After filing your taxes, the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) will send your tax assessment within two to twelve weeks depending on what method you used to file your tax return for the year.
When you receive an assessment, you either get a tax refund or have taxes owing.
If you owe taxes, you will need to pay the amount due before the specified deadline.
Note that the below applies to income tax, other provincial taxes such as the land transfer tax have their own requirements as to when and how you pay them.
Paying Personal Taxes
If you owe personal taxes, you can pay the CRA electronically, by mail, or in person.
You need to pay your personal taxes by April 30 or the Monday following if April 30 is a weekend.
1. Electronically
There are several electronic methods you can use to pay your taxes.
You can pay the CRA through online banking, the CRA My Payment platform, and third-party services.
Online
When you log in to your financial institution’s online banking system through a website or a mobile app, you can pay your taxes online by adding the CRA as a payee and sending the amount you owe.
CRA My Payment
You can pay taxes using your financial institution’s debit card powered by Interac, Visa, or Mastercard through the My Payment system.
Not all financial institutions allow you to pay using all three platforms, so you need to ensure that your preferred option is available through your financial institution.
Pre-authorized debit (PAD)
You can also pay your taxes through the Pre-authorized debit (PAD) feature.
PAD provides a secure, online self-service platform to pay your taxes.
You must authorize the CRA to withdraw a specified amount from your bank account.
To create a pre-authorized debit, log into your My Account profile and use the ‘Proceed to pay’ option.
If you used a representative to file your taxes electronically, you could authorize them to pay your taxes through the pre-authorized debit.
Third-party Services
Third-party services like Plastiq and PaySimply allow you to make your tax payments through their platforms using a debit or credit card, PayPal, Union Pay, or Interac e-transfers.
If you are a non-resident of Canada, you can pay your taxes through a wire transfer or an international credit card.
2. Mail
The CRA receives tax payments by mail.
You can send a cheque payment with your remittance voucher to the CRA.
You will need to make the cheque payable to the Receiver General for Canada.
3. Pay in person
If you prefer to pay your taxes in person, you can do so through your financial institution in Canada with a personalized remittance voucher.
You can also pay your taxes at any Canada Post outlet through a Quick Response (QR) code.
Paying Business Taxes
For business related tax payments such as GST/HST, Payroll source deductions and Corporation Income tax (T2) you can pay your taxes in person, online, by cheque, or through third-party services.
If you are outside of Canada, you can pay your business taxes through a wire transfer.
Generally, businesses are required to make instalment payments of their corporate income tax payable for the year.
Exceptions to the instalment payments are if you have been in operations for only a year, have a short tax year, or make $3,000 or less for the current or previous year.
1. Electronically
Like personal taxes, business owners can pay taxes electronically using several options: online banking, the CRA My Payment platform, and third-party services.
Online Banking
Using your financial institution’s online banking platform, you will need to add the specific CRA tax payment as a payee and make your tax payments.
For example, corporate tax payments payee name can look like this: ‘Federal – Corporation Tax Payments – TXINS.’
You will select this option as a payee, provide your 15-digit business number, and make your corporate tax payment.
CRA My Payment
Through the My Payment system, you can pay business taxes through your financial institution using a debit card powered by Interac, Visa, or Mastercard.
Pre-authorized debit (PAD)
Businesses can also pay taxes through the Pre-authorized debit (PAD).
To create a pre-authorized debit, you will need to log into your CRA My Business Account profile and authorize the CRA to withdraw a specified amount from your bank account.
Unlike personal taxes, you can not authorize a business representative to pay your corporate taxes through the Pre-authorized debit system.
You can access the PAD payment option only through your My Business Account.
Third-party Services
You can pay your business taxes using a third-party service.
The CRA provides a list of authorized third-party services that allow you to pay taxes with a debit or credit card, PayPal, Union Pay, or Interac e-transfers.
The CRA also accepts business taxes by mail, your financial institution, or Canada post outlets.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the easiest way to pay taxes?
- Can you pay taxes in Canada online?
