How to pay CRA

Canada is a developed country, but taxpayers face significant challenges when it comes to paying taxes to the CRA. Please be prepared before reading further.

1. CRA’s My Payment Web Services used to be the best option as the advantages are same-day funds transfer with no fee incurred, but the problems are:
   • If you pay by your debit card, only TD works
   • Payment with a credit card incurs high transaction fees
2. Individual taxpayers can pay their income taxes to CRA through their personal bank accounts by adding CRA as the payee and using their SIN as the account number.
   • The advantage of this method is that it is certain to be successful.
   • The disadvantage is that
     • CRA will not be able to receive the payment on the same day.
     • Most banks do not offer the option to direct payments to a specific account for personal taxes:
       
3. For businesses paying RC/RT/RP taxes, it is recommended to use Tax Filing Services by the commercial bank account.
   • For self-employed individuals paying HST, if you do not have a personal account with TD Bank but you have a business bank account, using Tax Filing Services is the best solution.
4. Companies can pay taxes through a pre-authorized debit arrangement with CRA.
   [JKtax]
5. If you don’t mind transaction fees and delayed receipt of funds, all types of tax payments can be made by:
   • Lining up in your bank branch to pay in person, or
   • Use paysimply.ca with
     • Your debit card (with a 1% transaction fee, which is currently considered cost-effective)
     • UnionPay
     • Paypal
     • AliPay
     • Generating a QR code and paying at Canada Post office
       [JKtax]
       However, please note that whether paying in person at the bank or using PaySimply, there is a possibility that the funds you pay may not be deposited into the specific account you intended at CRA.
       • In such cases, you may have to wait several business days and contact CRA to verify and adjust the payment.
6. If you are a non-resident taxpayer:
   • To pay withholding tax into the NRx123456 account, you can use methods 1, 3, or 5 mentioned above.
   • Unfortunately, if paying outstanding taxes into the ITN account 09x-999-999, the only option is to mail a cheque to CRA.

Finally, if you still are unable to pay your tax liability, our firm offers a Fee-based Payment Service for our existing clients. Please contact our office for further inquiries.