By CRA My Account: How to Register, What You Can See and the Lockout Fixes
CRA My Account is the one government login that controls your tax refund, your benefit payments, your TFSA and RRSP room and your notices of assessment — and most Canadians only try to register for it on the day they urgently need it. Registration takes about 10 minutes if you have the right return figure in front of you. Full access then arrives either instantly, if you verify with photo ID, or by mail: a CRA security code sent to the address CRA has on file, within 10 business days. This guide covers how to register without triggering the common lockouts, everything you can actually see and do inside, and the fixes that work when you are shut out.
What you can see and do inside My Account
| Section | What it shows / does |
|---|---|
| Tax returns and refunds | Assessment status, notices of assessment, refund status, slips (T4, T5 and others) |
| Benefits and credits | CCB, GST/HST credit and related payment dates and amounts |
| Savings plans | TFSA contribution room, RRSP deduction limit, FHSA participation |
| Personal details | Address, marital status, direct deposit for CRA payments |
| Payments and balances | Amount owing, instalments, make a payment to CRA |
| Mail and messages | CRA mail online, proof of income statement |
Two limits surprise people. First, My Account is a CRA service: it does not administer CPP, OAS or EI — those live with Service Canada’s My Service Canada Account, so changing your direct deposit in My Account does nothing to a CPP payment. Second, some figures are snapshots, not live balances: your TFSA room, for example, is shown as of January 1, for reasons we explain in our guide to checking your TFSA contribution room.
Before you start: the 3 things you need
Gather these first, because the registration session expires after 18 minutes of inactivity and your progress is not saved. You need (1) your Social Insurance Number, (2) your date of birth, and (3) an exact amount from a tax return you filed in the last two years that has been assessed — CRA will ask for a specific line from that return, and you must enter the amount as you first reported it, even if the return was later reassessed. If you have not filed a return in the last two years, you cannot register with a CRA user ID or a Sign-In Partner until you have. Find the return, note the amount, then start.
How to register, step by step
Step 1. Go to canada.ca yourself — never through an emailed link or a search ad — and choose the sign-in for CRA accounts, then the register option.
Step 2. Choose how you will sign in from now on. There are three routes: a CRA user ID and password that you create; a Sign-In Partner, which uses your online banking sign-in; or a provincial partner — today that means a BC Services Card or an Alberta.ca Account. The banking route is the one most people find fastest, because the bank has already verified their identity.
Step 3. Enter your SIN, date of birth and the return amount from the last two years when asked. Get the amount exactly right — repeated wrong entries are a classic way to get shut out for the day.
Step 4. Set up multi-factor authentication. CRA requires a second check at sign-in, delivered by phone, an authenticator app or a passcode grid. Set up a backup method at the same time: the backup is what saves you the day you replace your phone in February, in the middle of tax season.
Step 5. Verify your identity for full access. You can verify instantly with photo ID through the document verification service, or have a CRA security code mailed to the address CRA has on file for you — it should arrive within 10 business days. Until then you have limited access only. Enter the code as soon as it arrives; do not leave it in a drawer, because a code that never gets entered leaves the account half-open and fully frustrating.
Step 6. Sign in once, confirm you can see an assessed return and your benefit information, and save your sign-in details in a password manager. Registration is a one-time job — the same credential also opens CRA’s other individual services from the welcome page.
The lockout fixes, in the order to try them
Forgotten user ID or password, or forgotten security answers. Do not spend an hour guessing. CRA’s own recommended fix is to register again for a new credential — you will need the same SIN, birth date and recent return amount, and an MFA method you can still use. People resist this because it sounds drastic; it is actually the fastest door back in.
Security code never arrived. If 10 business days have passed, CRA treats the letter as possibly lost. Check the address CRA has for you first — the code goes to the address on file, and if you moved and never updated it, the second letter will go to the same wrong mailbox. Then request a new code or use photo-ID document verification instead.
Credential revoked. CRA revokes credentials it suspects are compromised. A revoked user ID cannot simply be reset — register again, ideally through a different sign-in option such as your bank.
