Switching Accountants for Your Canadian Business

Can I switch accountants mid-year or just before my T2 is due?

Yes. You can appoint a new accountant during the year or close to filing time. The change does not move the corporation's T2 deadline: the CRA requires filing within six months after the tax year ends.

If you are self-employed or in a partnership, the T2 timetable does not apply. A self-employed T1 is generally due June 15 after the tax year, but payment is due April 30; a tax-shelter business can require April 30 filing (CRA filing dates). A required T5013 is due March 31 after the calendar year for all-individual partners, five months after year-end for all-corporate partners, or the earlier date for mixed partners (CRA T5013 guide).

Check the payment date first if the corporate year has ended. Most corporate tax balances are due 2 months after year-end; qualifying Canadian-controlled private corporations may have 3 months. That can be well before the T2 filing date. Tell the new accountant the year-end, the last return filed, any CRA demands, and the next payment or remittance due date. Agree immediately who will handle each deadline while records move.

Which returns, notices, books and supporting records should I request first?

First, ask whether each return now due is still being drafted, awaits your approval, or was filed. Request available drafts and filing confirmations. My Business Account shows T2 return status and expected and filed GST/HST returns; tell the new accountant what remains uncertain.

Then get the last filed return, its notice of assessment, the records behind it, and the current year's books. The CRA requires complete, supported records that remain accessible even when a third party keeps them.

Ask for files in a readable format and identify any missing months or schedules. If the books need rebuilding, start with catching up on overdue books. If the question is which statements or GIFI figures a corporation needs, see year-end financial statements.

What if the former accountant does not reply or holds the files?

Send a written request listing the business records and filed-return copies you need, with a practical delivery date. Continue the handover using records you already control and your CRA account. The business remains responsible for protecting records and making them available to the CRA even when a third party holds them (CRA record responsibilities).

In My Business Account, you can view notices and corporation account information; the CRA also lets you request copies of earlier notices and customized statements. Rebuild missing support from bank statements, invoices, payroll records, and other business records while the request is outstanding. Tell the new accountant what is missing before they accept a filing deadline. Do not assume the former accountant's internal working papers belong to the business; the engagement terms and applicable provincial professional rules may matter.

How do I give the new accountant access to my business CRA accounts?

Use My Business Account to authorize the new representative and choose the access needed for the work. Ask for their RepID, GroupID, or registered business number, then select Profile → Manage authorized representatives → Authorize a representative (CRA authorization instructions; representative identifiers). If you cannot see your business there, add its business number; your name and social insurance number must match CRA records, so contact the CRA if the link fails. If the accountant submits a request that requires your confirmation, confirm it within 10 business days.

If all owners or directors are recorded by the CRA as non-residents and there is no delegated authority, or a legal representative signs the request, ask the new representative to submit it through Represent a Client. Sign the generated certification page so they can upload it; My Business Account confirmation is unavailable in these cases. The CRA also has an alternative process for some sole proprietors without account access.

These levels and scopes are set by the CRA. Level 3 requires a RepID; a GroupID or representative business number cannot receive it. Choose a scope that matches the agreed work; preparing only a T2 does not itself call for payroll access or delegated authority. Form AUT-01 gives offline access only, so it does not replace online authorization when the accountant must inspect the account electronically. Access to a business account does not authorize access to an owner's personal T1; see when you need a tax accountant for that handoff.

How do I remove the former accountant's CRA authorization?

Review the full list in Profile → Manage authorized representatives, including individual, group, and firm authorizations. Remove the former accountant's access promptly when it is no longer appropriate, even if records are still outstanding. The CRA lets a business view, modify, or delete each authorization and inspect a representative's online transactions. An authorization otherwise remains in place until cancelled or its stated expiry date passes.

Check whether the old authorization covered the entire business number, a whole program, or one program account. If you cannot use My Business Account, send Form AUT-01X to the CRA tax centre within six months of signing it. A selected listed financial institution with QST information in its RT account uses RC7259X instead. Arrange for the newly authorized representative to retrieve open CRA correspondence if you lack portal access.

Which carried-forward balances must the new accountant reconcile?

The new accountant should compare opening book balances with the prior closing books and compare tax carryforwards with filed schedules and CRA assessments. A number copied from an old return may have changed on reassessment (CRA: compare the notice with the filed return).

Document any difference before carrying a balance into the next T2. If control of the corporation changed, flag the date: it can create a short T2 year and restrict earlier losses; see adding or removing an owner. A disagreement may call for reviewing an earlier return, but that work must be part of the new engagement.

How do we check open CRA notices, unpaid balances and upcoming remittances?

Inspect CRA mail and each active program account, then make one dated list of unanswered letters, balances, filed and expected returns, and next due dates. Most business correspondence is online by default; for businesses on online mail, it is considered received when posted to My Business Account. Some businesses still receive paper mail.

