When is the NR4 return due, and when do I remit the Part XIII tax?
For the 2026 calendar year, the NR4 return and the NR4 slips are due by March 31, 2027; an estate or trust files within 90 days after its tax year ends. The 25% Part XIII tax, often reduced by treaty, must reach the CRA by the 15th of the month after you pay or credit the amount.
Every NR4 and Part XIII date for 2026
There are two clocks. The NR4 return is annual: file it and give each recipient their slip on or before the last day of March after the calendar year, or within 90 days after the tax year end for an estate or trust canada.ca. The tax itself runs monthly: the CRA has to receive it by the 15th of the month after the month you paid or credited the amount
canada.ca.
| What | Due | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| NR4 return for 2026 (slips plus summary) | March 31, 2027 | Reg. 202(7) |
| NR4 slips to the 2026 recipients | March 31, 2027 | T4061 |
| NR4 return for an estate or trust | 90 days after its tax year end | Reg. 202(8) |
| Part XIII tax on an amount paid or credited in a month | 15th of the next month | T4061 |
| Part XIII tax when the business stops | Within 7 days after it stops | T4061 |
| Remittance date on a weekend or holiday | Next business day | T4061 |
The March 31 date sits in the Income Tax Regulations, and so does the 90 day rule for estates and trusts laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. Don't file NR4s on the T4 and T4A calendar: those are due on the last day of February
canada.ca, and NR4 slips get the extra month.
Who has to file the NR4 return
Every person resident in Canada who pays or credits a listed amount to a nonresident files an NR4 return, and so does anyone who receives such an amount for or on behalf of a nonresident, such as an agent or nominee laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. In practice that covers interest, dividends, rents, royalties, pensions and similar Part XIII income
canada.ca.
A slip is needed for every nonresident you paid or credited Part XIII amounts to, even when no tax was withheld because of an exemption in the Act or a treaty canada.ca. Arm's length interest that is exempt still goes on an NR4 slip, under income code 61.
The one floor is $50. If the gross income for the year is under $50 and you withheld nothing, no slip is required. If you withheld tax on it, you still report it canada.ca. More than 5 slips means you must file electronically.
The 25% rate and how a treaty lowers it
Part XIII tax is 25% of the gross amount under ITA 212(1) laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. Section 215 makes the payer deduct it when the amount is paid or credited and send it to the Receiver General
laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. Paying or crediting is the trigger, so crediting the amount to the nonresident starts the clock even if no cash moves that month.
A tax treaty can reduce the rate or exempt the payment. Form NR301 is the declaration a nonresident person uses to claim reduced tax under a treaty canada.ca. The payee gives it to you, not the CRA (NR302 for a partnership, NR303 for a hybrid entity), and you stay responsible for withholding at the correct rate, so keep it on file
canada.ca.
Without the form you may apply a treaty rate only in narrow cases the CRA lists, such as a US resident individual with a complete residential address on file (no post office box or care of address). A payee in a country with no treaty gets the full 25%.
Worked example: a royalty credited in November
Your client, a Canadian corporation, credits a $20,000 royalty on November 18, 2026 to a licensor resident in a country Canada has no tax treaty with.
| Step | Amount or date |
|---|---|
| Gross royalty credited | $20,000 |
| Part XIII tax at 25% | $5,000 |
| Net paid to the licensor | $15,000 |
| Remittance due | Tuesday, December 15, 2026 |
| Received Friday, December 18 (3 days late): 3% | $150 penalty |
| Received Wednesday, December 23 (8 days late): 10% | $500 penalty |
| NR4 slip and return for 2026 | March 31, 2027 |
If the corporation paid the full $20,000 and withheld nothing, it owes the $5,000 itself under ITA 215(6), even if it can't recover it from the licensor laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. It can recover the tax from the nonresident or hold it back from a later payment, but the CRA can also assess a 10% failure to deduct penalty, $500 here.
Penalties and interest when a date is missed
A late NR4 return costs $100 or the chart amount, whichever is more, with the daily amount running for up to 100 days canada.ca.
| Slips filed late | Penalty per day | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 5 | Flat $100 | $100 |
| 6 to 10 | $5 | $500 |
| 11 to 50 | $10 | $1,000 |
| 51 to 500 | $15 | $1,500 |
| 501 to 2,500 | $25 | $2,500 |
| 2,501 to 10,000 | $50 | $5,000 |
| 10,001 or more | $75 | $7,500 |
Late remittances are tiered: 3% for one to three days late, 5% for four or five, 7% for six or seven, and 10% when the tax is more than seven days late or never sent canada.ca. Failing to withhold draws 10% of the amount you should have deducted, and repeat failures made knowingly or through gross negligence can draw 20%.
Interest runs on top, compounded daily at the prescribed rate the CRA sets every three months. See the CRA rate on overdue taxes for the current quarter.
Estates and trusts with a noncalendar year
The 90 day rule follows the estate's or trust's own tax year, not the calendar laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. A trust with a December 31, 2026 year end lands on March 31, 2027 anyway (31 + 28 + 31 days). A graduated rate estate with a June 30, 2026 year end files its NR4 by September 28, 2026: 31 days for July, 31 for August and 28 into September.
The monthly 15th remittance date applies to estates and trusts like any other payer. For the trust return itself, see the T3 filing deadline.
Sources
Do I file an NR4 slip if a treaty exemption meant no tax was withheld?
Yes. The CRA wants a slip for every nonresident you paid or credited Part XIII amounts to, even when an exemption under the Act or a treaty meant you deducted nothing canada.ca. The only skip is gross income under $50 for the year with no tax withheld.
Are NR4 slips due to recipients in February like T4 slips?
No. NR4 slips go to recipients by the last day of March, the same day the return is due to the CRA canada.ca. For 2026 amounts that's March 31, 2027.
Can I file the NR4 return on paper?
Only with 5 slips or fewer. More than 5 information returns of the same type must be filed electronically canada.ca.
What is the penalty for filing the NR4 return a few days late?
At least $100. With 1 to 5 slips it's a flat $100, and larger returns pay $5 to $75 a day for up to 100 days, capped between $500 and $7,500 depending on the slip count canada.ca.
General information for the tax year shown, not advice for a specific client. Confirm the facts before you file or remit.