Filing your taxes is one thing — actually paying what you owe is another. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) offers more ways to pay than most people realize, and choosing the right method can mean same-day processing versus waiting weeks for your payment to be credited. Whether you're an individual settling your personal income tax balance, a small business owner handling payroll remittances, or a corporation managing monthly instalments, this guide covers every legitimate payment option available in Canada.
Online banking is the fastest, most reliable method for the majority of Canadians. Log into your personal or business banking portal and add a new bill payee. Search for CRA (Revenue Agency) — most major Canadian banks list several CRA payee options depending on the type of payment (personal income tax, GST/HST, corporate tax, payroll, etc.). Choose the one that matches your payment type.
For personal income tax, use your Social Insurance Number (SIN) as the account number. For business accounts, use your Business Number (BN). For payroll remittances, you'll use your RP account number, and for corporate income tax, your RC account number.
Online banking payments are typically processed same-day or next business day, which matters enormously when you're up against an April 30 deadline. All major Canadian banks — RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO, CIBC, and most credit unions — support CRA bill payments.
The CRA's own payment portal, accessible at canada.ca/my-payment, lets you pay directly using a debit card through Interac Online. This is a good option if you prefer going directly through the CRA rather than your bank's bill payment system.
One important limitation: credit cards are not accepted. The CRA does not take Visa or Mastercard directly. If you want to pay with a credit card, you'd need to use a third-party service that converts the payment (and charges a fee for the privilege — typically 2–3%, which adds up quickly on a large balance).
My Payment processes transactions immediately and works for personal income tax, GST/HST, corporate income tax, and several other CRA accounts. You'll need your SIN or BN handy before you start.
If you want to set payments in advance and forget about them, pre-authorized debit through My Account (the CRA's secure online portal) is worth setting up. You authorize the CRA to pull a specified amount from your bank account on a date you choose.
This is particularly useful for instalment payments (discussed below) and for taxpayers who want to spread out their balance owing rather than scrambling at the last minute. You can schedule payments weeks or months in advance, modify them before the debit date, and cancel if your situation changes. Payments are processed on the scheduled date with no intervention needed from you.
The traditional method still works, though it is the slowest. Make your cheque or money order payable to the Receiver General for Canada — not to the CRA, not to the Government of Canada. Include your SIN or BN on the memo line and attach any remittance voucher the CRA has sent you.
Mail your payment to the CRA's designated processing centre. Allow two to four weeks for cheques to arrive and be applied to your account. Given that interest accrues daily from the due date, mailing a cheque close to the deadline is risky. If you're paying by mail, send it well in advance — or consider using a courier to get confirmation of delivery.
For those who prefer to pay face-to-face or need to pay in cash, many Canada Post locations accept CRA payments. This is particularly helpful for individuals without bank accounts or those who simply prefer a physical receipt. Service Canada centres may also assist with certain payment types.
When paying in person, you'll need a remittance voucher (which can be generated through My Account or the MyCRA mobile app). Without a voucher, the payment cannot be properly applied to your account. Processing times are similar to mail — allow a few business days for the payment to post.
For large tax payments or for Canadians paying from a foreign bank account, wire transfer is an option. The CRA provides specific wire transfer instructions through My Account, including banking details and a reference number you must include so the payment gets credited correctly.
Wire transfers are also used by non-residents with Canadian tax obligations. Fees vary depending on your bank, and you should confirm the CRA's current wire instructions directly through the portal before initiating a transfer — banking details can change and an incorrect transfer is difficult to recover.
If the CRA expects you'll owe more than $3,000 in the current tax year (or $1,800 if you're a Quebec resident) AND you owed more than that threshold in either of the two previous years, you are required to make quarterly instalment payments.
Instalment due dates fall on: March 15, June 15, September 15, and December 15. The CRA sends instalment reminders in February and August, but it's your responsibility to pay even if you don't receive them.
Miss or underpay an instalment and the CRA will charge instalment interest on the shortfall — calculated at the prescribed interest rate (currently in the 8–9% range) from the date each instalment was due. There is also an instalment penalty if your interest charges exceed $1,000. The CRA does offer an offset: if you overpay one instalment, the excess earns notional credit that can reduce interest on other underpayments.
