CRA Payment Options: Every Way Clients Can Pay, and When It Counts
every CRA payment rail and the received-by date that actually stops interest
The CRA accepts payment through online banking by adding the CRA as a bill payee, through its My Payment service by debit card, by pre-authorized debit set up in CRA My Account or My Business Account, and in person at a Canadian financial institution or Canada Post outlet with a remittance voucher. Interest stops only when the CRA receives the payment, so each method's processing time matters.
How do clients pay the CRA through online banking?
The same way they pay any bill: add the CRA as a payee in their bank's online banking and pay from their account. Banks list several CRA payees — current-year return, amount owing, and instalments for individuals — so choosing the right one matters.
Business banking platforms typically offer a government tax payment service on top, covering GST/HST, payroll source deductions and corporate tax, each payment keyed to the client's business number and program account. It is the rail most incorporated clients end up on, because it maps payments to the right account by construction.
What are My Payment and pre-authorized debit?
My Payment is the CRA's own online service for one-time payments by debit card. Pre-authorized debit (PAD) is a standing agreement, set up in CRA My Account or My Business Account, that lets the CRA withdraw an agreed amount from the client's account on an agreed date.
PAD needs lead time — the agreement must be created several business days before the first withdrawal — so it suits planned payments: instalment schedules, balances with a known due date, payment arrangements. It is the wrong tool for a balance discovered the night before the deadline.
Can clients pay in person or by cheque?
Yes. A client can pay at their Canadian financial institution with a personalized remittance voucher, or at a Canada Post outlet using a QR code for a service fee. Cheques payable to the Receiver General for Canada are still accepted by mail.
The trap is timing: a mailed payment counts on the day the CRA receives it, not the day it is mailed. Third-party service providers also accept credit cards and similar methods for a fee and forward the funds — the CRA itself does not take credit cards directly.
Which CRA account should the payment go to?
The one the debt lives in. Individuals choose between the current-year return, amounts owing from prior years, and instalments. Businesses pay against a specific program account — corporate tax, GST/HST or payroll — identified by the business number and its program suffix.
A misapplied payment sits as a credit on the wrong account while the real debt keeps accruing interest. The CRA can transfer amounts between accounts on request, but the clean fix is choosing correctly at payment time. Québec clients carry one more rail again: provincial personal and corporate tax for Quebec is paid separately to Revenu Québec.
When does a CRA payment count as on time?
When the CRA receives it, or a Canadian financial institution processes it, on or before the due date. Where a due date falls on a weekend or public holiday, the CRA treats payment on the next business day as on time.
The dates worth diarising are the payment clocks, because several run earlier than the filing clocks they accompany — the table below shows the pairs firms track most.
| Filing | Applies to | Filing deadline | Payment | If it is late |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 personal income tax return | Most individuals. | File and pay by April 30 of the following year. Where April 30 falls on a weekend or public holiday, the CRA treats the next business day as on time. | Any balance owing is due April 30. | Late filing costs 5% of the balance owing plus 1% for each full month late, to a maximum of 12 months. Where a late-filing penalty applied in any of the three prior years and the CRA issued a demand to file, the penalty rises to 10% plus 2% per month for up to 20 months. Compound daily interest runs on unpaid balances from May 1. |
| T1 for self-employed individuals | Individuals with self-employment income and their spouses or common-law partners. | File by June 15. The extended filing date applies to the return only. | Any balance owing is still due April 30. Interest accrues from May 1 regardless of the June filing window — this is the single most-missed rule in Canadian personal tax. | The same 5% plus 1% per month structure applies, computed from the June 15 filing date; interest runs from the April 30 payment date. |
| T2 corporation income tax return | Every resident corporation, every tax year, even with no tax payable. | File within six months after the end of the corporation's tax year. Where the year-end is the last day of a month, the return is due the last day of the sixth following month; otherwise it is due the same day of the sixth month. | The balance of tax is due earlier than the return: generally two months after year-end, or three months for eligible Canadian-controlled private corporations claiming the small business deduction. Filing on time is not paying on time. | 5% of the unpaid tax plus 1% per complete month late, to a maximum of 12 months. Repeated failure raises it to 10% plus 2% per month for up to 20 months. |
What if a client cannot pay in full?
File anyway. The late-filing penalty is computed on the unpaid balance at the filing deadline, so filing on time removes the penalty even where the money must wait. Interest still accrues, compounding daily at the prescribed rate, from the day after the balance-due date.
From there the options are a payment arrangement with the CRA — scheduled amounts the client can actually sustain, often by pre-authorized debit — and, in limited circumstances such as financial hardship or CRA delay, an application under the taxpayer relief provisions to cancel or waive penalties and interest. Relief is an application, not an entitlement.
How firms keep client payments from slipping
Track the payment date, not just the filing date, on every engagement. A file that is filed on time and paid late still costs the client money — and the call explaining why lands on the firm.
Firms in this position typically record which payment rail each client uses, diarise balance-due and instalment dates separately from filing dates, and confirm large payments landed in the right CRA account after the fact. None of it is difficult; all of it fails silently when nobody owns it.
Frequently asked questions
Can you pay the CRA with a credit card?
Not directly — the CRA does not accept credit cards itself. Third-party service providers accept credit cards and similar methods for a service fee and forward the payment to the CRA. The payment counts when the CRA receives it, so the provider's processing time sits with the client: paying a deadline through a third party needs several days of margin.
What is the payee name for the CRA in online banking?
Banks list CRA payees along the lines of "CRA (revenue) — current-year tax return," "CRA (revenue) — tax amount owing," and "CRA (revenue) — tax instalment," though exact wording varies by institution. Choosing the wrong payee applies the money to the wrong account, where it sits as a credit while the actual debt accrues interest.
Should a client file even if they cannot pay?
Yes, always. The late-filing penalty — 5% of the balance owing plus 1% per full month late — is avoided entirely by filing on time, even with nothing paid. Interest on the unpaid balance accrues either way, so filing late adds a penalty on top of interest the client was already going to owe. File on time, then arrange the payment.
When does interest start on an unpaid tax balance?
The day after the balance-due date, compounding daily at the CRA's prescribed rate, which is set each quarter. For most individuals that means interest runs from May 1; for corporations, from the day after the balance-due date two or three months after year-end. Interest applies automatically — there is no grace period beyond the weekend and holiday rule.
How long does a CRA payment take to process?
It depends on the rail. Online banking and My Payment generally reach the CRA within a few business days; pre-authorized debit withdraws on the scheduled date but must be set up several business days ahead; mailed cheques count only on receipt. Firms treat the due date as the date the CRA must have the money, and work each method's lead time backwards from it.
Related guides
How firms run this
By province
Turn these dates into tickets.
SpidNums generates the work from each client's cadence and year-end, then ranks it by proximity.