Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
The Canada Customs and Revenue Agency doesn’t exist any more. It became the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) in name in 2005, and the customs side moved to a separate body, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), in 2003. So if a form, a letter or an old web page says CCRA, it’s more than twenty years out of date.
What was the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency?
It was one agency doing two jobs. It collected taxes and ran benefit programs, and it also ran customs at the border. It replaced an older department called Revenue Canada. Parliament passed the act that created it in April 1999, and it became an agency on 1 November 1999.
That double role didn’t last. The government split the border work away and gave it to the CBSA, which handles Canada’s customs operations. Wikipedia’s article on the Canada Revenue Agency (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA) puts the split in December 2003 and says it came mainly from coordination problems on border protection. What stayed behind is tax and benefits. Then the name caught up with reality, and the “Customs” was dropped.
When did each change happen?
Here are the dates that matter, taken from the CRA’s own history page.
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 29 April 1999 | Parliament passes the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency Act |
| 1 November 1999 | The agency starts operating as an agency |
| 12 December 2003 | The government announces the Canada Border Services Agency, responsible for customs |
| 12 December 2005 | Legislation legally changes the name to Canada Revenue Agency |
You may see the agency described as rebranded soon after the 2003 split. That fits, since the new name was in everyday use before the legal change caught up in 2005.
Who do you deal with today?
Ask what the question is about. Income tax, GST/HST, payroll deductions, benefits and charity registration all sit with the CRA, which says it administers tax laws for the federal government and for most provinces and territories. Bringing goods across the border is a customs matter, so that’s the CBSA.
It’s an easy thing to mix up, because people search for “customs and revenue” as if it were still one office. A business that imports goods will often deal with both, but for different reasons. The CBSA handles the border. The CRA handles the tax you charge and remit afterwards.
Why do old documents still say CCRA?
Paper lasts. A 2002 contract, an old accounting binder, a bank form that was never updated, or a forwarded email can all carry the old name. Usually that just means nobody updated the template. If you’re filling in something current, use the CRA’s present name and address, and don’t copy contact details from a document that old.
A word of caution. Any message that asks you for money or a password in the name of the CRA, new name or old, deserves a second look. Don’t click through. Log in to your own CRA account the usual way and see whether anything is actually waiting for you.
What does a small business owe the CRA in practice?
Take an Ontario shop that sells $2,000 of goods. The GST/HST calculator shows $260 of HST at 13%, so the customer pays $2,260. The shop collects that $260 and later passes it on, less any tax it paid on its own purchases.
Now say you employ someone at $3,000 gross per pay period in Ontario. The payroll remittance calculator puts the total to send in at $961.03 each period. That’s $732.62 held back from the worker plus your own share of $228.41, made up of $167.94 CPP and $60.47 EI. The whole payroll costs you $3,228.41 for that period.
If you’d rather start from the other side, the HST reverse calculator takes a price that already includes tax and splits it. A $1,130 price in Ontario is $1,000 plus $130 of tax.
Is the company itself taxed? Yes, separately. On $300,000 of active business income in Ontario, the corporate tax calculator shows $35,088 for a calendar 2026 year, an average of 11.7%.
What goes wrong with old references?
- Following a guide that tells you to register “with the CCRA”. Use the CRA name and the current CRA pages.
- Sending a customs question to a tax phone line. Duties and border rules belong with the CBSA.
- Trusting a site that sounds official. Websites that use the old name, this one included, are private and have no link to any government body.
- Assuming the calculators above cover import duties. They don’t. They cover GST/HST, payroll and corporate tax only, and the corporate result ignores large-company rules, passive income and associated firms.
Current import duty rates and border procedures aren’t covered here. Those change, and no official page was checked for them, so check the CBSA before you ship anything.
Sources, and how they were checked
The history and dates come from the Canada Revenue Agency‘s structure and operational framework page, read in 2026. The HST rate and payroll figures use the CRA’s published 2026 data as built into the calculators on this site.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency still around?
No. Its name was legally changed to the Canada Revenue Agency on 12 December 2005, and customs work went to the CBSA.
What is the difference between the CRA and the CBSA?
The CRA runs tax programs and delivers benefits. The CBSA is responsible for Canada's customs operations at the border.
When was the CCRA created?
Parliament passed its founding act on 29 April 1999, and it became an agency on 1 November 1999.
Do I use the CCRA name on forms?
No. Use the current CRA name and download current forms, since anything that says CCRA is more than twenty years old.
Does this website belong to the CRA?
No. This site is private and has no connection with the CRA, the CBSA or any government body.
- Dealing with the CRA: letters, audits and payments
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