Canada's Social Insurance Number

A Canadian Social Insurance Number or SIN for short is an assigned number made available to Canadians for government programs. Always formatted in groups of three digits, Social Insurance Numbers are assigned by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada.

Created in 1964 as a client number for administration of CPP – Canada Pension Plan, and other government employment programs. SIN was first used in 1967 by Revenue Canada – now known as the Canada Revenue Agency, for tax reporting functions via section 237 of the Income Tax Act. According to the Canada Revenue Agency, you can be fined up to $100 for failing to produce your SIN for tax purposes where required by law.

An issued Social Insurance Number is one that is meant to be restricted to income reporting purposes. This means that only select federal government departments and their programs are authorized by law to collect your Social Insurance Number. This does though extend to applications such as your employer collecting your SIN in order to provide you with your necessary forms for income tax purposes.

Any institution from which you do earn tax reportable income or interest, such as those services offered by banks, trust companies and others like credit unions, are also entitled, and actually required to ask for your SIN. Canadian provinces all have tough privacy laws in regards to protecting personal information contained in government documents and files.

Over time since its inception, Canada’s Social Insurance Number has begun to become a sort of national identification. This though has blurred the lines of who is legally allowed to request your SIN. So be careful when filling out forms or applying for credit, as your SIN is not meant to be used as a general form of identification.