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You have to pay tax instalments if your net tax owing is more than $3,000 ($1,800 in Quebec) for 2026 and also for 2025 or 2024. The CRA expects four payments a year, due on 15 March, 15 June, 15 September and 15 December. You can base them on the CRA’s reminder, on last year’s return, or on an estimate of the current year.
Who has to pay income tax instalments?
Instalments are for people whose income does not have enough tax taken off at the source. The Canada Revenue Agency: Who has to pay instalments page lists people who are self-employed, have rental or investment income, receive certain pension payments, or have income from more than one job. The province or territory where you live on 31 December decides which threshold applies.
There are two tests, and both have to be met. Your 2026 net tax owing must be more than $3,000 (more than $1,800 if you live in Quebec), and your net tax owing must also have been above that amount in 2025 or in 2024. If your main 2026 income comes from farming or fishing, you may still have to pay instalments.
A reminder in the mail does not settle it on its own. If you got a 2026 reminder but your 2026 net tax owing turns out to be $3,000 or less ($1,800 or less in Quebec), you do not have to pay instalments for 2026.
When are instalments due?
For most individuals the dates are fixed. If a date lands on a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday the CRA recognizes, the payment is on time if the CRA receives it the next business day, according to the Canada Revenue Agency: Payment due dates page.
| Instalment | Due date | Who |
|---|---|---|
| First | 15 March | Most individuals |
| Second | 15 June | Most individuals |
| Third | 15 September | Most individuals |
| Fourth | 15 December | Most individuals |
| One payment | 31 December | Farmers and fishers whose main income is self-employment from farming or fishing (reminder comes in November) |
What do the reminders and the three calculation options mean?
The CRA sends an instalment reminder (form INNS1) in February and/or August, and a payment summary (form INNS2) in February. You can also see your reminder and payments after you sign in to your CRA account. The amounts on the reminder come from the first option in the table below. If your only reminder arrives in August, you can reduce or stop payments when the instalments already paid will cover your estimated 2026 net tax owing, or when that owing will be at or below the threshold.
| Option | How it works | Best when |
|---|---|---|
| No-calculation | The CRA sets your instalments from your latest assessed return and prints the amounts on your reminders | Income, deductions and credits stay about the same each year |
| Prior-year | You work from your 2025 return with the CRA’s 2026 calculation chart | 2026 looks like 2025 but quite different from 2024 |
| Current-year | You estimate your 2026 net tax owing, CPP contributions payable and voluntary EI premiums, then use the same chart | 2026 will differ a lot from both 2025 and 2024 |
The Canada Revenue Agency: Options to calculate your instalments page adds that paying the full amounts by the due dates means no instalment interest or penalty, unless your estimates were too low. If you receive OAS, CPP, QPP, EI or an employer pension, you can ask for more tax to be withheld, which can shrink or remove the instalments. The CRA notes that tax cannot be withheld from self-employment, investment, rental or capital gains income.
What would instalments look like for a freelancer in Ontario?
Take an Ontario freelancer with $60,000 of net self-employment income, no other income and only the basic credits. With 2026 rules in the site’s calculator engine, income tax comes to about $7,879 and the two halves of CPP on self-employment come to $6,723.50. That adds up to roughly $14,603, far above the $3,000 threshold. Spread evenly over four dates it is about $3,651 each. This is our calculation, not an official figure, and the CRA’s chart sets the real amounts under each option. You can test your own numbers in the tax instalments calculator.
What happens if you pay late or too little?
Instalment interest applies when three things are true: you had to pay instalments for 2026, you received a 2026 reminder showing an amount due, and you missed, delayed or underpaid an instalment. It compounds daily at the prescribed rate, which can change every three months. For October to December 2026 the Canada Revenue Agency: Prescribed interest rates, fourth quarter 2026 page shows 7% on overdue taxes. The CRA charges the instalment interest only if it comes to more than $25.
