How to Get a CRA Business Number
When you need a CRA business number, how to register online, program accounts (RT, RP, RC, RM), and the separate provincial business name registration.
The short version
- A business number (BN) is CRA's nine-digit ID for your business. It's free, and you get it the first time you register for a program account, such as GST/HST or payroll.
- Program accounts hang off it: RT for GST/HST, RP for payroll, RC for corporate income tax, RM for import-export. Each looks like 123456789 RT0001.
- A sole proprietor doesn't need a BN until they need a program account: usually GST/HST once sales pass $30,000, or payroll when they hire.
- A corporation gets a BN automatically when it's incorporated federally or in most provinces.
- A provincial business name registration is separate. In Ontario it's $60 for five years, and only needed if you trade under a name other than your own.
How to Get a CRA Business Number
Starting a business in Canada involves a surprising number of numbers. The business number is the one CRA cares about, and it's mercifully free and quick: most people get it online in one sitting. What trips people up is knowing when they actually need one, which account to open with it, and that the province has its own, separate paperwork that a BN doesn't replace.
Do You Need One Yet?
| Your situation | BN needed? |
|---|---|
| Sole proprietor, sales under $30,000 a year, no employees | No, unless you choose to register for GST/HST; see the small supplier rule |
| Sales over $30,000 in four consecutive quarters | Yes, for GST/HST; see do I need to register |
| Hiring an employee, even family | Yes, for a payroll account; see payroll basics |
| Incorporating | Yes, usually issued automatically with incorporation |
| Importing goods commercially | Yes, an import-export account |
| Ride-sharing or taxi services | Yes, GST/HST from the first dollar |
Registering for GST/HST and want it right from day one?
The GST/HST SmartFile works out your registration date, what to charge, your filing period, and the input tax credits you can claim back.
How to Register
- Business Registration Online (BRO), on CRA's website, is the fastest. You'll need your SIN, legal name, business address, start date and a description of the business. Many provinces let you register provincially and with CRA in the same session.
- By phone at CRA's business enquiries line, 1-800-959-5525.
- By mail on form RC1, which takes weeks.
- Then sign up for My Business Account to file and pay online, see your accounts, and authorize your bookkeeper.
Next steps: registering for GST/HST, charging GST/HST and input tax credits.
Program Accounts on Your Business Number
| Code | Account | When |
|---|---|---|
| RT | GST/HST | Over $30,000 of taxable sales, or by choice |
| RP | Payroll deductions | Before the first payroll remittance is due |
| RC | Corporate income tax | Corporations, automatically |
| RM | Import-export | Commercial importing or exporting |
| RZ | Information returns | For some slips, such as T5018 or T5 |
A sole proprietor's income tax still goes on their personal return, under their SIN, on form T2125; see T2125 and sole proprietor tax.
Just starting out?
Tell the assistant what you sell, your province, expected sales, and whether you'll hire. It lists which registrations you need now, which can wait, and the deadlines that come with each.
Provincial Registration Is Separate
- Ontario: register a business name with the Ontario Business Registry if you use a name other than your own legal name. $60 for five years. The registry can also open your BN.
- Other provinces have their own name registration and fees; B.C., Alberta and others link to BRO too.
- Licences and permits come from your city and industry, not CRA. Construction trades, food and transport usually have extra ones.
- Workers' compensation (WSIB in Ontario) is separate again; in construction it often applies even with no employees.
Choosing a structure first? See corporation vs sole proprietor. Keeping records from day one: business recordkeeping.
Business Number Questions
How do I get a business number in Canada?
Register online through CRA’s Business Registration Online service, by phone at 1-800-959-5525, or by mailing form RC1. The business number is assigned when you open your first program account, such as GST/HST or payroll. It is free.
Do I need a business number as a sole proprietor?
Only when you need a program account: usually GST/HST once taxable sales pass $30,000 in four consecutive quarters, or payroll when you hire. Your income tax goes on your personal return under your SIN either way.
Is a business number the same as a GST/HST number?
The GST/HST number is your nine-digit business number plus the RT program identifier, such as 123456789 RT0001.
Does registering a business name in Ontario give me a business number?
Not automatically, but the Ontario Business Registry can register you with CRA at the same time. A business name registration and a CRA business number are separate things.
How much does a business number cost?
Nothing. CRA does not charge for a business number or program accounts. Provincial business name registration has its own fee, $60 for five years in Ontario.
What are CRA program accounts?
Accounts attached to your business number for each tax you deal with: RT for GST/HST, RP for payroll, RC for corporate income tax, RM for import-export and RZ for information returns.
Sources: CRA, Register for a business number or program accounts; Simplyfybiz, Registering a sole proprietorship in Ontario. Checked October 2026. The Ontario fee is from a secondary source; confirm on the Ontario Business Registry. Phone numbers and program account codes are as published by CRA when checked.
Last reviewed October 5, 2026 against CRA and Government of Canada sources. How we check our facts.