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CRA Program Accounts Explained: RC, RM, RP and RT Numbers

CRA program accounts explained: what the RC, RM, RP, RT, RZ, and RR letters mean, how the 15-character account number is built, what RC0001 means, and how each account is opened or added.

Written October 27, 2026 · Edited November 9, 2026 · 11 min read

Applies in: across Canada

The short answer

A CRA program account number has three parts, and every part answers a different question. The 9-digit business number says which business. The two letters say which program: RT for GST/HST, RP for payroll deductions, RC for corporation income tax, RZ for information returns, RR for registered charities. The four digits say which account of that type: 0001 is usually the first, and higher numbers mark additional accounts of the same type. Put together, 123456789RT0001 is one business, one GST/HST account, first of its type. Most confusion about CRA numbers comes from using the wrong part: quoting the bare business number where a program account is needed, or quoting a payroll account where a GST/HST account is needed.

This guide explains the system and how accounts are opened. It does not replace the registration walkthrough for any single program, and the Quebec position is flagged where it differs, because Quebec businesses handle GST and QST registration through Revenu Québec rather than the CRA.

Step 1: Start with the business number

The business number is a unique 9-digit number the CRA gives a business, and it identifies the business when dealing with the CRA and other government programs. A business or legal entity has only one business number, and the number stays the same regardless of the type and number of program accounts attached to it. You need a business number if you own or operate a business in Canada and have to deal with the CRA for certain taxes or programs: collecting GST/HST, having employees and needing a payroll deductions account, importing or exporting goods, incorporating federally or provincially, filing information returns, or filing corporation income tax.

The business number is not a licence, not a provincial registration, and not proof of anything on its own. It is the root identifier. Everything else in this guide hangs off it, which is why losing track of which program account you are looking at causes misapplied payments: the money lands under the wrong suffix, and the account that actually owes it still shows a balance.

Step 2: Read the two letters

Each program account adds letters to the end of the business number to show what it is for. The four codes this guide is named for, plus the two others every business owner meets, are:

  • RT, GST/HST. The account under which a registrant charges, reports, and remits GST/HST, files GST/HST returns, and claims input tax credits. Your GST/HST number is your business number plus RT plus the reference number.
  • RP, payroll deductions. The account under which an employer remits income tax, Canada Pension Plan contributions, and employment insurance premiums withheld from employees, plus the employer share of Canada Pension Plan and employment insurance.
  • RC, corporation income tax. The account under which a corporation files its T2 corporation income tax return. Federal incorporation, or incorporation in a province partnered with the CRA, usually produces a business number and an RC account automatically.
  • RM, import and export. The former identifier for import and export program accounts. As of May 13, 2024, businesses register for that program through the Canada Border Services Agency Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) Client Portal. If an old form or letter shows an RM account, treat it as the former registration route, and check the current CARM position before acting on it.
  • RZ, information returns. The account for information returns, including T5, T5007, T5008, T5013, T5018, and other slips and returns the CRA lists under this identifier.
  • RR, registered charities. The account for a registered charity, whose registration number is written in full, business number plus RR plus reference number, on official donation receipts.

Other identifiers exist for narrower programs, including CT for the fuel charge, RD for excise duty, RE for excise tax, RG for the air travellers security charge, RN for excise tax on insurance premiums, and RU for the underused housing tax. Most small businesses never meet them. The point that matters for everyone is the same: the letters are not decoration, and an RT number, an RP number, and an RC number under one business number are three different accounts with three different obligations.

Step 3: Read the four digits

The four-digit reference number identifies each account a business has within a program type. The first account of a type is usually 0001, so RT0001 is normally the first GST/HST account, RP0001 the first payroll account, and RC0001 the first corporation income tax account. That is what RC0001 means on a notice or a return: corporation income tax, first account.

Higher numbers mark additional accounts of the same type. A business with branches or divisions that keep separate books may hold RT0001 and RT0002, and in My Business Account each appears separately: the overview page shows a tile for each program account type, and expanding a type lists every reference number under it. Always select the reference number that matches the notice, return, or payment in front of you. Paying under RT0002 when the balance sits under RT0001 does not clear the balance, and filing under the wrong reference creates a gap the CRA will chase on the right one.