A penalty applies only when your 2026 instalment interest is more than $1,000. The CRA takes the higher of $1,000 and 25% of the interest you would have owed with no instalments at all, subtracts it from your actual instalment interest, and halves the result. In the CRA’s own example, actual interest is $2,500 and the no-payment interest is $3,200. Then 25% of $3,200 is $800, so $1,000 is the higher figure, $2,500 less $1,000 leaves $1,500, and half of that is a $750 penalty. Details are on the Canada Revenue Agency: Interest and penalty charges page.
Paying your next instalment early, or paying extra, earns instalment credit interest. It is not refundable and can only offset late-payment interest for the same tax year. If a balance is already past due, read what to do when you can’t pay the CRA.
How do you pay, and where do instalments go on the return?
You can pay through the CRA’s online payment options, or in person or by mail with the instalment remittance voucher (form INNS3). The voucher is in your reminder package unless you pay by pre-authorized debit. You can also download one in your CRA account or call 1-800-959-8281 and choose option 2.
The CRA does not send a receipt right away, so keep your proof of payment. Wait at least 3 business days for online payments or 10 business days for a cheque or money order, then look under “Accounts and payments” in My Account. If a payment landed in the wrong place, use “Transfer payment(s)” there. Full steps are on the Canada Revenue Agency: How to pay your instalments page.
When you file, you claim your instalments for the year on line 47600. For the 2025 return, that means the 2025 instalments, taken from the reminder (INNS1), the February summary (INNS2) or the figures in your account, as the Canada Revenue Agency: Claim amounts on your tax return page explains. If you paid too much, you can ask for a refund by letter or phone, and the CRA reviews each case.
What could change for 2027?
The CRA pages we opened on 31 October 2026 show 2026 figures: the $3,000 and $1,800 thresholds and the 2026 calculation chart. The thresholds and chart for 2027 have not been published yet (checked 31 October 2026). The usual dates would be 15 March, 15 June, 15 September and 15 December 2027, but the CRA had not printed them on a page when we checked. See our 2027 tax calendar and the tax instalments page for updates, and note that the prescribed interest rate is reset every quarter.
Where does this information come from?
Rules and figures come from the Canada Revenue Agency pages Who has to pay instalments, Options to calculate your instalments, Payment due dates, How to pay, Claim amounts on your tax return, Interest and penalty charges, and Prescribed interest rates for the fourth quarter of 2026. Checked on 31 October 2026. This is an independent information site: we provide no services, we do not represent the CRA or any organization, we collect information from open sources, and we do not guarantee that anything here is accurate or current. We accept no liability for decisions based on it. Check the official source before you rely on it. See the full disclaimer.
Frequently asked questions
Do employees have to pay tax instalments?
Usually not. Instalments are for people whose income does not have enough tax withheld, such as the self-employed or people with rental, investment or multiple-job income. The test is net tax owing above $3,000 ($1,800 in Quebec) for 2026 and also for 2025 or 2024.
What are the tax instalment due dates?
For most individuals the 2026 due dates are 15 March, 15 June, 15 September and 15 December. If a date falls on a weekend or a recognized public holiday, a payment received the next business day is on time. Farmers and fishers with farming or fishing income as their main income have one date, 31 December.
Which instalment calculation option should I choose?
The no-calculation option suits steady income, since the CRA prints the amounts on your reminder. The prior-year option fits a 2026 that looks like 2025. The current-year option fits a year that will differ a lot from both 2025 and 2024, and it uses your own estimate of 2026.
What if my income drops and I no longer owe tax?
If your 2026 net tax owing will be $3,000 or less ($1,800 or less in Quebec), you do not have to pay instalments for 2026, even if you received a reminder. You can also reduce or stop payments if instalments already paid will cover your estimated 2026 net tax owing.
Where do I claim instalments on my tax return?
Claim the total instalments you paid for the year on line 47600 of the return. For the 2025 return that means your 2025 instalments. Use the reminder (INNS1), the February payment summary (INNS2) or your CRA account, and add any payment missing from them.
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