MFA code not arriving. Try your backup MFA method first. On a VoIP or work phone line, delivery can fail where a mobile number works. If every method fails, contact CRA — and never read a one-time passcode out to anyone who contacts you, whatever story they tell about your refund. CRA does not ask for your passcode that way.
Session keeps expiring. That is the 18-minute inactivity rule, not a bug. Have the return amount ready before you start, and do the whole registration in one sitting.
Worked example: what waiting costs you
Consider a parent who has never registered and learns in November that a CCB payment looks short. Without My Account, checking means a phone queue and identity questions before an agent can discuss anything. With My Account, the same check is the benefits section plus the payment schedule in our table of Canada benefit payment dates — five minutes at the kitchen table. The registration itself is the only slow part, and only if you choose the mailed code: register today, and full access lands within 10 business days; register during the last week of tax season, and you are in a queue of everyone else who waited, trying to do steps like the ones in our guide to filing your taxes in Canada at the deadline. Registering in a quiet month is a genuine money habit, not admin trivia.
Common mistakes
The most common is entering the return amount from the wrong year, or the reassessed figure instead of the amount first reported. The second is registering with an old address on file, so the security code mails to a previous home. The third is setting up only one MFA method and losing it with a phone upgrade. The fourth is confusing My Account with My Service Canada Account and “fixing” direct deposit in the wrong one before a CPP or CCB payment — CCB dates and amounts are in My Account (see our CCB payment dates guide), while CPP and OAS are Service Canada’s. The fifth is falling for a look-alike site from a search ad: the real door is always canada.ca, typed by you.
What to do next
If you have never registered, do it this week while nothing is urgent: gather your SIN and a return from the last two years, register, verify with photo ID if you can, and set up two MFA methods. If you are locked out, stop guessing passwords and register again for a new credential. Then do one useful thing inside — check your TFSA room, your RRSP limit, or your next benefit payment — so the account earns its keep before tax season makes it essential. Choosing filing software is the other quiet-season job; our comparison of the best tax software in Canada can wait until you are signed in.
Frequently asked questions
How do I register for CRA My Account?
From canada.ca, choose the CRA account sign-in and then register. You need your SIN, your date of birth and an amount from an assessed return filed in the last two years, entered as first reported. Then set up multi-factor authentication and verify your identity — instantly with photo ID, or with a security code CRA mails within 10 business days.
How long does the CRA security code take to arrive?
Within 10 business days, mailed to the address CRA has on file for you. If it has not arrived after 10 business days, CRA considers it possibly lost: confirm your address on file, then request a new code or use the document verification service with photo ID instead.
I am locked out of CRA My Account. What actually works?
Register again for a new credential — that is CRA’s own recommended fix for a forgotten user ID or password, forgotten security answers, changed banking sign-in details, or a revoked credential. You will need your SIN, birth date, a recent return amount and a working MFA method.
Is CRA My Account the same as My Service Canada Account?
No. My Account is the Canada Revenue Agency: taxes, refunds, CCB and GST/HST credit, TFSA and RRSP information. My Service Canada Account is Service Canada: CPP, OAS and EI. CRA states it does not administer CPP, OAS or EI, and a change in one account does not update the other.
What can I see in CRA My Account?
Your assessed returns and notices of assessment, refund and benefit status, tax slips such as T4s and T5s, TFSA contribution room and RRSP deduction limit, amounts owing and instalments, CRA mail, and a proof of income statement. You can also update your address and direct deposit for CRA-administered payments.
Why did my registration session expire?
CRA ends a registration session after 18 minutes without activity, and progress is not saved. Find the exact return amount before you begin and complete registration in one sitting.
Bottom line: CRA My Account takes about 10 minutes to start and up to 10 business days to fully unlock by mail — or no wait at all with photo ID. Register in a quiet week, set up a backup sign-in method, and remember the golden rule of lockouts: stop guessing and register again. The account you set up calmly in November is the one that saves you in April.
