Business Number vs Corporation Number in Canada: Are They Same?

A corporation number and a business number are not the same in Canada. Your corporation number identifies your company in the federal or provincial corporate registry. Your nine-digit business number (BN) identifies the legal entity with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and connects to program accounts including GST/HST, payroll and corporate income tax.

If you’ve recently incorporated, seeing different numbers on your incorporation documents and CRA correspondence can be confusing. The distinction matters: you use your corporation number for corporate registry filings and your BN or full program account number for the relevant CRA transactions.

This guide explains business number vs corporation number in Canada, including who issues each number, where to find it and when to use it. It also covers provincial terminology and how your GST/HST account number relates to your BN.

Corporation number vs business number: side by side

	Corporation Number	Business Number (BN)
Who issues it	Corporations Canada, or your provincial registry	Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
What it’s for	Registry filings: annual returns, changes of directors or address, corporate searches	Tax: GST/HST, payroll, corporate income tax, import/export
What it looks like	Depends on the registry; it’s printed on your certificate of incorporation	9 digits, e.g. 123456789
When you get it	The day you incorporate	Automatically when you incorporate federally or in most provinces; otherwise, you register with the CRA
Who has one	Corporations only	Any business with a CRA account: corporations, and sole proprietors and partnerships once they register for GST/HST or payroll
How many	One per corporation, per registry	Generally, one business number per legal entity. A new BN may be required after certain legal-structure changes, such as incorporating a sole proprietorship or changing the legal entity.

Same thing, different names. The corporation number is also called an incorporation number or company number. In Ontario it’s the Ontario Corporation Number (OCN), in Alberta the corporate access number, and in Quebec the NEQ. The business number is called a CRA number, tax number or BN9. So “business number vs incorporation number” is really the same question as this page.

What is a corporation number?

A corporation number is the ID your registry gives your company when it’s incorporated. It’s how the registry keeps track of you. Think of it as your company’s file number with the government office that created it.

• Federal corporations get it from Corporations Canada.

• Provincial corporations get it from their province: the Ontario Business Registry, BC Registries, Alberta’s corporate registry, and so on.

• Quebec uses the NEQ (Quebec enterprise number), a 10-digit number from the Registraire des entreprises. 

You’ll use it for anything to do with the registry: filing your annual return, changing your registered office, adding a director, or ordering a certificate of status.

What is a business number?

A business number (BN) is the 9-digit number the CRA uses to identify your business. The CRA generally assigns one BN to each legal entity, and every tax account you open with the CRA is attached to it.

Those tax accounts are called program accounts. Each one adds two letters and four digits to the end of your BN, making a 15-character number:

• RT – GST/HST (e.g. 123456789 RT0001)

• RP – payroll deductions

• RC – corporate income tax

• RM – import/export

If you established federally, or in Alberta, B.C., Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, P.E.I. or Saskatchewan, you got your BN automatically, along with a corporate income tax (RC) account. Elsewhere, and for sole proprietors, you register with the CRA yourself. Registration is free.

What is my business number? How to find it

Can’t find your BN? Check these, in order:

1. Your CRA confirmation letter. The CRA sends one when your BN is set up.

2. CRA My Business Account. It’s shown on the home page once you’re signed in.

3. Any CRA notice or return, such as a GST/HST return, a payroll remittance form or a notice of assessment.

4. If you incorporated federally or in a province that issues BNs automatically, the BN is usually listed in the documents or confirmation email you received.

5. Your accountant or bookkeeper. They’ll have it on file.

6. Call the CRA at Business Enquiries, 1-800-959-5525. Have your corporation details ready so they can verify you.

How to find your corporation number

• Your certificate of incorporation or articles. It’s printed at the top.
• The registry’s online search. Search your company name on Corporations Canada (federal), the Ontario Business Registry, BC Registries, or your province’s registry.
• Your last annual return confirmation.

Province by province: what your corporation number is called

• Ontario: The Ontario Corporation Number (OCN), from the Ontario Business Registry. People often ask about “Ontario corporation number vs business number”. Same answer: the OCN is Ontario’s registry ID, and the BN is the CRA’s tax ID. Ontario sets up your BN automatically when you incorporate, which is why both arrive together.
• British Columbia: The incorporation number, which starts with “BC” for B.C. companies.
• Alberta: The corporate access number.
• Quebec: the NEQ. Quebec corporations don’t get a BN automatically on incorporation the way Ontario ones do, so check whether you need to register with the CRA. 
• Federal: the Corporations Canada corporation number, which you use when filing your federal annual return. The applicable filing fee should be checked on the Corporations Canada website because government fees can change.

GST number vs business number

Most businesses must register for GST/HST when their taxable revenues exceed $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over four consecutive calendar quarters. Voluntary registration may also be possible.

This one’s simple: your GST/HST number is your business number with “RT0001” on the end.

• Business number: 123456789
• GST/HST account number: 123456789 RT0001

On invoices, show the full GST/HST number (with the RT part). On most other CRA forms, the 9-digit BN is enough.

Conclusion

Here’s the one-line version to remember: your corporation number is for the registry, your business number is for the tax man. The registry number shows up when you file an annual return, change a director or order a certificate of status. The 9-digit BN shows up on everything the CRA touches, from GST/HST returns to payroll remittances to your T2. 

Most Canadian corporations get both on day one, so the confusion usually starts with finding two numbers on two different documents. Keep both somewhere you can grab them in 30 seconds, like a shared note or your bookkeeping software. You’ll be asked for them by your bank, your accountant, suppliers and government portals far more often than you’d expect. 

And if you haven’t incorporated yet, that’s step one.

Want both numbers sorted without the paperwork? When IncPass incorporates your company, you get your certificate of incorporation, and in most provinces, your CRA business number is set up at the same time.

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