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You can pay income tax to the CRA through your own bank’s online banking, with a debit card on the CRA’s My Payment page, or by scheduling a pre-authorized debit in My Account. The money for the 2025 return was due on April 30, 2026. For the 2026 return the usual date is April 30, 2027, even for people who have until June 15 to file. Pick the method that suits you, but do it before the deadline, because the date the CRA receives the money is what counts.
Which CRA payment options pay the income tax balance owing?
Most people just use their bank’s website, and that’s the sensible default. You add the CRA as a payee, pick the tax type, enter your account number and pay. It takes five minutes, and the payment date on your receipt is what counts. Say Sam in Calgary owes $1,850 after tax time. He logs into his bank, adds the CRA as a payee, picks the personal income tax option, and saves the confirmation number. Done before supper.
The CRA lists a longer menu. Credit cards are the one most people ask about. The CRA’s own My Payment service takes debit only. A credit card goes through a third-party provider, and the provider charges a service fee.
| Method | What the CRA page says |
|---|---|
| Online banking | Direct from a Canadian bank or credit union account |
| My Payment | Debit card only, no credit cards |
| Pre-authorized debit | Scheduled in My Account, at least 5 business days before the first withdrawal |
| Bank counter or ATM | In person, with a remittance voucher at the counter |
| Canada Post | Needs a customized QR code, debit or cash, service fees apply |
| Third-party providers | Credit cards accepted, provider fees apply |
| Mail and wire transfer | Cheque with a voucher, or a wire through your bank |
Cryptocurrency, gift cards, traveller’s cheques and cash sent in the mail are refused. Foreign currency is too.
How do you know the payment landed?
Keep the confirmation from your bank, then check your balance in My Account a few days later. Payments through a bank can take a short while to show, and the receipt date still protects you. If the balance doesn’t move after a week or so, call the CRA with your confirmation number in hand. It’s much easier to fix a missed payment in May than in a collection letter later.
When is income tax due?
For the 2025 tax year, the date was April 30, 2026. Self-employed people, and people whose spouse or partner is self-employed, could file by June 15, 2026. That extension only moves the filing date. Any balance owing still had to be paid by April 30, and interest starts the day after. For the 2026 tax year the usual dates are April 30, 2027 and June 15, 2027.
The dates for the 2026 return aren’t on the CRA page yet, so we can’t give you those. Check the CRA’s due dates page in early 2027.
If you pay tax by instalments instead, the CRA lists four dates a year: March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15. A date that lands on a weekend or holiday moves to the next business day. The tax instalments calculator splits a yearly amount into those four payments.
What does paying late cost?
Two different charges get mixed up here. Interest is charged on any unpaid balance, compounded daily, starting the day after the due date. The CRA revises its rate every three months, so we won’t quote a figure that could be stale next quarter.
The late-filing penalty is separate. It’s 5% of your balance owing, plus 1% for each full month the return is late, up to 12 months. Say you owed $2,000 and filed three full months late. The penalty is $100 plus $60, so $160, and interest runs on top.
If you were penalized in any of the previous three years after a demand to file, the CRA’s formula doubles. On the same $2,000 and three months, that’s 10% plus 2% a month, or $320.
None of this is fun to read when money’s tight, but it’s the reason to look at the numbers early. So even when you can’t pay, file on time. It removes the penalty and leaves only interest.
What if you can’t pay it all at once?
Ask for a payment arrangement. In My Account you choose “Proceed to pay”, then “Schedule a series of payments”, and set up a pre-authorized debit. By phone, the automated line for personal income tax is 1-866-256-1147, open Monday to Friday, 7 am to 10 pm Eastern.
The CRA expects you to keep every payment date and to file later returns on time. Its page doesn’t say whether interest keeps building during an arrangement, so ask when you call.
If something outside your control made you late, such as a serious illness, you can ask the CRA to cancel penalties or interest. Requests can go back ten years, counted to the end of the calendar year you ask in.
Can you pay ahead so there’s no surprise?
Yes. If you know you’ll owe, say because of side income with no tax taken off, you can pay during the year instead of in one lump in spring. Putting a bit aside from every paycheque in a separate account does the same job at home, and it means the April bill is already sitting there. Interest only runs on what’s unpaid after the due date, so paying early costs you nothing.
How much will you owe in the first place?
That depends on what came off your pay during the year. Someone in Ontario with $60,000 of taxable income has about $9,417 of federal and Ontario tax before credits beyond the basic personal amounts. If your employer withheld less than your real tax, or you had a side income with nothing withheld, you owe the difference.
Work it out before you file with the income tax calculator, then compare it with what your slips show as withheld in the tax refund calculator. People with freelance income should also look at the self-employed tax calculator. It cuts income tax with your deductions but not CPP, and it leaves out EI, so don’t treat its total as your whole bill.
Mistakes that cost people money
Paying on June 15 because you’re self-employed is the big one. The payment was due in April.
Another is sending the payment to the wrong account type. A T1 payment for your personal return isn’t a business payment, so pick the personal income tax option. And don’t leave it to the last afternoon. A pre-authorized debit needs five business days of notice, so a scheduled payment can’t rescue a deadline that’s tomorrow.
Keep the confirmation number until your notice of assessment shows the payment, because if the CRA applies it to the wrong year or misses it, that number is what settles the argument quickly.
Official page on this topic: Canada Revenue Agency: Payments to the CRA.
Where do these dates and rules come from?
The CRA‘s pages on making a payment, due dates for the 2025 return, interest and penalties, and payment arrangements, read in September 2026. The tax figure comes from our calculator, which uses 2026 federal and Ontario rates. We aren’t part of the CRA or any government body.
Frequently asked questions
Can I pay my income tax with a credit card?
Not through the CRA's own My Payment service, which takes debit only. Third-party providers accept credit cards and charge their own fee.
What was the deadline to pay 2025 income tax?
April 30, 2026, including for self-employed people who could file until June 15, 2026. For 2026 the usual dates are April 30, 2027 and June 15, 2027.
Do I get penalized if I file on time but pay late?
The late-filing penalty applies to late returns. A late payment on its own costs interest, compounded daily from the day after the due date.
How long does a pre-authorized debit take to set up?
Schedule it at least 5 business days before the first withdrawal.
What can I do if I can't pay the full amount?
File on time, then ask for a payment arrangement in My Account or by phone. Keep to the agreed dates.
- How Canadian income tax works: brackets and credits
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