Payroll remittance

A payroll remittance is the payment of deducted income tax, CPP and EI, plus your share, that you send the CRA by your remitter type's due date.

Also called: remitting source deductions, CRA remittance, remitter type, remittance due date

What payroll remittance means

A payroll remittance is the payment you send to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for the source deductions you took from employees' pay (income tax, CPP contributions and EI premiums), together with your employer share of CPP and EI.

How often you remit depends on your remitter type, which the CRA sets based on your average monthly withholding amount (AMWA): the average total of deductions you remitted each month in an earlier year. Most new small employers start as regular remitters.

Getting remittances in on time matters. The CRA charges a penalty on late remittances that rises the later you are, so plan your cash around the due dates.

How it works

Regular remitters (AMWA under $25,000) must have the payment received by the CRA on or before the 15th of the month after the month you paid your employees. Wages paid in March are due 15 April.

Quarterly remitters are small employers with an AMWA under $3,000 in the first or second preceding calendar year and a perfect compliance history. They remit by 15 April, 15 July, 15 October and 15 January. Accelerated threshold 1 remitters (AMWA $25,000 to $99,999.99) remit twice a month, and accelerated threshold 2 remitters ($100,000 or more) remit within 3 working days after the end of each of four periods in the month. The CRA tells you which type you are.

Since 1 January 2024, payments of more than $10,000 to the Receiver General should be made electronically, or a penalty may apply unless you cannot reasonably pay that way. Payments made at least one full day before the due date are treated as made at a financial institution.

The late remittance penalty is 3% if the amount is 1 to 3 days late, 5% for 4 or 5 days, 7% for 6 or 7 days, and 10% if it is more than 7 days late or not remitted. It usually applies only to the part over $500, unless the failure was knowing or grossly negligent. A 20% penalty can apply to a second or later failure in the same calendar year made knowingly or through gross negligence.

Is it the same in every province?

CRA remittance rules are the same in every province and territory. Employers with staff in Quebec should also check Revenu Québec's rules for Quebec deductions.

Example: A regular remitter's March payroll

Jamal runs a 7-person coffee roaster in Guelph, Ontario. He pays his staff biweekly. In March he pays wages on 6 March and 20 March, and deducts a total of $4,200.00 in income tax, CPP and EI. His employer share of CPP and EI for March is $1,900.00.

As a regular remitter, Jamal must get $6,100.00 to the CRA by 15 April. He pays it electronically through his bank on 10 April. If he had paid on 18 April, three days late, the 3% penalty would apply to the part over $500: 3% of $5,600.00 is $168.00.

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Questions about payroll remittance

When is my CRA payroll remittance due?

For regular remitters, by the 15th of the month after you paid your employees. Quarterly and accelerated remitters have different due dates, and the CRA tells you which type you are.

What is the penalty for a late payroll remittance?

3% for 1 to 3 days late, 5% for 4 or 5 days, 7% for 6 or 7 days and 10% after 7 days or if nothing is remitted, usually on the amount over $500.

Do I have to pay the CRA electronically?

Payments of more than $10,000 should be made electronically since 1 January 2024. A penalty may apply unless you cannot reasonably pay electronically.

Official sources

General information for Canadian employers, not legal advice. Rules differ by province and territory and change over time, so check with your provincial employment standards office (or the federal Labour Program if you are federally regulated) before you rely on it. See employment standards by province.

Checked against official sources on 4 November 2026.