |
| GST/HST | RT | Sales tax collected and the input tax credits claimed |
| Import and export | RM | Commercial shipments across the border, through the Canada Border Services Agency |
We file your incorporation for $35.00, HST included
Government fee shown separately at cost. A CPA confirms which program accounts you need first.
When each account has to exist
A payroll account has to exist before the first remittance of payroll deductions is due. That includes salary paid to the owner.
A GST/HST account is required once taxable supplies pass $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters. A corporation below that threshold can still register voluntarily.
| Account | Required when |
|---|---|
| Corporate income tax, RC | From incorporation |
| Payroll, RP | Before the first remittance of deductions from any salary |
| GST/HST, RT | Once the small supplier threshold above is passed |
| Import and export, RM | Before the first commercial import or export |
Our payroll setup guide covers the payroll account in detail, and the first T2 guide covers the corporate tax account.
Registering the accounts and giving access
Program accounts are registered online through the Canada Revenue Agency's business registration service or My Business Account. A director or an authorized representative can do it.
An accountant needs authorization before acting on the accounts. The corporation grants it through Represent a Client, for the programs it chooses.
| Item | Amount | HST | Total | Who charges it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Our incorporation filing fee | $35.00 | Included | $35.00 | Open Corporation for $35 |
| Federal articles of incorporation | $200.00 | Not applicable | $200.00 | Corporations Canada |
| Ontario articles of incorporation | $300.00 | Not applicable | $300.00 | Ontario Business Registry |
| Registering a program account | Not confirmed, reviewer to verify on the official page | Not applicable | Not confirmed, reviewer to verify on the official page | Canada Revenue Agency |
Our $35.00 fee includes HST and government fees are passed through at cost with no mark-up. These figures were last checked on 7 September 2026.
Keeping the accounts current
An open program account expects its returns, even in a period with no activity. A GST/HST account with no sales still files a nil return.
Changes to the corporation's address or directors are updated with the Canada Revenue Agency as well as the registry. An account no longer needed is closed rather than left open.
| Event | What to do |
|---|---|
| Mailing or registered address changes | Update the business number record |
| Payroll stops | Tell the Canada Revenue Agency, or close the payroll account |
| Sales stop | Keep filing GST/HST returns until the account is closed |
| Accountant changes | Remove the old authorization and grant the new one |
A missing return on an open account can lead to an assessment based on the Canada Revenue Agency's own estimate. Nil returns on time prevent that.
What a CPA checks for the CRA accounts
This guide explains the accounts. It cannot tell you which ones your corporation needs now, because that depends on its sales, its staff and its trade.
The business number is the first thing we look at. We confirm it arrived with the incorporation and that the corporate tax account is open.
Then payroll. If the owner will draw a salary, the payroll account is opened before the first remittance falls due.
Then GST/HST. We track taxable supplies against the $30,000 threshold and weigh voluntary registration where it recovers input tax credits.
Then imports and exports. A business that ships goods across the border needs its import and export account before the first shipment.
Last, access. We set up Represent a Client so filings and payments can be handled without delay. The parent firm sets out the same ground in its Gondaliya CPA resources library.
Frequently asked questions
These are the questions owners ask about the business number. Each answer carries the figure, the rule or the body that makes it true, so it can be read on its own.
What is a business number?
Do I have to apply for a business number after incorporating?
What are the RC, RP, RT and RM accounts?
When does my corporation need a payroll account?
When must a corporation register for GST/HST?
Is the business number the same as the corporation number?
Do I file returns on an account with no activity?
What does it cost to incorporate and get a business number?
Why owners trust the filing to us
Gondaliya CPA Professional Corporation is registered with CPA Ontario under firm registration number 61330051. Our clients have left us 1,300+ five-star Google reviews, and we work from 13 Ontario offices, open 9:00 AM to 8:30 PM, Monday to Sunday. We back every filing with a 30-day money-back guarantee and a 60-day fee-matching policy, and we are a Xero Partner Award Winner 2026. Open Corporation for $35 is a department of Gondaliya CPA.
Ready to incorporate
Send the intake form and we will confirm your jurisdiction, your share structure and your year end before anything is filed. Our fee is $35.00, HST included, and the government fee is shown separately at cost. Payment is by Interac e-Transfer to info@gondaliyacpa.ca, and the security question is Not Applicable because auto-deposit is enabled.
No legal advice
Gondaliya CPA Professional Corporation is a firm of Chartered Professional Accountants licensed by CPA Ontario, firm registration number 61330051. It is not a law firm. We prepare and file corporate documents and we provide accounting and tax advice. Nothing on this page is legal advice, and reading it creates no solicitor and client relationship. For legal advice, including advice on a dispute with the Canada Revenue Agency, consult a lawyer licensed in the province where your corporation carries on business.
