The T1013 form, now the AUT-01 form, is used by Canadians to give representatives access to their CRA accounts for tax purposes. This form allows the authorized person to easily access your CRA information and online services to manage or make changes to your account.
The taxation system in Canada is designed in such a way that you can access your tax accounts and information with ease. You can authorize a representative who can access your account in your absence and cancel the authorization. This used to be done with the T1013 form, but the form was discontinued as of the 10th of February, 2020.
Here’s what you need to know about the discontinued T1013 form and the new one, the AUT-01 form. This article goes over the process of authorizing or canceling a representative from accessing your Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) account using the Authorizing or Cancelling a Representative form.
What is a T1013?
Also referred to as the Authorizing or Cancelling a Representative form, the T1013 is a form required of any account holder who wants to authorize representatives for tax purposes on their CRA account.
The form is for personal income tax; an account holder or representative must fill it out. The rule governing the form allows you to appoint anyone to represent you. Also, you can specify the tax year(s) and authorization level.
The level of approval is the extent to which they can fill in for you. Remember that the form T1013 won’t authorize a representative for business tax returns; you need the RC59 form for this purpose.
The T1013 form allows you to specify the representative: a spouse, common-law partner, friend, family member, or legal/financial representative. There are several reasons why the need to appoint a representative may arise. For example, people in the military can nominate a representative who’ll oversee their taxes during tax years when deployed overseas.
Other reasons that may warrant appointing a representative include; disability, incapacitation, and mental disorders. Anyone who falls under the abovementioned categories might be unable to complete their tax obligations. Hence the need to appoint a representative. People with a busy schedule and little knowledge of tax requirements and responsibilities may need someone to oversee things for them.
Who has to fill out a T1013?
The T1013 form is available to anyone that wants to grant authority to a specific individual (representative) that will carry out their tax obligation for the given year for you. T1013 is to be filled when canceling or switching a representative.
After filling and submitting the form and it has been approved, the authorizations will stay valid until the specified expiry date. Or, you can complete Part 4 of another T1013 form. Part 4 of the T1013 form deals with the cancellation of a representative.
Sections of the T1013
The T1013 form has five sections, they include:
- Taxpayer Information
This section requires you to input your first, last, and trust names. Social Insurance Number (SIN), Tax Temporary Number (TIN) or Individual Tax Number (ITN) is also required to fill this section.
- Representative information and authorization
There are two parts involved in this section. The first part (Part A) authorizes online account access alongside telephone and writing. Part B, however, allows access through phone and writing only.
When filling this section, you’ll encounter two levels of authorization. Level 1 authorization gives representatives access to complete payment arrangements and requests some information, while Level 2 authorization allows the disclosure of all details in Level 1. Your representative can access any changes to your account and returns, including accounting transfers and adjustments made to income, deductions, and tax credits.
- Authorization Expiry Date
This section requires you to input the date – year, month, and day when the T1013 will expire. That is when the CRA will terminate the representative’s authority over your account.
- Cancel your Representative
Use to section to cancel all account representatives or specify the particular name(s) of those you no longer want to have authority over your account. Note that canceling more than one representative without canceling all representatives will require you to fill out a separate attached form. For account holders completing Part 4 of the T1013 must also complete Parts 1 and 5. A representative might choose to discontinue their authorization by completing the same form.
- Signature and Date
The account holder must sign and date this section to validate the form.
The CRA recently introduced a new way – AUT-01 to authorize representatives to oversee your tax matter. This new method is a digitized process that requires your signature before your representative can access your account.
T1013 form is now the AUT-01 form
It is important to note that the T1013 form is no longer valid and will not be accepted by the CRA. It’s been replaced by the AUT-01 Form. This new form is a digitized and straightforward way to authorize or cancel a representative to access your tax accounts by phone or mail. This new form is a combination of three old forms;
- The T1013 (Authorizing or canceling a representative)
- RC59 (Business consent for offline access)
- NR95 (Authorizing or canceling a representative for a Non-Resident tax account)
This means that individuals, businesses, and non-residents have a standard authorizing process and cancel a representative for their accounts with this new form. Your representatives don’t need the break form to gain online access to your account.
All you need to do is use the ‘Authorize my representative’ service in your CRA account, and they will have instant access to your account. You can also view, change or cancel your representative’s authorization online whenever you want to.
Your representatives can verify if they have authorization by logging into this page. They will need to provide your social insurance number (for personal tax account) or business number (for business tax account).
