Remit (pay) the GST/HST you collected

How to make a payment

There are 3 ways to make a payment:

• Online
• In person
  • At your financial institution in Canada
  • At a Canada Post retail location
• By mail

For options of how to pay, refer to Make a payment to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

Payments of $10,000 or more must be made electronically or at your financial institution. You can make your payments in foreign funds. In this case, the financial institution handling your transaction determines the exchange rate for converting the payment to Canadian dollars.

Paying by instalments

If you have an annual reporting period, you may need to pay your GST/HST in instalments throughout the year.

To find out who must pay in instalments and how to calculate them, refer to Remit (pay) the GST/HST by instalments.

Remittance vouchers

You do not need a remittance voucher to pay online.

You do need a remittance voucher if you are paying in person or by mail.

If you file your GST/HST return electronically, you can still remit your GST/HST at your financial institution. Use Form RC158, Remittance Voucher – Payment on Filing. Do not use the remittance part of your GST/HST return.

Other remittance forms for GST/HST payments include:

• Form RC159, Remittance Voucher – Amount Owing, to remit an amount owing or an outstanding balance for a period that has already been assessed
• Form RC160, Remittance Voucher – Interim Payments, to remit your instalment payments
• Form RC177, Remittance Voucher – Balance Due, to remit an amount owing before you file your return

These remittance forms are not available to download from the CRA website because they are personalized to your payment. They are only available in a pre-printed format through your CRA account or by contacting us by phone.

For more information on how to get the remittance voucher you need, refer to Order remittance vouchers or payment forms.

When your final balance is due

The deadline to remit your balance of GST/HST depends on your GST/HST filing period. Most GST/HST payments are due at the same time as your GST/HST returns. Your payment deadline is different than your filing deadline if you are an annual filer who either:

• Has a December 31 fiscal year-end and business income for tax purposes
• Has to remit (pay) the GST/HST by instalments

You must remit (pay) the GST/HST for any invoice you include in your return, even if you have not yet been paid.

To find the due dates for different reporting periods, refer to Filing and payment deadlines.

What to do if you cannot pay

You can contact us if you are unable to pay in full or on time.

How and when interest applies to late payments

We charge interest if you make late or insufficient payments. Depending on the debt, the interest charged is either arrears interest or instalment interest.

We pay interest on an overpayment or refund of net tax claimed on a GST/HST return.

• Arrears interest
• Instalment interest
• Refund interest

Arrears interest

We charge arrears interest on:

• Any overdue balance owing on a GST/HST return
• Any other overdue GST/HST amount that you have to remit to the Receiver General

The interest rate is determined every 3 months in accordance with the prescribed interest rate compounded daily.

Calculate arrears interest

If you have an amount owing, you can view a balance that includes interest calculated to a date you select in your CRA account:

1. Sign in to your CRA account
2. Select your Business or Representative account
3. Beside the amount owing, choose View and pay account balance
4. Choose Calculate future balance

Instalment interest

If the instalment payments you make are equal to one quarter of your net tax from your last fiscal year and you make those payments in full and on time, the CRA will not charge instalment interest, even if your net tax for the year is more than the instalments you made.

Interest on the part of any instalment payment that was not paid or that was paid late will be charged at the end of the fiscal year.

If you realize at any time during the fiscal year that you paid less than your required instalment payment or that you did not pay an instalment on time, you can reduce or eliminate your instalment interest by overpaying your next instalment payment or by paying it early.

Instalment interest is calculated beginning the day after the instalment payment was due and ending on the earlier of the following dates:

• The day the overdue instalment amount is paid (including any accrued interest)
• The day your net tax owing for the year is due (although other interest still applies if there is an overdue balance on your GST/HST return)

Refund interest

We will pay you interest, compounded daily, on an overpayment or refund of net tax claimed on a GST/HST return beginning from the later of:

• 30 days after the day you file the return in which you claim the refund
• 31 days after the end of the reporting period for that return
• The date of the payment that created the overpayment

The calculation of interest we pay ends on the day the refund is paid or applied. The interest rate is determined every 3 months in accordance with the prescribed interest rate compounded daily.

How to cancel or waive penalties or interest

The Minister of National Revenue has the discretion to cancel or waive penalties or interest in certain circumstances.

For more information, refer to Cancel or waive penalties or interest.

Confirm or correct a payment

Business owners (including partners, directors, and officers) can access their GST/HST, payroll, corporation income taxes, excise taxes, excise duties and other levies accounts online.

In your CRA account, you can:

• Confirm a balance owing
• View an interim balance of payments and credits
• Select a period end, balance, or total amount to view the corresponding transactions
• Transfer certain payments you made from one account to another

You can also contact us to resolve payment issues.

To learn more, refer to Confirm a payment.