Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
There’s no official price for payroll services in Canada, so we won’t print one. Fees are set by each provider and shift with your headcount and pay schedule. What you can pin down is the work a payroll service takes off your plate, and that work follows CRA rules you can check yourself before you sign anything.
What are you actually paying a payroll service to do?
Four jobs, mainly. It calculates each pay, deducts CPP, EI and income tax, sends the remittances to the CRA on time, and produces the year-end slips. Some providers add direct deposit, vacation tracking or benefit deductions. Others charge extra for them.
The employer side matters as much as the pay stub. On a $60,000 salary in Ontario, our payroll engine puts the employer’s share at $3,361.75 for CPP and $1,369.20 for EI, a total of $4,730.95 on top of the wage. That’s before any provincial payroll tax, workers’ compensation premium or vacation pay, which the engine doesn’t include. A service should state who calculates those.
Which remitter type are you, and why does it matter?
Your remitter type sets how often money goes to the CRA, and so how much work a provider has to do for you. The CRA bases it on your average monthly withholding from two calendar years back. A new employer with under $1,000 a month can start as a quarterly remitter, and the CRA’s page on when to remit says you move to regular remitting in the next quarter once monthly withholding reaches $1,000.
| Remitter type | Average monthly withholding | Due dates |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | Under $3,000 (clean record needed) | 15 April, 15 July, 15 October, 15 January |
| Regular | Under $25,000 | 15th of the next month |
| Accelerated, threshold 1 | $25,000 to $99,999.99 | 25th of the month and 10th of the next |
| Accelerated, threshold 2 | $100,000 or more | Up to four times a month |
The more often you remit, the more a provider has to handle, which is one reason a larger firm can expect a bigger bill. We haven’t seen a verified figure, so take that as reasoning and not as a price list.
What does a small employer’s year look like in dollars?
Take Dave, who runs a two-chair barbershop in Hamilton and pays one employee $4,000 a month. Per our remittance calculator, about $1,078.70 goes to the CRA each month. That’s $12,944.40 over twelve months, and it isn’t Dave’s money. It’s the employee’s withholdings plus his own CPP and EI share.
At that size, he’d average well under $3,000 a month, so quarterly remitting is possible once he has a clean record and an account that’s a year old. His July 15 payment would then cover April to June, three months of $1,078.70, or $3,236.10. Bigger cheques, fewer dates. Either way the provider has to know which schedule the CRA put him on.
What does a late remittance cost?
More than most owners expect. The CRA charges 3% if the money is one to three days late, 5% at four or five days, 7% at six or seven days and 10% beyond that. A repeat offence in the same year can draw 20%. Interest then compounds daily on whatever is still unpaid.
On Dave’s $3,236.10 quarterly payment, ten days late is a penalty of about $323.61 before interest. So ask every provider one direct question. If you send the funds on time and they remit late, who pays the penalty? The answer should be in writing. A provider’s silence on this tells you something.
How do you compare payroll service costs fairly?
Get two or three quotes for the same setup. Give each the same headcount, the same pay frequency and the same province. Then ask what’s included: remittances, T4 slips, records of employment, direct deposit, benefits, and support by phone or email.
Look for one-time setup charges, per-payrun fees and per-employee fees, and ask what happens to them when you hire. Ask what you can export if you leave. A cheap plan that locks your history away isn’t cheap.
Doing payroll yourself is possible for a very small team. The payroll deductions calculator gives you the deductions per pay, and the payroll remittance calculator shows what you’d send the CRA. It’s manageable at one or two employees, and a chore at twenty.
What goes wrong with payroll?
Missing a remittance date is the classic. Worker classification is another: paying someone as a contractor when the relationship looks like employment can bring back-deductions later. Both are cheaper to fix early.
Watch for wage promises that ignore deductions too. If you’ve told someone they’ll take home a fixed amount, the net to gross calculator shows the pay you need to offer. Staff can see their own result with the take-home pay calculator.
Minimum wages step up on 1 October in several provinces. We haven’t confirmed each province’s new rate here, so check your province’s labour ministry before the next payrun after that date.
Where this information comes from
Remitter types, due dates and late-remittance penalties come from the CRA‘s payroll remitting pages, read in September 2026. The employer CPP and EI amounts come from our payroll engine, which uses the 2026 contribution rates and limits published by the federal government. No provider fees were verified, so none appear here. This site isn’t connected to the CRA or any provider.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an official price for payroll services in Canada?
No. We found no official source for provider fees, so this page quotes none. Get written quotes for the same headcount and pay cycle.
How often must I remit payroll deductions?
Your remitter type sets it. Quarterly remitters pay on 15 April, 15 July, 15 October and 15 January. Regular remitters pay by the 15th of the next month.
What is the penalty for late remittances?
The CRA charges 3% for 1 to 3 days late, 5% for 4 to 5 days, 7% for 6 to 7 days and 10% after that. Repeat offences can be 20%.
What does the employer pay on a $60,000 salary in Ontario?
Our engine shows $3,361.75 CPP and $1,369.20 EI, total $4,730.95. Provincial payroll tax and workers' compensation are not included.
Can I run payroll myself?
Yes, and for one or two employees it is workable. You take on the calculations, the remittances and the year-end slips.
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