Payments to the Canada Revenue Agency

If you have a balance owing to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), we recommend that you pay electronically. For your convenience, here is a “how to” guide to a few of the payment options available to you.

How to make your CRA payments

There are several ways to submit a payment to the CRA, but some are more convenient than others. In recent years the CRA has added a few new ways to make payments, which helps make sure your payment arrives on time. Penalties and interest may be applied if a payment is not made on time.

1. Pay through your online banking system

If you bank with a major financial institution, you can likely pay your CRA remittances through your online banking portal. You add the CRA to your list of payees, choose the payment type, such as “Federal – Corporation Tax Payments – TXINS”, and enter your business number as your CRA account number. If you are making personal tax payments, you would use your Social Insurance Number.

Be aware that financial institutions often require you to set up online CRA remittances and may charge a set-up fee. Most also charge a fee for filing your remittances, so the costs can add up. Depending on the financial institution, the payment must be set up in advance of the due date for it to be made on time. Most will not allow you to set up the payment on the day it is due, and how far in advance you need to set it up varies by institution.

2. Use a third-party payment provider

You can also use a third-party payment provider for your CRA remittances. Plooto offers this service. Third parties provide different types of payment services, so make sure the solution you select is enabled for all of the remittance payment types you need. Most third parties streamline the process and eliminate the paperwork, but be sure to demo the solution to make sure it will indeed make your CRA payments easier.

3. Make payments through CRA My Payment

Another online option for paying CRA remittances is My Payment, a service created by the CRA. You will need Interac, Visa Debit, or Debit Mastercard to use this option. Be aware of any daily or weekly transaction limits on your debit card, as you may exceed these when paying your full remittance. My Payment is also available only 21 hours a day (the downtime is at night).

The CRA recognizes a My Payment payment as soon as it is made, so you can pay on the due date itself and may be able to avoid late fees.

4. Set up pre-authorized debits in My Account or My Business Account

If you have set up My Account for Individuals or My Business Account for businesses, you can set up pre-authorized debits that automatically withdraw the amounts from your bank account. These need to be set up in advance, and the payments are then withdrawn automatically. This works very well for payments that are the same amount each period, such as tax instalments. There are many options for how often the payment is withdrawn: one time, monthly, quarterly, and so on.

5. Use the mail or visit your bank branch

The list wouldn’t be complete without these options, but sending a cheque through the mail and visiting your bank branch are neither convenient nor efficient ways to make your CRA remittance payments. You can make a payment to the CRA in person at any financial institution using your original remittance voucher. You can also mail a cheque with your business number or Social Insurance Number in the memo line, and include the remittance voucher if you have it. With these options you will successfully pay the CRA, but the process will take longer than necessary.

CRA links for more information

• CRA: Business payments
• CRA: Individual payments