Pre-authorized debit help menu

What is pre-authorized debit?

Pre-authorized debit (PAD) is an online self-service payment option. Through this option, you agree to authorize the Canada Revenue Agency to withdraw a pre-determined payment amount directly from your bank account on specific date(s) to pay your taxes. Go to Pay by pre-authorized debit to get more information.

Pre-authorized debit main page

This page offers the following options:

Create a new pre-authorized debit (PAD) agreement

To create a PAD agreement:

• Select the Create new agreement button.
• Then select a Payment type followed by a Payment allocation (with the exception of Child and family benefits, for which no payment allocation is required) from the drop-down lists provided.
• Complete the Agreement details page. The fields to be filled out will depend on the payment type and allocation that you selected. Your banking information (branch, transit, and account number) is required.
• Review and accept the Agreement details, Important information about pre-authorized debit, and the Terms and conditions on the Review and confirm information page. You will then have the option to manage your PAD agreement.

Manage active pre-authorized debit (PAD) agreement(s)

• To manage an active PAD agreement, you must first select the PAD agreement you want to manage from the Manage active agreements table on the main page of the application.
  • You will see only pre-existing PAD agreements associated with your CRA username and password.
  • Each PAD agreement is presented with a brief summary for quick referencing.
  • You can select only one PAD agreement at a time for detailed viewing or managing.
  • You can skip, modify, or cancel a payment only for active PAD agreements.
  • If no PAD agreements exist, nothing will be shown.

View inactive pre-authorized debit (PAD) agreement(s)

• To view an inactive PAD agreement, you must select the View inactive agreements button on the main page of the application. This will bring you to the View inactive pre-authorized debit agreement page, where a table with inactive agreements will be shown.
  • Inactive PAD agreements will be displayed for a minimum of one year after they have become inactive.
  • If no inactive PAD agreements exist, nothing will be shown.

Payment types and allocations

The following payment types and their allocations are remittance options:

1. Individual income tax (T1)

Select Individual income tax (T1) to pay your personal income tax. The following payment allocations are available:

• YYYY – Tax Owing
• Make a payment at the same time you file your T1 income tax and benefit return. For more information about tax owing, go to Paying your taxes owing.
• Tax Instalments – fixed amount
• This option allows you to pay your instalments on pre-determined dates for a pre-determined amount.
• For information about instalments, go to Calculating your payments.
• Tax Instalments – no-calculation option
• This option is best for you if your income, deductions, and credits stay about the same from year to year. We will provide the no-calculation option amounts on the instalment reminders that we may send you in February and August each year. If you choose this option, we will withdraw the amounts shown on your instalment reminders.
• For more information about no-calculation option instalment payments, go to No-calculation option.
• Tax-free savings account (TFSA) amount owing
• For information about excess TFSA contributions, go to Tax payable on excess TFSA contributions.
• Past tax owed
  • Pay the amount you owe, as shown on your notice of assessment or reassessment or on your statement of account or remittance. For more information about past tax owed, go to Paying arrears.

2. Child and family benefits

Select Child and family benefits to repay any of the following benefits (allocation will be applied by the Canada Revenue Agency):

• Canada child and family benefits and related provincial/territorial program payments
• goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax (GST/HST) credit and related provincial program payments
• universal child care benefit
• Alberta family employment tax credit
• Ontario credits

For more information about Child and family benefits, go to Balance owing – Benefits overpayment.

3. Non-resident withholding tax (part XIII tax)

Select ‘Non-resident withholding tax – Part XIII’ if you are a non-resident of Canada making tax payments for income you received from sources in Canada, or if you are a payer or agent withholding and remitting Part XIII tax. The following payment allocations are available:

• Regular remittance
  • Make a regular remittance of non-resident Part XIII tax.
• Assessed arrears
  • Make a payment for an amount owing from your notice of (re)assessment.

For information about non-resident withholding tax (Part XIII), go to Part XIII tax.

Agreement details page

When entering the agreement details to create a pre-authorized debit (PAD) agreement:

• All fields must be completed correctly.
• All field errors will be highlighted and remain on the page until they are corrected.
• After all fields are completed correctly, select the Continue button to advance to the next page.
• The Back button will bring you to the Payment allocation page.
• The Cancel button will bring you to the main page of the application.