This doesn’t apply to non-resident accounts. To authorize a legal representative or to delegate authority for your non-resident tax account, you don’t need to send a form AUT-01. You will send the CRA a copy of legal documents giving the person the authority to be a legal representative or a delegated authority.
Who Qualifies To Be Your Representative?
You may need to authorize a representative for your accounts if you are ill or too busy to handle the accounts yourself or for other reasons best known to you. Your representative can be one or more of the following:
- An accountant
- A bookkeeper
- Your spouse or common-law partner
- A family member
- A friend
- A customs broker
- An executor
- A powerful attorney
- You will need to provide some information to your representative, such as;
- Your name, address, and date of birth
- Your social insurance number
- Your business number (for business account)
- Your non-resident withholding tax account number (for non-resident accounts)
- Your notice of assessment/reassessment
- Your tax returns and other tax documents
There are a few exceptions for authorizing a representative. These exceptions are for executors and trustees or receivers.
If a sole proprietor dies, the estate’s executor is considered the owner, that is, if the CRA receives a copy of the death certificate and either a copy of the deceased’s last will or other documents showing who the legal representative is.
The executor can communicate with the CRA on behalf of the deceased. He/she has the same rights and privileges as the business owner. If the CRA receives court-issued documents that appoint trustees or receivers, they are automatically considered authorized representatives. However, online access is not available for trust accounts.
What Can Your Representatives Do?
When you authorize a representative, they will gain access to your tax information on your chosen accounts and help you manage the CRA information. They can do some or all of the following:
- Access your personal tax information, assessment, or reassessment.
- Get information on your business tax accounts.
- Update some of your business numbers and program your account information
- Access your non-resident tax information and update some of your non-resident tax accounts.
You will first need a business number to authorize a representative for your Canadian business. Your authorization is flexible as you can choose what level of approval you want your representative to be on and which accounts they have access to.
You can also choose how long they may have access to your information. Your authorization is valid unless you or your representative cancel it or when it reaches your chosen expiry date.
However, it will not automatically expire if the CRA is notified of your death (in the case of death). You can also monitor your representatives’ activities on your income tax account or business account (whichever is the case).
If you don’t specify the authorization level, your representatives will be assigned Level 1 access. There are different levels of approval depending on the type of account.
Personal Tax Account
There are two levels of authorization for this type of account.
- Level 1:
Your representative will only have access to your information.
- Level 2:
Your representative will have access to your information and can also request limited changes.
There are also two types of representatives; ordinary representatives and legal representatives. A regular representative cannot update your address. In contrast, a legal representative can do everything you can, including authorizing or canceling another representative for your personal or non-resident tax accounts.
Business Tax Account
There are three levels of authorization for this account.
- Level 1:
Your representative will only have access to your information.
- Level 2:
Your representative can request limited changes and get information.
- Level 3:
Your representative can delegate or cancel authority; they become legal representatives and can update your account. They also have access to your tax information.
Non-Resident Tax Account
There are also three levels for this type of account, and representatives have the same access to each level’s features as described for the business account.
Canceling Authorization
You may decide to cancel your representative if you lose trust in him/her if you recover from your illness (in case of any), or for reasons best known to you. Your representative may also choose to cancel their authorization.
You can cancel your representative’s authorization in several ways for each type of tax account.
Personal Authorization
You can cancel authorization through the following ways:
- Online:
This is the fastest way and can be done via your account.
- By Phone:
This can be done by you or your representative but is slower compared to doing it online.
- By Mail:
This is the slowest way, as it is done by making a form to the CRA. It can be done by either you or your representative. Your representative can also cancel their authorization.
Business Authorization
For your business tax account, you can cancel in similar ways as done in the personal statement.
Non-Resident Authorization
You can’t cancel your representative’s authorization online for your non-resident tax accounts. You can do it in either of the following ways;
- By Phone:
This is the fastest way. You or your representative can call to cancel the authorization.
- By Mail:
This is the slowest way and can be done by either you or your representative by mailing a CRA form.
CRA Security
Whenever your representative contacts the CRA, they will be asked specific questions to confirm their identity. This ensures your account is in safe hands and that it is the authorized person who wants to access your account.
Conclusion
The new process of authorizing or canceling a representative for your tax accounts is more straightforward and faster. It trumps the former T1013 form because it combines three forms, allowing individuals, businesses, and non-residents to have a standard and easy-to-access platform for authorizing and canceling representatives for their accounts.
