Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
MyTax is not the name of the CRA's online account. The federal account is called My Account, and you reach it from canada.ca with a sign-in partner, a CRA user ID or, in British Columbia and Alberta, a provincial partner. Some private firms also use names like MyTax, so check the web address before you type a password.
Which MyTax account do you actually have?
Check the address bar first. If it ends in canada.ca, you’re on a Government of Canada page. If you signed up through an accountant or a software company, your login lives on their site, and you’ll need to go back to them for a reset. A CRA login won’t open it.
Not sure? Look for the email you got when you registered. Nothing there? Then you likely don’t have one, and My Account is the place to start. Search your inbox for the words “welcome” and “verify” around the time you last did your taxes. Most people find the answer in under a minute.
What can you see in a CRA account?
The CRA describes it as the place to manage your tax information and accounts. In practice you use it to update direct deposit, change your address, phone number or name, and set how you sign in. Your RRSP deduction limit is there too, and it matters most between January and March.
It also lets a preparer see your file, once you allow it. Since 15 July 2025, the CRA no longer lets representatives of individuals use the Authorize a Representative service in EFILE. A preparer sends the request through Represent a Client, and you confirm it in My Account. Access starts once you confirm.
The CRA’s sign-in page is the front door for all of it. It sits next to My Business Account and Represent a Client, so make sure you pick the one that matches who you’re signing in as.
| Sign-in route | What to know |
|---|---|
| Sign-in partner | Uses a participating financial institution’s login |
| CRA user ID and password | Credentials you create with the CRA |
| Provincial partner | Offered in British Columbia and Alberta |
How do you register, and what if you get locked out?
Pick one of the three routes above. The sign-in partner route saves you a new password, since you already have the bank login. The CRA warns about one thing here: don’t register using someone else’s banking credentials, because that other person will then have access to your tax information.
Locked out? The CRA’s answer is to go through registration again to regain access. You don’t call anyone first. It also tells you not to use autofill on a shared device, which is good advice for a library computer or a family laptop.
Use multi-factor authentication if it’s offered. It’s a small annoyance that stops most of the bad outcomes.
What should you do with the numbers in your account?
Use them as inputs. Say you’re an Ontario employee on $60,000 with $9,000 withheld. The tax refund calculator shows a refund of $679.50. Enter the $5,000 RRSP contribution your account shows you can still claim, and the refund becomes $1,896.28. That $1,216.78 difference is why people open the account before filing rather than after. A thousand-odd dollars is worth a few minutes of looking, eh.
If your slips show self-employment income, the tax installments calculator is worth a look, because the CRA may ask you to pay during the year instead of all at once. For your RRSP number, the RRSP calculator shows what a contribution grows to.
And for the year in total, the income tax calculator gives a quick check against the figure on your assessment.
What goes wrong with online tax accounts?
The main problem is phishing. Messages that say your refund is waiting, or that your account is suspended, tend to link to a copy of a login page. If a message asks for your login, type the address yourself or use your bookmark. Say a text arrives on a Sunday evening telling you a $450 refund is ready and the link expires in an hour. The rush is the giveaway. Real notices don’t need you to act before you’ve had a chance to think.
The second is a mismatch. Your software’s numbers and your CRA account’s numbers won’t always agree, especially if a slip arrived late. The CRA account is the record of what the CRA knows, so start there when they differ.
Third, sharing a login. Giving your CRA details to a helper means they see everything, including your banking details. Authorize them as a representative instead. Our guide to dealing with the CRA explains how that works and what else the account can do.
If you have a private “MyTax” service, its own support page is the source for what it holds on you. We can’t see that from here.
Where we checked this page
The account features, sign-in routes and security advice are taken from the Canada Revenue Agency‘s My Account pages, and the authorization change from its 2026 tax tips. Example figures come from the 2026 federal and Ontario data in our calculators. We are not part of the CRA and can’t see your account.
Frequently asked questions
Is MyTax the CRA's online account?
No. The CRA's account for individuals is called My Account. Private services use similar names, so check that the web address ends in canada.ca before you sign in. If you signed up through an accountant or a software company, that login lives on their site and a CRA password will not open it.
How can I sign in to my CRA account?
The CRA lists three routes: a sign-in partner, which is a participating financial institution, a CRA user ID and password, or, in British Columbia and Alberta, a provincial partner. You can switch to a different route later. Do not register with someone else's banking login, because that person would then see your tax information.
What if I am locked out of My Account?
If your user ID and password were revoked, the CRA says to sign in with a different option or go through the registration process again to get a new user ID and password. If a security code never arrived after 10 business days, the CRA points to document verification or a new code by mail.
What can I change in my CRA account?
You can update direct deposit, your address, phone number and name, and your multi-factor authentication choices. Setting up a backup MFA method is worth the two minutes, since it helps if you lose access to your first method. You can also see your RRSP deduction limit there, which matters most before filing.
Can my tax preparer see my account?
Only if you authorize them. Since 15 July 2025, requests for individuals go through Represent a Client, and you confirm the request in My Account. Access starts once you confirm. If you sign in for a friend or family member, you must use Represent a Client in your own CRA account.
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