How to Pay the Canada Revenue Agency
If you have a balance owing to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), we recommend that you pay electronically. For your convenience, here is a “How To” guide outlining two online payment options available to you.
Option 1: Online banking
• Sign in to your financial institution’s online banking service.
• Under add a (bill) payee, look for CRA (revenue)-(2014)-tax owing.
• Be sure to enter your account number (your social insurance number) carefully to avoid a lost or misapplied payment.
• The payment may take two to three days to be processed so make your payment in advance to ensure timely receipt.
• Some financial institutions (specifically those outside the Big Five Canadian banks) may not support online payments. We recommend checking to see if you can add the CRA as a bill payee in advance to confirm that your financial institution supports the service.
Option 2: Debit card – Interac® Online (My Payment)
• Use the CRA’s My Payment service to pay with your debit card through Interac® Online.
• Only BMO, Scotiabank, RBC, TD, Envision Financial, and Libro Credit Union support the My Payment function
• Remember: Your transaction total is subject to your daily or weekly limit as determined by your financial institution.
Final Thoughts and CRA Late Filing Penalty Reminders
If your personal income tax return is filed late (even by a day) you’ll automatically be assessed a 5% penalty on the balance owing. For every full month your return is late you’ll be assessed an additional 1% penalty up to a maximum of 12 months. In total this means you could be assessed a 17% (5% + 12%) penalty on the balance owing on your return. Late or insufficient payments are also subject to interest currently at a rate of 5% (subject to change on a quarterly basis).