Retirement or death of business owner or partner
Depending on your business structure, the retirement or death of an owner could have an impact on your Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) business accounts.
For GST/HST account information, go to Close your GST/HST account.
Sole proprietorship
When the owner of a sole proprietorship passes away, a final personal income tax and benefit return has to be filed for that person. For more information, go to Doing taxes for someone who died.
It will also be necessary to close the business number (BN) and all CRA business accounts after all the final returns and all the amounts owing have been processed.
Partnership
The status of the business account depends entirely on the type of partnership agreement that has been written. It is possible to bring in partners without having to register for a new BN. If a partner no longer wants to be in a partnership, go to Change of owner, partners, or directors.
If it is determined that the partnership will cease to exist, go to Closing CRA program accounts.
Corporation
When a shareholder retires or passes away, the corporation can continue to operate. The structure of the corporation will determine the outcome of the corporation's existence.
For more information, go to Changes of owner, partners, or directors.