Letter of authority

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How to get a letter of authority
Situations where a letter of authority is not required
Situations where a letter of authority is required
Where to send the request

A letter of authority is a letter that gives you permission to reduce the amount of income tax to deduct from an employee's remuneration.

How to get a letter of authority

To get a letter of authority, the employee has to send Form T1213, Request to Reduce Tax Deductions at Source, or a written request to the appropriate Taxpayer Services Regional Correspondence Centre. The employee should include documents that support his or her position why less tax should be deducted at source.

If the employee meets the criteria, the tax services office will send the employee a letter of authority, which he or she should give to you to reduce his or her income tax deductions.

We usually issue a letter of authority for a specific tax year. If an employee has a balance owing or has not filed outstanding income tax and benefit returns, we will not usually issue a letter of authority. Once the letter is received the employee has to give it to you, so you can start reducing the income tax deducted.

Keep all letters of authority with your payroll records so our officers can review them.

Situations where a letter of authority is not required

Certain amounts you withhold from the remuneration you pay to an employee automatically reduce the remuneration, and the amount of income tax to be deducted. You do not need a letter of authority for these amounts. For more information, see Reducing remuneration subject to income tax.

Situations where a letter of authority is required

Here are some examples why employees may request a reduction in tax deductions:

• employee makes charitable donations to registered charities or other qualified donees;
• employee has employment-related expenses;
• employee pays for child care;
• employee makes deductible RRSP contributions himself during the year; or
• employee lives in one province or territory but works in another and will have too much tax deducted.

Where to send the request

Employees have to send Form T1213 or a written request to the appropriate Taxpayer Services Regional Correspondence Centre.

List of taxpayer services regional correspondence centres by province or territory of residence

If you reside in...	Send your request to
Newfoundland and Labrador New Brunswick Nova Scotia Prince Edward Island	Nova Scotia Tax Services Office Post Office Box 638, Station Central Halifax NS B3J 2T5 Fax: 902-450-8558
Quebec	Montréal Tax Services Office 305 René-Lévesque Boulevard West Montréal QC H2Z 1A6 Fax: 514-496-5345
Ontario Nunavut	London Tax Services Office 451 Talbot Street London ON N6A 5E5 Fax: 519-645-4029
Manitoba Saskatchewan Alberta Northwest Territories	Saskatoon Tax Services Office 340 3rd Avenue North Saskatoon SK S7K 0A8 Fax: 306-652-3211
British Columbia Yukon	Fraser Valley and Northern Tax Services Office 9737 King George Boulevard Post Office Box 9070, Station Main Surrey BC V3T 5W6 Fax: 604-587-2010

Forms and publications

• Form T1213, Request to Reduce Tax Deductions at Source

Date modified:

2017-01-12