What happens to my CRA business number and accounts after I sell my business?

A business number identifies the legal entity registered with the CRA, and the program accounts for payroll, GST/HST and corporate income tax sit under it. What happens to them after a sale therefore depends on who the seller is, and on whether the buyer takes over assets or the company itself. The CRA recommends contacting your tax services office when you sell.

If you are a sole proprietor

The CRA explains that a sole proprietorship is tied to one individual. If you sell or stop operating, you must close all your CRA program accounts, which you can do online through My Business Account or Represent a Client. A new owner cannot continue using the old business number and must get a new number and new program accounts. For partnerships, a change of partners can sometimes make the business a new legal entity that needs a new number.

If you sell the shares of a corporation

For a corporation, a change of owners or directors is first updated with the federal or provincial incorporating authority, and supporting documents then go to the CRA to update the business and owner information. The records are updated rather than closed. If the corporation is dissolved after an asset sale, form RC145 may be needed to close its accounts. Otherwise the CRA considers that it still exists, and it must keep filing returns even when no tax is payable.

Before an account can close

Before closing a payroll account, the seller must remit all source deductions, calculate pension adjustments where they apply, file final information returns and give out T4 or T4A slips. Closing a GST/HST account means telling the CRA why, filing a final return and remitting what is owed. Our answer on GST/HST accounts when a business is sold goes further on that account.