Helping Your Parents Claim the Ontario Property Tax Grant: POA, CRA Authorization and What's Allowed

You know your parent qualifies for the Ontario Senior Homeowners' Property Tax Grant. They don't know what Form ON-BEN is and have no plans to figure it out. This is one of the most common scenarios in Ontario tax relief — an adult child who understands the system but has no legal authority to act on a parent's CRA account.

What You Can Do Without Authorization

You can gather documents, organize records, and fill out forms — including Form ON-BEN — without any formal authorization. The CRA allows anyone to help prepare a tax return. What you can't do without authorization is sign the return on your parent's behalf, access their CRA My Account, or discuss their file with the CRA by phone.

Your parent must sign the completed T1 return and ON-BEN form themselves. CRA representative authorization alone does not let you sign for them. If they cannot sign, ask the CRA what legal authority and documents it accepts.

Getting CRA Authorization

If your parent needs you to call the CRA on their behalf, check their account status, or manage adjustments online, formal authorization is required. Two options:

CRA Form AUT-01 (Authorize a Representative for Offline Access): Your parent signs this form designating you as their representative. Once processed, you can call the CRA and discuss their file, submit adjustment requests, and respond to review letters. Your parent can also authorize you online through the "Represent a Client" section of CRA My Account.

Level 2 online access: If authorized through the Represent a Client portal, you can also view your parent's account information, submit documents, and use the Change My Return feature on their behalf.

Authorization doesn't expire unless revoked. Your parent can authorize multiple representatives.

When You Need Power of Attorney

CRA authorization lets you act as a representative for tax matters. But if your parent can no longer manage their own affairs — due to cognitive decline, serious illness, or incapacity — you need a Power of Attorney for Property (sometimes called a Continuing Power of Attorney) under Ontario law.

With a valid POA for Property, you can sign tax returns, make financial decisions, and manage property tax affairs on their behalf. The CRA recognizes Ontario POAs, but you may need to submit a copy when you first contact them.

Without a POA, even CRA authorization has limits. The CRA won't take instructions that contradict the account holder's expressed wishes, and they won't authorize changes to banking information based on a representative's request alone.

What You Absolutely Must Not Do

Never share login credentials. Logging into your parent's CRA My Account with their username and password violates federal security protocols and invalidates their digital signatures. Use the formal authorization process instead.

Never claim the OSHPTG on your own return. The CRA has issued warnings about fraudulent schemes where adult children claim their parent's property tax grant on a property they don't own. This results in penalties, repayment demands, and potential fraud referrals.

Municipal Programs Have Separate Rules

CRA authorization doesn't extend to municipal tax offices. If your parent needs help with Toronto's tax cancellation program or Ottawa's deferral, contact the municipal revenue office directly for its representative authorization requirements.

Practical Steps

1. Collect your parent's property tax bill, previous year's Notice of Assessment, and T4/T4A income slips
2. Complete Form ON-BEN with their property tax amount on Line 61120, checking both Box 61020 (OEPTC) and Box 61070 (OSHPTG)
3. Complete or help complete their T1 return
4. Have your parent sign and file the return
5. If you need ongoing access, submit Form AUT-01 or set up Represent a Client authorization

The Ontario Property Tax Relief for Seniors guide includes a Caregiver Authorization Checklist with step-by-step CRA and municipal authorization procedures.

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