Corporations have their own payment structure. Most corporations pay corporate income tax through monthly instalments, using their RC0001 account number via online banking. The instalment amount is typically based on the prior year's tax or an estimate of the current year's liability.
The balance of corporate income tax is due either two months after the tax year-end (for general corporations) or three months after year-end for Canadian-Controlled Private Corporations (CCPCs) that qualify — generally those with taxable income below the small business threshold and that meet other conditions. Getting this date wrong is a common and expensive mistake, as interest starts accruing immediately.
At Swift Accounting Calgary, we help corporations structure their instalment schedules to avoid overpaying early in the year while ensuring there's no shortfall penalty at year-end — a balance that takes some planning to get right.
Employers must remit source deductions — CPP contributions, EI premiums, and employee income tax withheld — to the CRA on a regular schedule using their RP account number. The remittance frequency (monthly, accelerated, or quarterly) depends on your average monthly withholding amount.
Online banking is the most common method for payroll remittances. Late or missing remittances attract penalties of 3–10% of the amount owing, plus daily interest. The CRA takes payroll remittance failures very seriously — directors of corporations can be held personally liable for unpaid source deductions.
Regardless of payment method, if you pay after your due date, the CRA charges compound daily interest at the prescribed rate. The prescribed rate is set quarterly and currently sits in the 8–9% range for overdue taxes. That interest starts accruing from the day after the payment was due — there is no grace period.
On the flip side, if the CRA owes you a refund, you're entitled to refund interest starting 30 days after the later of your filing deadline or the date you filed. The refund interest rate is the same prescribed rate. This is a useful reminder that filing promptly, even when you're owed money, gets your refund processing — and the interest clock — started sooner.
The Swift Accounting Calgary team regularly helps clients avoid unnecessary interest charges by ensuring payments are correctly coded, remittance vouchers are attached where needed, and instalment schedules are set up properly from the start. A miscoded online payment that goes to the wrong CRA account — for example, paying personal income tax when you meant to pay GST/HST — can take weeks to resolve and still accumulates interest in the meantime.
For most individuals and small business owners, online banking is the clear first choice: fast, free, and leaves a clear record. For scheduled payments you want to automate, pre-authorized debit through My Account is excellent. Cheques should be reserved for situations where electronic options aren't available, given the processing lag. If you have a large payment or are remitting from abroad, confirm the wire transfer process directly through the CRA portal before you initiate anything.
When in doubt about which account type to pay under — personal, GST/HST, corporate, payroll — confirm before clicking submit. The CRA can reallocate payments but it takes time, and interest doesn't pause while they sort it out.
If you'd like help setting up a payment schedule, understanding your instalment obligations, or making sure your business remittances are on time and correctly applied, contact us — we're here to make the administrative side of Canadian taxes as straightforward as possible.
Not directly through the CRA. The CRA does not accept Visa, Mastercard, or American Express payments through its official portals. You can pay by debit card (Interac Online) via CRA My Payment, or through your bank's bill payment system using your SIN or BN. Third-party services exist that allow credit card payments, but they charge a fee — typically 2–3% — that is rarely worth it unless you're earning significant credit card rewards or need the float.
The CRA will charge instalment interest on the shortfall at the prescribed rate (currently approximately 8–9%), compounded daily from the date the instalment was due. If your total instalment interest for the year exceeds $1,000, an additional instalment penalty applies — calculated as 50% of the instalment interest minus the greater of $1,000 or 25% of the interest you would have owed if you had made no instalments at all. Missing instalments can get expensive quickly, especially for self-employed individuals or retirees with significant non-withheld income.
Online banking payments are typically credited to your CRA account the same day or the next business day. CRA My Payment (debit card) is immediate. Pre-authorized debits post on the scheduled date. Cheques mailed to the CRA can take two to four weeks to be applied, which is why mailing close to a deadline is risky. In-person payments at Canada Post process within a few business days. Always keep your payment confirmation regardless of method.
For corporate income tax, use your RC account number (format: 123456789RC0001). For payroll remittances, use your RP account number (format: 123456789RP0001). For GST/HST, use your RT account number. These are all extensions of your nine-digit Business Number. Using the wrong account type is one of the most common payment errors — the money arrives at the CRA but gets applied to the wrong program account, leaving a balance owing and interest accumulating on the correct account.
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