NO EXCUSE FOR MISSED CRA PORTAL ALERTS
TCC CONFIRMS BUSINESS CARRIES ALL THE RISK WHEN DIGITAL PORTALS IGNORED
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A recent Tax Court of Canada (“TCC”) case highlights the harsh consequences of failing to monitor an online Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) portal, like MyCRA or My Business Account. In Web Listings Inc. v. His Majesty the King, 2026 TCC 101 (“Web Listings”), the TCC confirmed that if a business’s authorized representative receives online portal notifications and ignores them, the tax consequences for the business are severe.
In this Indirect Tax Report, we review Web Listings, a cautionary tale for businesses that take a “hands off” approach to their online CRA My Business Account portal.
Web Listings Case
The Appellant’s principal (the “Principal”) did not know how to use the CRA's My Business Account portal, so he authorized an external accountant (the “Accountant”) to monitor it for digital CRA notices. Then in 2021, the CRA issued multiple assessments to the Appellant, through its My Business Account portal. The Principal and the Accountant began working on them together before – for unclear reasons – losing contact for nearly a year, despite the Principal’s repeated attempts to contact her.
When the Accountant finally surfaced, she told the Principal that the CRA had issued a significant additional assessment – and by then, it was already too late to object.
The Accountant quickly filed an objection online, but it was well past the deadline to object – in fact, it was over a year past the deadline even to apply for an extension of time to object. The CRA rejected the objection on that basis, so the Appellant applied to the TCC for an extension of time to file an objection.
TCC’s Decision
The TCC dismissed the application. Because the original 2021 assessment notices were successfully uploaded to the portal, and because the Accountant – who did not testify – was presumed to have received the automated emails, the absolute, statutory one-year deadline to request an extension had expired.
Crucially, the TCC noted that this outcome was unfortunate, and that missing online notifications is common in our increasingly digital world. However, the TCC was bound by the strict wording of the statute, which absolutely barred extensions of time to object filed beyond the one-year deadline. The TCC concluded by noting that only Parliament can change these rules, not the Courts.
Perhaps the Department of Finance should consider changes to ameliorate these sorts of circumstances.
Implications for Taxpayers
The CRA expects taxpayers to monitor their portals. If a taxpayer delegates that job to a representative, who then fails to fulfil those duties and lets important CRA notices – and, potentially, costs – build up, financial liability remains squarely on the business owner.
Missing a MyCRA message can lead to tax penalties.
Experienced Tax Counsel will alert taxpayers to their
obligations and lessen the odds of costly errors.
Takeaways
Web Listings demonstrates that the legal risk of monitoring digital accounts rests entirely on the taxpayer. Out of sight cannot mean out of mind, and businesses must have continuous, uninterrupted visibility into their MyCRA and My Business Account portals.
For anyone concerned that access issues with their MyCRA or My Business Account could lead to real tax consequences, it is advisable to contact Experienced Tax Counsel to assess their potential liability and stop the problem from getting out of hand.
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