Taxation / Business Number

The Business Number (BN) is one of the Federal governments initiatives to simplify the way businesses deal with the government. It is a numbering system designed to replace the multiple numbers that businesses require to deal with the government.

The BN covers the four major Revenue Canada business accounts:

corporate income tax
the goods and services tax (GST)
payroll deductions
import/export

► Do You Need a Business Number?

If you need at least one of the four Revenue Canada business accounts listed above, you will need a BN. It is the same number whether you are incorporated or not. You should note that if you operate as a sole proprietor or a partnership, you will continue to use your social insurance number (SIN) to file your personal taxes but the BN for the above 4 accounts.

► The BN details

The BN consists of 2 parts - the registration number and the account identifier. The entire number has 15 digits:

9 digits to identify the business
2 letters and 4 digits to identify each account the business may have

For example, 123456789 RP 0002 means - this means business number 123456789, payroll account and the fact that it is the 2nd payroll account.

The 2 letters identify the accounts:

RC - corporate income tax
RT - GST
RP - payroll deductions
RM - import/export