The following fields may need to be completed, based on the payment type and allocation selected:

Tax year – This field is only for tax-free savings account (TFSA) PAD agreements. Select the tax year associated with the payment.

Non-resident account number – This field is only for non-resident withholding tax (Part XIII) PAD agreements. Enter the complete and valid number (for example, NRx123456). This number can be found on your non-resident information slips, remittance vouchers, or correspondence.

First payment date – This field is required for all payment types. The first payment date must be between five business days and one year from the current date. If the frequency selected is End of month, the first payment date must be the last day of the month.

Frequency – This field is required for all payment types (except for Individual income tax (T1) – instalment – no-calculation option PAD agreements, which will have their frequency defaulted). The following frequencies may be available to select:

• One time: Withdrawn on the date indicated
• Weekly: Withdrawn every seven days, calculated from the first payment  date
• Bi-weekly: Withdrawn every fourteen days, calculated from the first payment date
• Monthly: Withdrawn on the same date each month
• End of month: Withdrawn on the last day of each month
• Quarterly: Withdrawn on the same date every three months

Number of payments – This field is required for all payment types (except for Individual income tax (T1) – instalment – no-calculation option PAD agreements, for which the number of payments will be indeterminate).

• Entry must not create a PAD agreement lasting more than two calendar years, except for Individual income tax (T1) – instalment – fixed.  These T1 instalment agreements can be for a period of up to two years in length, or indefinite (no end date specified).  If an agreement length of indefinite is required for Individual income tax (T1) – instalment – fixed, an entry of 999 in the Number of payments field is required.
• Entry must be numeric (for example, 123).

Amount – This field is required for all payment types (except for the Individual income tax (T1) – instalment – no-calculation option PAD agreements, where the amount is determined based on the amount in box 2 of your instalment reminder).

• You must enter an amount of at least $2.
• Entry must be numeric (for example, 123).
• Cents must be entered with a decimal, followed by two numbers.

Banking information – You must enter the following banking information accurately and in numeric format (for example, 123456789):

• your five-digit bank branch number
• your three-digit financial institution number
• your bank account number

You can find this information on your bank’s cheques (see the blank cheque coding example provided). You can also get the information from your financial institution.

Review and confirm information page

To complete this page, you must first:

• review your pre-authorized debit (PAD) agreement details, to make sure all information is correct; and
• read and understand the Terms and conditions and Important information about pre-authorized debit. Select the Authorization box and then select the Confirm button to create the PAD agreement.

If the information is incorrect or you want to change your selection, click on the Change information link.
If you do not want to continue, select the Cancel button. The Cancel button will remove previously entered information and return you to the Pre-authorized debit main page.

Pre-authorized debit agreement confirmation page

This page will show the pre-authorized debit (PAD) agreement confirmation. The confirmation contains all the details of your PAD agreement, the terms and conditions for your PAD agreement, and important information about your PAD agreement.

You have the option of selecting the Print or Save button to get a version of your confirmation that you can print or save to your computer.

This confirmation will be available in your Pre-authorized debit agreement history within 48 hours, and it will remain online for a minimum of one year after the PAD agreement is cancelled or expires. You will also be able to print and save the notification from there.

Manage active pre-authorized debit agreement page

On this page, you can perform four actions: view, modify, skip a payment in, or cancel your pre-authorized debit (PAD) agreement.

• To view your PAD agreement, simply view the details posted on the page. If you would like details based on each transaction in your PAD agreement, select the View agreement history button.
• To modify your PAD agreement, select the Modify button. For more information about modifying your PAD agreement, go to the Modify active pre-authorized debit agreement section.
• To skip a payment in your PAD agreement, select the Skip payment button. For more information about skipping a payment in your PAD agreement, go to the Skip payment section.
• To cancel your PAD agreement, select the Cancel agreement button. For more information about cancelling your PAD agreement, go to the Cancel agreement section.

