Request a comfort letter
Effective April 1, 2025, the Canada Revenue Agency will no longer provide comfort letters. Owners, legal representatives or authorized representatives with at least Level 2 access can request a filing and balance confirmation (FBC) letter through My Business Account or Represent a Client.
A comfort letter confirms that a business's CRA program accounts are in good standing. It is most commonly requested by financial institutions (lending institutions) and lawyers. For example, a bank could request a comfort letter from the CRA for a business before granting a loan. Persons who are considering purchasing real property or a business from a person may also request one.
This type of letter is different from a request for a clearance certificate.
Eligibility
A comfort letter applies to the following CRA program accounts:
- corporate income tax (RC)
- payroll deductions (RP)
- GST/HST (RT) program accounts (except for businesses resident in the province of Quebec)
How to request a comfort letter
You must send your request for a comfort letter in writing. Send it either by mail or by fax to the tax services office nearest to the business. Any third party request must be sent with a letter of authorization, unless the requestor is already authorized for each program account.
The request must contain the following information:
- the business number
- the CRA program accounts for which the comfort letter is requested
- the language in which you wish to receive the comfort letter, if different from the language of the request
- the name and position of the person making the request
- a letter of authorization or a completed Form AUT-01, Authorize a Representative for Offline Access
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