Businesses – Tax information newsletter, Edition 2026-01 – February 20, 2026
On this page
- Reporting fees for service payments in the trucking industry
- Free Dedicated Telephone Service!
- CRA is introducing its newest online portal—Non-Resident Withholding Tax
- CRA account users are encouraged to add a backup multi-factor authentication option
- Helping your clients understand tax slips at tax time
- The CRA’s official Taxology podcast – Episode 11: Helping small businesses across the country through the Liaison Officer service
- All about the CRA’s new Continuous Service Improvements webpage
- Reminder: Important changes to how tax preparers obtain access to an individual's account
- Share this information
Reporting fees for service payments in the trucking industry
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has lifted the moratorium on the penalties for failure to report fees for service transactions in the trucking industry.
Starting with the 2025 tax year, trucking businesses must report fees for services paid to a Canadian-controlled private corporation (CCPC) that exceed $500 in a calendar year on a T4A slip (box 048) to avoid penalties. A business is considered to be operating in the trucking industry if its primary source of income comes from trucking activities.
The deadline to file T4A slips for the 2025 tax year is February 28, 2026. Since this date falls on a Saturday, an information return will be considered on time if the CRA receives it or it is postmarked on or before March 2, 2026.
For more details, visit Compliance requirements for the trucking industry.
Free Dedicated Telephone Service!
Did you know that the CRA’s Income Tax Rulings Directorate offers free technical help through a Dedicated Telephone Service (DTS) for income tax service providers?
The service connects you with experienced DTS officers who will help you find the information you need to interpret the provisions of the Income Tax Act. In order to provide you with the most accurate and relevant information possible, DTS officers will not provide an immediate response to your question over the telephone. After reviewing your tax issue, the officers will carefully consider your question and send you helpful information and guidance by email. They will generally get back to you within three business days, depending on the complexity of the tax issue. The officers are ready to assist you in both English and French.
Registrants consistently indicate that the DTS delivers quick, clear, and professional guidance that saves time and enhances the services provided to taxpayers. Don’t wait—learn more and register for our service here Help for income tax service providers.
CRA is introducing its newest online portal—Non-Resident Withholding Tax
The CRA is pleased to announce the addition of our new Non-Resident Withholding Tax portal. Non-resident tax account holders and their authorized representatives can now have digital access to their accounts by signing in to their CRA account and adding their non-resident tax account number from the Welcome page.
CRA account users are encouraged to add a backup multi-factor authentication option
The CRA is introducing a backup multi-factor authentication (MFA) requirement for CRA account users if they do not already have one. Users will have the option to skip this step each time they sign in during tax-filing season.
With millions of Canadians accessing their CRA account each year, this new measure strengthens account security and helps to prevent account lockouts if a primary MFA option is lost or forgotten. Preventing lockouts will help reduce call volumes, allowing contact centre service representatives to focus on assisting Canadians with more complex tax and benefit related questions, especially during peak periods such as tax season.
Helping your clients understand tax slips at tax time
As tax season approaches, having all required tax slips is key to filing accurately and avoiding reassessments. Filing too early — before slips are issued and available — can lead to unnecessary delays and corrections.
Share this information with your clients to help them understand what tax slips are, where to find them, and why waiting now can save time later.
The CRA’s official Taxology podcast – Episode 11: Helping small businesses across the country through the Liaison Officer service
Did you know that the CRA has an official podcast, called Taxology? Recent episodes focused on topics such as CRA’s digital services, and tax information for newcomers, students and youth.
The most recent episode discusses the CRA’s Liaison Officer service, a free program where small business owners and self-employed individuals can get personalized support to help understand their tax obligations. On this episode a CRA liaison officer talks all about the program and explains what’s involved in a typical meeting, what help a liaison officer provides and how to schedule a personalized visit.
All about the CRA’s new Continuous Service Improvements webpage
The CRA's new Continuous Service Improvements (CSI) webpage provides regular updates for individuals about key areas such as call accessibility and accuracy, self-service options, technological advancements, and processing efficiency. Processing times are updated regularly and align with the "Check CRA Processing Times" tool and the Progress Tracker available in an individual’s My Account. This ensures Canadians have timely and consistent information at their fingertips.
Reminder: Important changes to how tax preparers obtain access to an individual's account
The CRA has improved the way representatives obtain access to individual clients' accounts by enhancing the Alternative process for individuals service in Represent a Client, making the process faster.
Key details:
- Representatives can now gain instant accessto individual clients' accounts using information from a notice of assessment that is at least six months old.
- As of July 15, 2025, the Authorize a Representative service in EFILE software is no longer available for individual clients. Representatives must now use Represent a Client to obtain access.
This change does not affect authorization requests submitted through EFILE for business clients.
Check out our step-by-step guides:
- For representatives: How to submit an authorization request in Represent a Client (PDF, 200 KB).
- For taxpayers: How to authorize a representative (PDF, 218 KB KB).
Learn more about these changes.
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We hope you will share the following information with a colleague and encourage them to subscribe for this newsletter.