Step 4: Open only the accounts your triggers demand

Accounts do not imply each other. Registering for a GST/HST account does not create a payroll account, and holding a corporation income tax account does not create a GST/HST account. Register exactly the accounts your situation demands, and add more when a new trigger fires, such as hiring a first employee or crossing the GST/HST registration threshold.

Since November 3, 2025, registrations for a new business number or CRA program account must be done online. Business Registration Online is reached through your CRA account: on the welcome page, select the add-account control, choose Business Account, then Business Registration Online, confirm your identity, and follow the prompts for your situation. Registration is available 21 hours a day, 7 days a week, and the business number and account details are issued instantly. Save or print the confirmation page, because it is not sent separately.

Three situations fall outside Business Registration Online and need the CRA Business Enquiries line or a paper route: reactivating a previously closed program account, registering a Canadian business with only non-resident owners, and registering a business that is owned by another business, for example where another corporation or partnership owns the business being registered. If your situation matches one of those, do not keep retrying the online form. Call the Business Enquiries line at 1-800-959-5525 and say which situation applies.

Quebec businesses take a different route for the sales tax half. The business number itself is federal and comes from the CRA, but Quebec businesses register for GST and QST through Revenu Québec, not the CRA. Handle the business number step with the CRA, then the GST and QST registration with Revenu Québec, and keep the two account numbers separate in your records: the CRA RT account and the Revenu Québec QST account are different systems.

Step 5: Use the full number, and keep the accounts current

Use the full 15-character account number on returns, payments, remittance vouchers, and correspondence for that program. A payment made under the bare business number, or under the wrong program letters, can be misapplied, and the CRA treats the account that owes the money as still unpaid until the payment is moved. In My Business Account, the overview page shows the legal name and the 9-digit business number at the top right, and the business number in the drop-down at the top of the left menu, while each program account tile carries its own full number, such as RT0001 or RP0001. If you have more than one business number added to the account, the information displayed follows the business number you select, so check the selected business number before you act on a balance or a return list.

Keep the registration record current. Address changes, changes in business activity, ownership changes, and contact changes go through My Business Account or the Business Enquiries line. Stale records slow down every later interaction, and a closed or changed account that still shows as open will keep generating expected returns until the CRA is told otherwise. Closing an account is a separate act with its own form and final return, and it is covered in the guide on closing a GST/HST account, not by simply stopping filing.

What not to do

  • Do not quote the bare 9-digit business number where a program account number is asked for, and do not swap RT, RP, and RC suffixes.
  • Do not assume opening one program account opened the others, and do not file a payroll remittance under a GST/HST account.
  • Do not register for a second business number because you cannot find the first one. A business has only one, and a duplicate registration creates a second root that has to be untangled.
  • Do not treat an old RM number as a live CRA account without checking the current import and export registration route through the CARM portal.
  • Do not use the public GST/HST Registry to look up a business number. The registry checks a supplier GST/HST account number against a name and date; there is no public business number directory.

Related guides:

Reading and opening a CRA program account, in five steps

  1. Start with the business numberThe 9-digit business number is the root. Every program account hangs off the same number, and a business has only one business number.
  2. Read the two lettersThe letters name the program: RT for GST/HST, RP for payroll deductions, RC for corporation income tax, RZ for information returns, RR for registered charities, and RM for the former import and export account.
  3. Read the four digitsThe reference number distinguishes accounts of the same type under one business number. The first account is usually 0001, and later accounts take higher numbers.
  4. Open the account you needRegister online through Business Registration Online, which issues the business number and program accounts instantly, or add an account to an existing business number the same way.
  5. Use the full number everywhereFile, pay, and correspond under the full 15-character account number for that program, not under the bare 9-digit business number alone.

Questions people ask

What is a CRA program account?

