Discussions

Has anyone had any problems updating the change on there last names on the CRA Account?  
 
I have been married a few years now and everything comes under my married name.  
 
Only the CRA has not changed my last name and I have gone to the Service Canada Building, also the Provincial Building and they couldn't help me either.  
 
The Income Tax Companies we have gone to through the years none of them can help me update my last name.  
 
Why is it impossible to change my last name on the CRA Account? I have shown everyone I have visited my marriage certificate, passport, drivers license, SIN card.  
 
 
I even emailed Bob Hamilton a letter and images of proof of my married name. No news from him yet.

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/about-your-tax-return/should-you-tell-cra-about-your-change-name.html#section1  
 
1-800-959-8281  
 
Mon to Fri 6:30 am to 11:00 pm ET  
Sat 7:30 am to 8:00 pm ET  
 
Edited by Mac72, 2025-03-19 20:31:31

Every time I call them I get a list of numbers to push to direct to where I need to be, than takes me back to main menu. I have never actually talked to a person on the other line when calling the phone number.

Did you get your SIN number switched over to your married name?  
 
My sister said as soon as she got name changed on SIN card everything was updated on her CRA account.  
 
Other than phoning or mailing as suggested on the link, not sure what to suggest it says you can change it on CRA account and remember hit update after you updated.

Yep I got my SIN card updated right after I got married. That was shown with my marriage certificate to the Service Canada and Provincial Building along with Income Tax people of different companies we've been to when I couldn't get CRA to work for me. Nobody has had any luck of why I can't update my CRA Account.  
 
I'm planning to just hand write a letter with photocopied marriage certificate, passport, drivers license and SIN number as that's pretty much my last and only option left it feels like.

So, the secret to get an agent on the CRA phone lines is to keep selecting #. You will eventually get a person.  
 
Have you EVER gotten anything from CRA with your new name? If you've made multiple attempts to change your name, I wonder if they keep reverting back for some reason. I used to see that occasionally when I worked there. Usually the culprit was another government department that has reporting requirements to CRA (EI, EIA, etc) that keeps overriding the change. Even changing your tombstone data (I.e. you SIN master information) doesn't guarantee a change, as they don't necessarily need to match.  
 
Also, have you tried My Account or whatever they call it now?

Yes CRA has emailed me along with mailing a letter. Nothing related to the EI kinda thing. They arrive under my married name. That's why it's frustrating and upsetting that they do my home mailing and email married name correct but they can't do or figure out how or why my CRA is not in my married name.  
 
I will call the number back again today and keep hitting the ### button until someone is on the other line. For this to be happening for a few years now is ridiculous on there end. It's not cause I or Tax Accountants trying to help me.

I'm confused now lol. So your address and email ddrwss etc are updated (that's good!) and you consistently get mail in the wrong name, or only sometimes?  
 
If it's always wrong, then yeah that need to be fixed.  
 
If it's an intermittent problem (sometimes it's correct, sometimes it isn't), then it's one of two things  
 
1. There's a subsystem somewhere in the database that needs to be updated that it only uses sometimes, like a payment subsystem or similar. When a name change is inout, it's supposed to do the whole system, but for reasons a subsystem might get missed and someone just has to find the right subsystem.  
 
2. Someone or something keeps filing something with the old name, which the system just accepts because it's an old name. If it's a case of you're getting correctly-named mail after you've requested it be updated, but by the time you go to file again it's wrong, the most likely culprit is the filing software you or your tax preparer are using, especially if you use the same preparer or software year to year (assuming all your t4 slips etc are all correct). If that's the case, you might need to start a new taxpayer master file in the tax preparation software to dissociate the two names, because it's something buried in a file somewhere that will be nearly impossible to find.  
 
Hope that helps!

Can’t you just log into your CRA account and change it there? I got married 4 years ago and if I remember correctly that’s all you have to do and maybe upload your marriage license. I don’t remember it as being too difficult.

Everything from paperwork in the mailbox, email, SIN Number, Drivers license, Passport, is all under my married name.  
 
Only when I login to my CRA Account Online, is the only thing under my maiden name.  
 
When I filed my taxes last year the Accountant for some reason put my maiden name and previous income tax years was my married name.  
 
I'm not sure if the income tax accountant person messed up everything for me. Now I have hand written a letter stating to please change it back to my married namebwith attached documents showing everything is under the married name.