Life is easier for a tax adviser if a client has access to his or her “My Account“, not least because the client can add the adviser as an authorized representative quickly and easily. (In fact, the CRA is making it more and more difficult to do it any other way.)
The CRA has created a new method for individuals to verify their identity that will (so the legend says) allow them to access their “My Account” accounts “immediately”.
The following is from the CRA press release:
To use this new identity validation option, the user must be 16 years of age or older and have a camera-enabled mobile device that will allow them to take a photo of their government-issued ID. Only the following pieces of identification are currently being accepted:
- Canadian passport
- Canadian driver’s licence
- Provincial/Territorial ID card
When registering for My Account, individuals will also need to provide their social insurance number (SIN), date of birth, and information from their most recently assessed tax return from either the current or previous year.
The press release links to a page that allows a user to start the registration process.