A program account is a CRA account for one specific aspect of a business tax or reporting obligation, linked to the business 9-digit business number. Each program account adds a two-letter program identifier and a four-digit reference number to the business number, producing a 15-character account number such as 123456789RT0001. The business number identifies the business; the program account identifies what the business is filing or paying under that number.

What does RC0001 mean?

RC0001 is a corporation income tax program account. RC is the program identifier for corporation income tax, and 0001 is the reference number, usually the first corporation income tax account opened under that business number. The full number reads as the 9-digit business number, then RC, then 0001. A second corporation income tax account under the same business number would carry a higher reference number.

What does RM mean on a CRA account?

RM was the program identifier for import and export program accounts. As of May 13, 2024, businesses register for the import and export program through the Canada Border Services Agency Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) Client Portal instead of through the old RM account. An RM suffix on an old document therefore points to the former import and export registration, not to a current CRA program account you open today.

What is the difference between RT, RP, RC, and RZ?

RT is the GST/HST account, used to collect, report, and remit GST/HST. RP is the payroll deductions account, used to remit income tax, Canada Pension Plan contributions, and employment insurance premiums withheld from employees. RC is the corporation income tax account, used for the corporate T2 return. RZ is the information returns account, used for slips and information returns such as T5 returns. Each account is registered separately, and opening one does not open the others.

How do I open a CRA program account?

Use Business Registration Online through your CRA account. The online application lets you create a new business number, register for CRA program accounts, or add program accounts to an existing business number, and the business number and account details are issued instantly. Some situations cannot be done in Business Registration Online, including reactivating a previously closed program account, registering a Canadian business with only non-resident owners, and registering a business owned by another business; those need a call to the CRA Business Enquiries line or a paper registration.

Can one business have more than one account of the same type?

Yes. The four-digit reference number exists for that reason. A business with two GST/HST accounts, for example for separate branches or divisions keeping separate books, would hold RT0001 and RT0002 under the same business number. In My Business Account, each program account appears as its own tile or menu entry, and you select the reference number you need before filing or paying.

What is Form GST20?

Form GST20 is the Election for GST/HST Reporting Period. A GST/HST registrant uses it to change the reporting period for the GST/HST return to monthly, quarterly, or annual. Which periods are open depends on the threshold amount: $1,500,000 or less leaves all three open, more than $1,500,000 but not more than $6,000,000 leaves quarterly or monthly, and more than $6,000,000 leaves monthly only, while charities may use any period regardless of taxable supplies. File the election through the File an election service in My Business Account, or send the completed paper form to your tax centre. The effective date must be the first day of the fiscal year, and the CRA will not accept the election if returns for that fiscal period have already been filed.

What is Form GST66?

Form GST66 is the Application for GST/HST Public Service Bodies' Rebate and GST Self-Government Refund. Public service bodies use it to claim a rebate of GST/HST paid on purchases and expenses connected with their public-service activities, and governments claiming under a self-government agreement use the same form for the self-government refund. The claimant list includes municipalities, hospital authorities, facility operators, external suppliers, charities, public institutions, and qualifying non-profit organizations, as well as universities, school authorities, and public colleges established and operated otherwise than for profit. Every claimant completes Parts A, B, D, and E, while Part C is only for a GST/HST registrant who wants the rebate claimed on line 111 of the GST/HST return. A claim for the provincial part of the HST needs Form RC7066-SCH attached as well, and the full business number, with the RT identifier and four-digit reference number, goes on every application. GST/HST registrants file the application online with the return through GST/HST NETFILE or My Business Account, non-registrants file through the electronic rebate forms or the File a rebate service, and a paper application goes to the address printed on the form.

Are GST20 and GST66 program account numbers?

No. GST20 and GST66 are form numbers, not program account codes. A program account number is the 9-digit business number plus a two-letter program identifier plus a four-digit reference number, for example 123456789RT0001. The forms work inside that system instead of replacing it: GST20 changes the reporting period attached to the RT account, and a GST66 application carries the full business number with the RT identifier and reference number. Neither form creates a new business number or a new program account. The one exception runs the other way: a public service body with no business number is assigned one with its first GST66 application.

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