Use View and pay account balance to check posted payments and balances by period, then match them to bank payment records. Check RC corporation tax, RT GST/HST, and RP payroll separately where those accounts exist. A payment showing in one program is not proof that another program's remittance was made. Assign an owner to each open notice and deadline; a change of accountant does not pause them.

In Profile → Manage notification preferences, check each account's email address and replace an old firm's address if needed. Check each program's mailing address too. Assign someone to monitor new mail and answer open enquiries.

What should the new accountant agree to review, correct and file?

Put the scope in writing before work starts. State which tax periods and program accounts are included, who prepares the books and supporting schedules, who files each return, who makes payments, and who responds to existing CRA letters. A new engagement does not by itself mean past returns or remittances will be reviewed.

Flag any known discrepancy separately: an unfiled return, a possible missed payroll payment, a disputed assessment, or an unsupported carryforward. Agree whether the new accountant will investigate it now, recommend a correction, or leave it for a separate engagement. If prior T2 returns were never filed, follow catching up on unfiled corporate returns. If a filed T2 needs changing, use filing and correcting a corporate return.

What changes for GST/HST and payroll accounts?

GST/HST and payroll need their own records, account access, and deadline checks. RC corporation-tax access alone does not give the new accountant RT or RP access (CRA scope rules).

For GST/HST, transfer returns, sales and purchase records, input tax credit support, and payment history. Monthly and quarterly filing and payment are due one month after the period; most annual filing and final payment are due three months after year-end. An annual sole proprietor with a December 31 year-end and business income pays by April 30 and files by June 15. Other listed financial institutions generally have six months after year-end; those listed only because of an Excise Tax Act section 150 election use the regular deadlines. Check instalments; see filing GST/HST and input tax credits for other exceptions. For payroll, transfer pay records, slips, remittance confirmations, and notices. Regular monthly remittances are due the 15th of the next month; quarterly and accelerated remitters have different dates. Check the assigned remitter type and reconcile any missing payment to RP transactions.

Late payroll remittances over $500 generally draw 3% for 1–3 days, 5% for 4–5, 7% for 6–7, or 10% after 7 days or no payment. Smaller amounts can also be penalized if knowingly or grossly negligently late. A second such failure in a calendar year can draw 20%, plus interest; see penalties, interest and relief.

A sole proprietor owes their own business tax and remittances. Corporate directors in office when required payroll deductions or GST/HST net tax were not remitted can become personally liable, including related interest and penalties, under Income Tax Act section 227.1 or Excise Tax Act section 323. Recovery requires an unsatisfied execution against the corporation or a timely claim in liquidation, dissolution, or bankruptcy; reasonable due diligence is a defence. The two-year limit after a director leaves applies to starting payroll recovery proceedings or assessing GST/HST director liability. Excise Tax Act section 272.1(5) also makes current and former partners, except limited partners who are not general partners, liable for partnership GST/HST due during membership, and after dissolution if they were partners then. Pre-entry debts are limited to partnership property.

If the business has a Revenu Québec GST/HST or QST account, transfer its records and access there; Revenu Québec generally administers these returns in Quebec, except for selected listed financial institutions. A corporation with a Quebec establishment may need a CO-17 return, due within six months of year-end. A partnership with Quebec activities or Quebec members may need a TP-600 return; its usual deadlines follow the T5013 schedule above, but one investing only in flow-through shares and allocating exploration or development expenses or assistance must file before the end of the third month after its period. A Quebec-resident sole proprietor may need a TP-1 return; self-employed filing is generally due June 15 and payment April 30. Check any Quebec source-deduction account. Manage the new accountant's separate Revenu Québec authorization in My Account or with MR-69-V; revoke the former one online or with MR-69.R-V.

Example

Illustrative amounts in Canadian dollars. A corporation's old T2 shows a C$40,000 non-capital loss carried forward. Its books show C$12,000 of payroll deductions for the next period, but the owner has no payment confirmation. The new accountant obtains Schedule 4 and the notice of assessment to check the loss, then matches payroll records and bank payments to the RP account. The written engagement covers the current T2 and a separate review of the uncertain payroll remittance. The owner authorizes RC and RP access for that work and removes the former representative after checking its scope.

Different for you?

• The books are incomplete: start with catching up on overdue books.
• The corporation has several unfiled years: use catching up on unfiled corporate returns.
• You need to know which year-end statements or GIFI figures to prepare: see year-end financial statements.
• You also need access to a personal T1 account: see when you need a tax accountant.
• A filed T2 needs correction: see filing your corporate return.
• A T2 deadline, CRA demand, or unpaid remittance is close: get corporate tax help with the notices, account balances, and available books.