How to get a CRA business number and program accounts

The BN and program accounts

The Canada Revenue Agency identifies every business by a nine-digit business number (BN). One legal entity has one BN, for life. On its own the BN does not let you do anything. You also open program accounts for the things you deal with the CRA about: GST/HST, payroll, corporate income tax and so on.

A program account number is the BN, two letters for the program, and a four-digit reference number. The CRA's own example is 123456789 RT 0001: business number 123456789, the GST/HST program (RT), first account (0001). You will see these numbers on every CRA letter, remittance form and slip.

The glossary has a short entry on the business number and the US EIN, if you work on both sides of the border.

Which accounts you need

Account	What it is for	Who needs it
RT	GST/HST	Businesses that must collect GST/HST, or choose to register voluntarily
RP	Payroll deductions	Employers, and other payers of employment-related amounts
RC	Corporation income tax	Every corporation
RZ	Information returns	Businesses that file returns such as T5018, T5 or T5013
RR	Registered charities	Charities

There are a few specialised accounts as well, such as excise duty, insurance premium tax and luxury tax. The import-export account (RM) is now administered by the Canada Border Services Agency.

GST/HST: the $30,000 test

You must register for GST/HST once you stop being a small supplier: when your worldwide taxable sales pass $30,000 in a single calendar quarter, or over the last four consecutive calendar quarters ($50,000 for public service bodies). If you pass the line within one quarter, you charge GST/HST on the sale that took you over, and you have 29 days from that day to register. You can also register voluntarily before you reach the threshold. Many new businesses do, so they can claim input tax credits on their start-up costs. The GST/HST filing guide covers what happens after that.

Payroll: before your first remittance

Open the RP account before your first remittance is due, which in practice means as soon as you decide to hire. Deductions from the first paycheque are due to the CRA by the 15th of the following month for most new employers. See hiring your first employee in Canada.

If you register with your province

How you get the BN depends on where you start:

Federal corporations get a BN and a corporation income tax account (RC) automatically when they incorporate with Corporations Canada.
Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan: registering a business or incorporating with the province also gives you a BN, and corporations get the RC account automatically. You then add the other program accounts with the CRA.
Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Quebec and Yukon: register for the BN separately with the CRA. In Quebec, Revenu Québec generally administers the GST along with the QST, so most Quebec businesses register for both taxes with Revenu Québec rather than the CRA.
Unincorporated businesses (sole proprietors and partnerships) need a BN only when they register for their first program account.

Before you register

A CRA account. Business Registration Online (BRO) is reached through your CRA account, so set up My Account (or sign in) first. You cannot get one if you have not filed your own tax returns.
Owner details: the name, SIN and contact details of each owner, partner or director.
Business details: legal name and operating name, business and mailing addresses, a description of what the business does and its main products or services.
For corporations: the incorporation certificate, the incorporation number and date, and the jurisdiction.
For GST/HST: your expected annual sales, the effective date of registration, your fiscal year-end and the reporting period you want.
For payroll: the date of the first payment to employees, how often you will pay, and the expected number of employees.

Register online, step by step

Sign in to your CRA account and open Business Registration Online. The CRA calls it the fastest and easiest way to get a BN and certain program accounts.
Choose what to register: a new BN with one or more program accounts, or program accounts for a BN you already have.
Enter the owner and business information from the list above. The session times out after 10 minutes of inactivity and cannot be saved partway, so keep the papers beside you.
Add each program account you need now, usually GST/HST and, if you are hiring, payroll.
Review and submit.
Save or print the confirmation. The CRA says your BN will not be sent to you, so keep a copy of the page that shows it.

If you cannot use BRO, fill in Form RC1, Request for a Business Number and Certain Program Accounts, and mail it to your tax centre. A few situations rule BRO out: a business owned by another business, or a Canadian business with only non-resident owners, for example. Non-residents follow a separate CRA process.

After you register

Open My Business Account with the BN. It is where you file GST/HST returns, see payroll remittances and statements, and add authorized representatives such as your bookkeeper.
Put the GST/HST number on your invoices. Registered businesses show it on invoices so customers can claim their input tax credits.
Note your filing period. New GST/HST registrants are usually assigned an annual or quarterly period depending on sales. The CRA tells you which in the confirmation.
Register provincial accounts as needed: PST in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, QST in Quebec, the provincial workers' compensation board when you hire, and the Employer Health Tax in provinces that have one. The PST, QST and RST guide covers the provincial sales taxes.
Enter the numbers in your accounting software so they print on invoices, slips and remittance worksheets.

Checklist

Decide on the business structure, and incorporate or register the business name first if you are going to
Check whether the provincial registration already gave you a BN
Set up your CRA account
Gather owner SINs, business addresses, the business description and incorporation documents
Register for the BN and the program accounts you need in Business Registration Online
Save or print the page that shows the BN
Register for GST/HST within 29 days of passing $30,000 in a quarter, or earlier voluntarily
Open the RP payroll account before the first remittance is due
Register provincial sales tax and workers' compensation accounts if they apply
Open My Business Account and add your bookkeeper as a representative

In AcboBooks

In the Canadian edition of AcboBooks, Company Settings has a Business Number (BN) field and a separate field for the CRA payroll program account, such as 123456789RP0001. The payroll account is what appears on T4 slips and the Record of Employment worksheet. GST/HST is set up as a tax with its own agency, so the amount you owe is tracked apart from your income. The Academy lessons on company settings and setting up GST/HST walk through it. AcboBooks does not register you with the CRA; you do that in BRO.

Sources and official links

Last reviewed October 26, 2026. Government pages change; if a figure here differs from the official page, the official page wins.

Frequently asked questions

Is a business number the same as a GST/HST number?

Not quite. The business number is the nine-digit root. Your GST/HST account is that BN plus RT and a reference number, such as 123456789 RT 0001. People often call the whole thing the GST number.

Does it cost anything to get a BN?

No. Registering for a business number and CRA program accounts is free. Incorporating or registering a business name with a province may have its own fee.

Do I need a BN as a sole proprietor?

Only when you need a program account, such as GST/HST once you are no longer a small supplier, or payroll when you hire. A sole proprietor's business income is reported on their personal return without a BN.

When do I have to register for GST/HST?

When your taxable sales pass $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over four consecutive quarters. If you pass it in one quarter, the CRA gives you 29 days from the sale that crossed the line to register, and you charge tax on that sale. You can register voluntarily before then.

Can I have more than one business number?

No. Each business or legal entity has one BN. New program accounts, including a second GST/HST or payroll account for a division, are added to the same BN with a different reference number.

This article is general information, not tax, legal or accounting advice. Rules and dates change; check the official source or ask your accountant before acting.