When you filed your taxes in 2019, you may have noticed a NETFILE Access Code on your Notice of Assessment.
If you’ve been filing taxes for a while now, you may remember that an access code was needed to file your tax return electronically. But that’s no longer the case. To file online, you simply need your date of birth and social insurance number.
So why has the access code returned?
Starting this year, taxpayers can use the access code when they file their tax return to simplify the verification process if they call into the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
To better understand, you need to first consider the current process. If you wanted to call into the CRA to ask questions, the CRA would have to verify your information. This would include information like your name, social insurance number, date of birth and information from your previous tax returns.
If you file your taxes using the NETFILE Access Code you will be able to use information from your 2020 tax return to confirm your identity when you call in or if you sign up for a My Account through the CRA. If you don’t use this code, you will have to authenticate your identity using other information.
Entering the NETFILE Access Code isn’t mandatory. You can file without it. But if you do want to use it, you can find it on the right side of your Notice of Assessment.
If you would like more help with your tax return, please contact us today. Our team of professionals can help make sure you are claiming all of the benefits and deductions available to you so that you can optimize your after-tax position.