CRA Tax Instalment Due Dates for 2026 and 2027

Instalment due dates

2026 tax year

2027 tax year

The CRA fixes these dates by rule, so the 2027 calendar follows the same pattern; the CRA's own 2027 page appears early in the year. The key word is received: a payment counts on the day the CRA gets it, not the day you schedule it.

Do you have to pay instalments?

Instalments exist for people whose tax is not fully withheld at source: the self-employed, landlords, investors, retirees with pension or RRIF income and little withholding, and anyone with several income sources. You have to pay them for 2026 if both of these are true:

• your net tax owing for 2026 is more than $3,000 ($1,800 if you live in Quebec), and
• your net tax owing was also more than that amount in either 2025 or 2024.

Net tax owing is roughly the federal and provincial tax on your return minus tax already deducted at source and refundable credits. Where you live on December 31 decides which threshold applies.

The CRA sends an instalment reminder (form INNS1) in February for the March and June payments and in August for September and December; you can also see it in your CRA account. A reminder is not a bill: if your 2026 net tax owing ends up at $3,000 or less ($1,800 in Quebec), you did not have to pay instalments.

Three ways to work out the amount

If you use the no-calculation option and pay the amounts on the reminders by the due dates, the CRA does not charge instalment interest or a penalty, even if you owe more when you file. The other two options give the same protection only if your figures are not too low. The current-year option carries the most risk: underestimate and interest applies to the shortfall.

Interest and penalty for late or short payments

If an instalment is late or too small, the CRA charges instalment interest, compounded daily at its prescribed rate. That rate is set every quarter; for October 1 to December 31, 2026 it is 7% on overdue taxes. The CRA compares the interest on what you should have paid with the interest on what you actually paid, and it does not charge amounts of $25 or less.

You can cut the interest by paying the next instalment early or paying more than required. That credit only offsets instalment interest for the same year; it is not refunded.

An instalment penalty applies only if your instalment interest for the year is more than $1,000. It equals half of the amount by which that interest exceeds the greater of $1,000 or 25% of the interest you would have owed with no instalments at all.

Missed September? A larger December payment reduces the interest because the CRA credits early and extra payments against late ones.

Corporations and GST/HST registrants

• Corporations generally pay monthly instalments by the last day of each month of the tax year. An eligible Canadian-controlled private corporation may pay quarterly instead, due one quarter less a day from the start of the tax year. For a calendar-year company, that is March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31.
• Annual GST/HST filers may have to pay quarterly instalments if their net tax for the previous fiscal year was $3,000 or more. Each is due within one month after the end of a fiscal quarter: April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31 for a December year-end.

Both follow the next-business-day rule for weekends and holidays.

How to pay

• Online banking: add the CRA instalment payee your bank offers (the name varies by bank, for example "CRA (revenue) – tax instalment") and enter the account number your bank asks for.
• My Payment on the CRA website, with a debit card (credit cards are not accepted there).
• Pre-authorized debit set up in My Account at least five business days before the first withdrawal; useful for scheduling all four instalments at once.
• In person at your bank with the remittance voucher (INNS3), or at Canada Post with a QR code (fee).
• Credit card or e-Transfer through a third-party service provider listed by the CRA (fees apply).
• Cheque by mail with the voucher; postdated cheques are accepted.

Allow time: the CRA says to wait about three business days for an online payment and ten for a cheque before it shows in My Account. The CRA never asks for payment in gift cards, cryptocurrency or prepaid cards; a message demanding that is a scam.

Common mistakes

• Paying on the due date through a slow channel. A cheque mailed on December 15 is late.
• Choosing the wrong payee in online banking. Pick the payee marked for instalments, not the one for a balance owing on a return, so the money is credited as an instalment.
• Skipping instalments because you will "pay in April". Interest runs from each missed due date, even if you pay everything by the tax filing deadline.
• Ignoring the reminder after a high-income year. One unusual year (a large capital gain, a severance) can trigger reminders for the next two years. You can use the current-year option if this year's income will be lower.