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Paying taxes in Canada mostly comes down to one date. Any tax owing for 2025 was due April 30, 2026, even when the return itself was due later. If you work for an employer, most of it was paid already, out of your cheques. If you don’t, you may be paying in four instalments through the year.
This is the deadline for most individuals to file their 2025 income tax and benefit return and pay any taxes owed.
What you need to know for the 2026 tax-filing season, canada.ca
Do you pay by deduction or by cheque?
That depends on who pays you. Employers take income tax, CPP and EI from each paycheque and send it in for you. Your return then settles the difference: a refund if too much went in, a balance if too little did. Think of Sam, who works at a Calgary warehouse and never writes the CRA a cheque. Come tax time the return just tells Sam whether the year ended in a refund or a small bill. You can see roughly where you’ll land with the tax refund calculator before you file.
Self-employed people and anyone with big income outside a job (rent, dividends, gains) don’t have that automatic step. They pay themselves, usually in instalments, and settle the rest at filing time.
What are the dates for the 2025 return?
| What | Date |
|---|---|
| Filing, most people | April 30, 2026 |
| Filing, you or your spouse self-employed | June 15, 2026 |
| Paying a balance owing, everyone | April 30, 2026 |
| Instalments | March 15, June 15, September 15, December 15 |
Read the third row twice. The extra time for self-employed filers is for the paperwork. Interest on a balance still runs from April 30. The dates for the 2026 return aren’t published on the CRA page yet, so treat any date you see for next spring as unconfirmed. One date that is still ahead of you this year: the last instalment, on December 15, if you pay that way.
How do you actually pay the CRA?
The CRA lists many routes. Your bank’s online banking works if you add the CRA as a payee. So does My Payment, with a debit card, pre-authorized debit set up in My Account, a bank counter or ATM, Interac e-Transfer through a third-party provider, a cheque by mail, and a wire transfer. Credit cards only work through outside payment services, and those charge fees. Canada Post counters take debit or cash, and also charge a fee.
Whichever way you choose, check the CRA’s page for how long the payment takes to post, because the day the CRA receives it counts, not the day you sent it. Don’t leave it to the last evening.
What if you can’t pay it all?
Send what you can by the deadline, because that cuts the interest, then call the CRA about the rest. Ignoring it is the worst option. And file on time even when the money isn’t there: filing late adds a penalty of five percent of what you owe, then one percent more for each full month, capped at a year. Owe $2,000 and file three full months late? That’s $160 ($100 plus $60) before interest. Interest is charged on the penalty too, and the CRA can change the interest rate each quarter. Repeat late filers pay double.
When do instalments apply?
The CRA says you may need them if your net tax owing is more than $3,000 ($1,800 in Quebec) for this year and in either of the last two. If your expected tax is $9,000, the simplest method gives four payments of $2,250, which is what our tax instalments calculator shows. The CRA also lets you use its own reminder amounts or last year’s figures, and that can be cheaper if your income fell. Farmers and fishers have a single date, December 31.
Work out your annual bill first with the self-employed tax calculator. One quirk we found: its deductions lower income tax but not CPP, and it leaves out EI, so treat the total as a floor for a sole proprietor.
How do you avoid a surprise bill?
If you’re self-employed or have side income, set money aside as it arrives. A simple habit is to move a slice of every payment into a separate savings account, so April isn’t a scramble. Employees can check a recent pay stub: if you picked up a second job or a big bonus, tax may not have been withheld at the right rate, and a quick look in the spring beats a bill in the fall.
What are the common mistakes?
Mixing up the filing date and the payment date is number one. Missing an instalment because last year was quiet is number two. Third, sending a payment by mail and counting the postmark. And nobody enjoys this, but keep proof of every payment, since a misapplied one takes a call to fix.
Our sources
Dates, payment methods, the instalment threshold and the late-filing penalty are from the Canada Revenue Agency‘s pages on due dates for the 2025 tax year, payments to the CRA, required instalments, and interest and penalties. The instalment example comes from our own calculator. No government body has reviewed or endorsed what you read here.
Frequently asked questions
When is the deadline to pay income tax?
For the 2025 return, April 30, 2026, even if you are self-employed and file by June 15. We could not find 2026 return dates on the CRA page.
Can I pay the CRA by credit card?
Only through third-party payment providers, and they charge fees. The CRA's own My Payment service takes debit cards only.
What is the late-filing penalty?
5% of the balance owing plus 1% for each full month, up to 12 months. Interest is charged on top.
Who has to pay instalments?
People whose net tax owing is above $3,000 ($1,800 in Quebec) for this year and in either of the two years before.
What if I can't pay in full?
Pay what you can by the due date to limit interest, and contact the CRA about the balance.
- How Canadian income tax works: brackets and credits
How federal and provincial Canadian income tax stack up, what marginal and average rates mean, and how credits and deductions change your bill