T1 EFILE
The Canada Revenue Agency’s EFILE, ReFILE and T1135 web services are now closed for the electronic filing of your clients’ initial and amended (T1) personal income tax and benefit returns and T1135 forms for T1. These services will re-open on Monday, February 24, 2025 at 8:30 a.m. (Eastern Time).
The Canada Revenue Agency’s T3 EFILE and T1135 web services are now closed for the electronic filing of your clients’ T3 Trusts returns and T1135 forms for T3. These services will re-open Monday, February 24, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. (Eastern Time).
News and program updates
January 27, 2025 – Security practices for electronic filers
Purpose
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has noticed a growing threat of financial fraud and digital scams. We all play important roles in protecting information and mitigating risks by staying up-to-date and vigilant on security best practices.
This message includes simple steps that you can take to confirm the identity of your client, protect your CRA accounts and your network from cyber threats, and ways to stay alert on the latest scams and fraud trends. These tips are not meant to replace any security procedures present in your organization and should only be considered as best practices that may complement your already existing protocols.
In addition to below, adhering to the following EFILE responsibilities will help protect you against scams, and mitigate the release of taxpayer information to an unauthorized user or bad actor:
- An EFILER must deal directly with their client.
- An EFILER must validate the identity of their client.
- An EFILER respects that access to the EFILE Electronic Filing Service is limited solely for the purpose of the electronic filing of a return of income. Any other use is prohibited, such as but not limited to document retrieval for income verification purposes.
Validate your client’s identity
Validating your client’s identity, especially for new clients, before any transaction or release of information, whether that interaction is in person, by phone, or online, is one of the many ways to mitigate potential fraud.
This helps prevent unintended consequences, such as the release of information to unauthorized users or funds to malicious groups or individuals. Completing full validations on older clients is also recommended, as threat actors can be patient when planning more complex schemes. Below are a few ways that you can validate the identity of your clients.
| In person | Telephone | Online |
|---|---|---|
| Authentic, valid, and current Government-issued photo identificationAppropriately complex confidentiality questions about information on file or accountReal-time credit file check to compare the information contained in the report with that provided by the client | Confidentiality questions about information on file or accountMulti-factor authenticationPersonal Identification Number system for clients | Video call, if applicable, to validate authentic, valid, and current Government-issued photo identificationDocument validation softwareMulti-factor authentication |
