On September 22, the CRA announced that returns filed online from February 22, 2027 can include a new authentication step. Users can sign in to a CRA account before filing. For individuals and authorized representatives using NETFILE, the sign-in confirms they are filing for themselves or are authorized to file for someone else. For EFILE preparers, it confirms the identity of the person initiating the filing transaction.
A trial year is a good time to fix the small things that cause friction later. This guide to tax season preparation Canada firms can start now covers what has changed for 2027, which CRA accounts need checking, how much extra capacity the season will need, and where the workflow tends to slip.
What has changed for the 2027 filing season?
Individuals and their authorized representatives can opt in through NETFILE, and tax preparers and volunteers can opt in through EFILE. For preparers, the sign-in confirms their identity as the person initiating the filing, and they don’t need to be an authorized representative of the taxpayer for it. The session stays active once authentication succeeds, so the sign-in comes up again only after it ends. First-time filers have no CRA account and can’t authenticate, but they can still file through NETFILE. The CRA’s announcement doesn’t say whether the step becomes required in later years.
Two changes already in place shape the same season. The CRA closed all 45 of its drop boxes on May 29, 2026, after items submitted that way fell 78% between 2018-2019 and 2024-2025. Paper filing continues by regular mail. Online mail has also moved. Existing businesses registered for My Business Account, directly or through a representative, were switched to online mail by default in 2025, and the CRA began switching some individuals registered for a CRA account on September 4, 2025, with some mail still sent on paper.
Taken together, the season now runs through logins, both the firm’s own and its clients’.
Which CRA accounts need checking before the season?
The firm controls some of these logins and clients control the rest, so the order of work follows who owns what.
- Staff accounts: Any preparer who wants to authenticate through EFILE needs a working CRA account. The CRA suggests adding a backup multi-factor authentication method and keeping personal information current, and it offers self-service options to regain access to a locked account without calling. Signing in now confirms the login and MFA work, even though the authentication step doesn’t begin until February 22.
- Representative access: Representatives obtain access to individual clients’ accounts through Represent a Client, since the Authorize a Representative service in EFILE software stopped covering individual clients on July 15, 2025. Where a client’s authorization is missing, the Alternative Authorization Request can give instant access using details from a notice of assessment that’s at least six months old. Authorizations belong on any CPA firm tax season checklist, because the CRA expects a representative to be authorized before filing on a client’s behalf.
- Client accounts: The CRA asks anyone with a locked or restricted account to resolve it before filing. A short note to clients in November, asking them to confirm their login still works, costs far less than a week of password resets in March. Business clients deserve a second look. EY Canada points out that a notice of assessment posted to a My Business Account starts the 90-day objection period whether or not anyone has looked, so representative access is what makes sure postings get seen.
How much extra capacity will the season need?
The answer depends on how many returns run through the firm and how many of them the firm wants to keep in the building. Robert Half’s Canadian research found 68% of finance and accounting managers struggling to hire and retain talent, particularly in specialized areas like compliance and financial reporting, which are the skills tax season leans on hardest. Permanent hiring is a slow answer to a short peak. Someone who starts in January is still learning the firm’s process while the April 30 deadline approaches, and the firm carries the cost after the season ends.
Staffing for tax season that flexes with volume works better, and that’s the case for tax preparation outsourcing Canada firms are building into fall planning: capacity that scales for the weeks it’s needed. Standard returns with straightforward income are the usual starting point, since they need little process redesign before the first file moves. Returns that call for judgment on classification, multiple income sources, or an unusual client situation stay in-house throughout. Tax preparation support services built around this split leave internal staff on review and on the files that need a CPA’s judgment, while the outsourced layer absorbs the volume of straightforward preparation.
CPA firm capacity planning in the fall comes down to four decisions: which return types move, roughly how many files, the internal cut-off date for each batch, and who reviews what comes back. Setting up secure file transfer, confirming a provider’s security certifications, and running a small test batch all take time that disappears once volume arrives. A test batch of straightforward returns tells a firm more about a provider than a proposal does.
Where does the workflow usually slip?
Tax workflow management tends to break at document intake, status tracking, and the handoff between preparation and review.
Intake comes first. A client-facing document portal set up before the season replaces PDFs arriving by email in assorted formats and saves handling time on every file. It’s also worth asking the tax software provider how the authentication prompt will appear in the product and when the update arrives, since the CRA’s change reaches filers through their software. Status tracking comes next.
A written, visible stage for each file (received, in preparation, in review, ready to file) means nobody has to ask a manager where a return stands, and a weekly look at CRA mail on the accounts the firm can see keeps notices from sitting unread. One overloaded manager remembering everything works until the week it doesn’t.
The preparation-to-review handoff is where outsourced and in-house work meet. A named reviewer for each client, and a short list of what a file should contain before it reaches review, keeps rework down.
Closing thoughts
A sensible order for the fall runs like this. Staff and representative access come first, in October, when nobody’s in a hurry. Client notes and a test batch follow in November. Capacity and software questions get settled in December, and a final sign-in check in January lands before the authentication step arrives on February 22. None of it is difficult, and most of it is easier in a quiet month.
Datamatics Business Solutions offers dedicated FTE and surge capacity models for tax preparation, working under your firm’s name and starting with a small pilot on a few returns. If you’d like to see how a pilot would fit your season, we can set one up.
What is the new CRA authentication step?
From February 22, 2027, individuals, authorized representatives, and tax preparers can sign in to a CRA account when filing a 2026 return online, confirming who is filing. The step is optional for the 2026 return.
Is authentication mandatory for the 2027 season?
No. The CRA describes it as optional for 2026 returns and a chance to try the process. Its announcement doesn’t say whether the step becomes required in later years.
Can first-time filers still file?
Yes. First-time filers have no CRA account and can’t authenticate, but they can still file through NETFILE. An authorized representative can also file for them.
When should a firm plan seasonal capacity?
In the fall. October to December leaves time to decide what to outsource, set up secure file transfer, and run a small test batch before volume arrives.
Which returns are safest to outsource first?
Standard returns with straightforward income. Returns needing judgment on classification, multiple income sources, or unusual circumstances are better kept in-house at the start.
