The CRA Business Number and Program Accounts

A Business Number (BN) is the unique 9-digit identifier the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) uses to recognise your business for federal tax. Think of it as a SIN for your business. Every CRA program account you ever open, GST/HST, payroll, import/export, corporate income tax, hangs off that same 9-digit root. You need a BN once you register for GST/HST, hire employees, import or export, file information returns, or incorporate. A bare sole proprietor trading under their own name and earning under $30,000 may not need one yet.‍‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‍

When you actually need a BN

You need a Business Number if you:

• Register for GST/HST (the most common trigger for a one-person trade)
• Hire employees and have to remit payroll deductions
• Import or export goods or equipment
• File information returns, including the T5018 that contractors file for their subcontractors
• Incorporate (a corporate BN is issued automatically when you incorporate)

If you are a sole proprietor working under your own legal name and turning over less than $30,000, you can often operate without one for a while. Most tradespeople end up needing a BN the moment they cross the GST/HST threshold, so many register early to have it ready.

How to get one

The fastest route is the CRA's Business Registration Online (BRO) service at canada.ca. Have ready your Social Insurance Number (SIN), legal name, date of birth, home postal code, your business name, and a short description of your main activity. It is free.

One change to know: as of November 3, 2025, the CRA no longer takes business registrations by phone. Register online through BRO, or by mail using Form RC1.

You may already get one automatically

Most provinces issue a federal BN to you automatically when you register your business with the provincial registry. That covers British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. In Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the three territories, there is no automatic link, so you register for your BN separately with the CRA. If you are unsure, registering directly through BRO always works.

The program accounts

The 9-digit BN is the root. Each thing you do with the CRA adds a two-letter program account on top, with its own four-digit reference. The ones a tradesperson meets are:

• GST/HST, code RT. Opened when you register to charge and collect sales tax. See Registering for GST/HST.
• Payroll deductions, code RP. Opened when you hire your first employee and have to remit income tax, Canada Pension Plan and Employment Insurance.
• Corporation income tax, code RC. Issued automatically when you incorporate.
• Import/export, code RM. Opened when you bring materials or equipment across the border.
• Information returns, code RZ. Opened when you have to file slips such as the T5018 for your subcontractors.

For a typical solo trade business the first account you open is RT (GST/HST), and later RP (payroll) once you take on staff. You add accounts as the need arises; you do not open them all at the start.

The trap when you incorporate

Here is the one that catches people. If you start as a sole proprietor with a BN, then incorporate later, the corporation gets a brand-new BN. Your old sole-proprietor GST/HST and payroll accounts do not transfer to the new corporate number automatically. You have to register them fresh against the new corporate BN, and close the old ones. Plan the changeover with your accountant so there is no gap in your GST/HST filing.

Canada's Business Registries

If you need to look up your own or another business across provinces, the federal government runs Canada's Business Registries, a single portal that links the provincial registries and lets you search across jurisdictions in one place.

Common mistakes

• Leaving registration too late. Crossing the $30,000 GST/HST threshold without a BN and RT account means you are already meant to be charging tax. Register before you cross.
• Assuming the corporate BN inherits your old accounts. It does not. New BN means new GST/HST and payroll registrations.
• Opening accounts you do not need. You do not need payroll (RP) until you actually employ someone. Add accounts when the need is real.
• Trying to phone it in. Phone registration ended on November 3, 2025. Use BRO online or Form RC1 by mail.

Registering as a sole proprietor, step by step

Setting up as a sole proprietor in Canada is a short list, and you can do most of it yourself:

1. Decide on your name. Trading under your own legal name needs no registration in most provinces. Use any other business name and you must register it provincially (Quebec registers all businesses with the REQ).
2. Register the business name with your province where required, and check the name is not already taken.
3. Get a Business Number (BN) from the CRA. This 9-digit number is your account with the CRA and the anchor for everything below.
4. Add the program accounts you need to your BN: GST/HST (RT) once you pass or expect to pass $30,000, payroll (RP) if you hire, import/export (RM) if relevant.
5. Register with your provincial workers' compensation board (WSIB, WorkSafeBC or your provincial WCB). This is mandatory for most construction work, even as a one-person operation in several provinces.
6. Sort your trade licensing and insurance before you take on work.

That is the whole setup. There is no incorporation step unless you choose to incorporate later.

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