Modify active pre-authorized debit agreement page

To modify an active pre-authorized debit (PAD) agreement:

• All fields must be completed correctly.
• All field errors will be highlighted and remain on the page until they are corrected.
• Once all fields are completed correctly, select the Continue button to advance to the next page.
• The Back button will bring you to the Manage active pre-authorized debit agreement page.

How to complete each field:

Payment type – This field cannot be modified. To change the payment type, you must cancel the PAD agreement and create a new one.

Tax year – This field is only for tax-free savings account (TFSA) PAD agreements. Select the tax year associated with the payment.

Non-resident account number – This field cannot be modified. To change a non‑resident account number, you must cancel the PAD agreement and create a new one.

Next payment date – This field is required for all payment types. The next payment date must be between five business days and one year from the current date. If the frequency selected is End of month, the first payment date must be the last day of the month.

Frequency – This field cannot be modified. To change the frequency, you must cancel the PAD agreement and create a new one.

Payments remaining – This field is required for all payment types, except for Individual income tax (T1) – instalment – no-calculation option payments, for which the Payments remaining is automatically set to indefinite. 

• Entry must not modify a PAD agreement lasting more than two calendar years.  Exception is Individual income tax (T1) – instalment – fixed amount, which can last for two calendar years, or be set to indefinite (no end date specified) with an entry of 999 in the Payments remaining field.
• Entry must be numeric (for example, 123).

Amount – This field is required for all payment types (except for Individual income tax (T1) – instalment – no-calculation option PAD agreements, where the amount is determined based on the amount in box 2 of your instalment reminder).

• You must enter an amount of at least $2.
• Entry must be numeric (for example, 123).
• Cents must be entered with a decimal, followed by two numbers.

Banking information – You must enter the following banking information accurately and in numeric format (for example, 123456789):

• your five-digit bank branch number
• your three-digit financial institution number
• your bank account number

You can find this information on your bank’s cheques (see the bank cheque coding example provided). You can also get the information from your financial institution.

Cancel pre-authorized debit agreement page

To cancel your pre-authorized debit (PAD) agreement:

• The “Your agreement can be cancelled as of” date is determined by the five‑business‑day rule.
• Select the Yes button to confirm the cancellation and advance to the next page.
• The No button will bring you back to the Manage active pre-authorized debit agreement page.

Skip a payment page

To skip a payment in your pre-authorized debit (PAD) agreement:

• The “Next payment you can skip” date is determined by the five-business-day rule.
• Select the Yes button to skip the payment and advance to the next page.
• The No button will bring you back to the Manage active pre-authorized debit agreement page.

Pre-authorized debit agreement history page

This page lets you view a history of your pre-authorized debit (PAD) agreement. If you need to access information that is not shown on this page, please Contact us.

Five-business-day rule for pre-authorized debit agreements

Create

Whether you’re creating or managing a pre-authorized debit (PAD) agreement with the Canada Revenue Agency, all agreements have to follow the five-business-day rule. The five‑business‑day rule is based on the amount of time needed to process each payment within a PAD agreement.

When creating a PAD agreement, the first payment date you can enter must be five business days later. That date will be calculated by the system and shown when you enter the details for your PAD agreement. There are no exceptions to this rule. If pre‑authorized debit is not the best option for you, you can view the other ways to Make a payment to the Canada Revenue Agency.

When creating a PAD agreement, the first payment date you can enter must be five business days in advance. That date will be calculated by the system and shown when you enter the details for your PAD agreement.

Manage (Cancel, Modify, Skip)

When managing your pre-authorized debit (PAD) agreement(s), the five-business-day rule will apply to these options:

• Cancel an agreement
• Modify an agreement
• Skip a payment

For all these options, we will provide you with the next available payment date that can be managed.

If a payment is scheduled within the next five-business-day window, you will not be able to cancel or modify the payment. You can still modify or cancel the PAD agreement for any payments remaining. The payment being processed will be withdrawn, according to the original PAD agreement.

This rule also applies to skipping a payment. If a payment is being processed and is in the five-business-day window, it cannot be skipped. But if there are payments remaining in the PAD agreement (with the exception of the last payment), the subsequent payment can be skipped.