Payroll remittance due dates: the 15th, or sooner above $25,000

When is a payroll remittance due for each remitter type?

The CRA assigns the remitter type from the average monthly withholding amount (AMWA) two calendar years back, so 2024 remittances set the 2026 type canada.ca. A regular remitter's payroll remittance is due on the 15th of the month after the pay date, and a quarterly remitter's on the 15th after each quarter ends. A threshold 1 remitter's is due on the 25th and the 10th, and a threshold 2 remitter's on the 3rd working day after each period.

The CRA's table on its due dates page uses the same limits canada.ca. The legal source is section 108 of the Income Tax Regulations, which also counts the threshold 2 deadline as the third day after the period, not counting Saturdays or holidays laws-lois.justice.gc.ca.

AMWA is the total of the income tax, CPP and EI your client was required to remit in the year, divided by the number of months (up to 12) that had a required remittance laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. Associated corporations add their remittances together and share one remitter type, and all of one employer's payroll accounts share a type too canada.ca. For how the accelerated limits play out, see the accelerated remitter threshold.

New employers start as quarterly remitters

A new employer (payroll account open less than 12 months) doesn't apply for anything. It remits quarterly unless its statement of account says otherwise, as long as its monthly withholding stays under $1,000 and it keeps a perfect compliance record canada.ca.

Once it stops qualifying, it becomes a regular remitter from the next calendar quarter. So a new client that hires several employees partway through the year can move from quarterly to monthly remitting without much warning.

An established employer stays quarterly only with AMWA under $3,000 in either of the two previous years and every remittance and return on time for the last 12 months laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. An employer that stops qualifying gets a new remitter type for the following calendar year canada.ca.

The CRA reviews every payroll account each November and writes to your client if its type changes for the coming year canada.ca. Read that letter before January, because the first changed remittance can fall due within weeks.

When the due date lands on a weekend or holiday

If a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday the CRA recognizes, the remittance is on time if the CRA receives it, or a Canadian financial institution processes it, by the next business day canada.ca. The CRA publishes its 2026 holiday list, which includes Thanksgiving on October 12 and Remembrance Day on November 11 canada.ca.

The threshold 2 row trips people up. The count skips Sunday, November 8 and Remembrance Day on Wednesday, November 11, because the Interpretation Act treats both as holidays laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. That leaves Monday the 9th, Tuesday the 10th and Thursday the 12th as the three counted days.

Payments over $10,000 must be electronic

Any remittance or payment to the Receiver General of more than $10,000 must be made electronically, unless your client can't reasonably pay that way laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. That covers payroll source deductions. Each payment that breaks the rule carries a $100 penalty under ITA 162(7.4) laws-lois.justice.gc.ca.

Electronic payment here means a payment made through the electronic services of a designated financial institution, such as online banking, or another electronic method the Minister specifies. A mailed cheque for a $12,000 regular remittance doesn't qualify.

Threshold 2 remitters have a stricter rule on top of that: they must remit electronically or at a Canadian financial institution. Paying on the due date some other way draws a 3% penalty, though under CRA administrative policy a payment made one full day before the due date draws none canada.ca.

The date that counts is set by the method. Online and telephone banking count on the date the bank credits the CRA, a counter payment counts on the date stamped on the voucher, and My Payment counts the same day on a business day or the next business day otherwise canada.ca.

Late remittance penalties: 3%, 5%, 7% and 10%

The penalty scales with how many days late the money arrives, under ITA 227(9) laws-lois.justice.gc.ca.

For source deductions, the penalty applies only to the part of the amount due that exceeds $500, unless the late or short remittance was made knowingly or with gross negligence laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. Interest runs from the due date on top of the penalty canada.ca. The rate is covered in the CRA interest rate on overdue taxes.

Worked example: a regular remitter owes $18,000 for October 2026 pays. The due date is Monday, November 16, because the 15th is a Sunday. It pays online and the bank credits the CRA on Friday, November 20, four days late. The rate is 5%, applied to $18,000 minus $500, which is $17,500. The penalty is $875, plus interest from November 16. And because the payment is over $10,000, paying by mailed cheque would have added a $100 penalty.

Electing a slower schedule after a drop

The CRA sets the type from the year two back, but your client can elect a less frequent schedule based on last year's figure. An accelerated remitter whose AMWA for the previous year was under $25,000 can elect to remit monthly, and a threshold 2 remitter whose previous year AMWA was $25,000 to $99,999.99 can elect the threshold 1 schedule. The election needs notice to the CRA laws-lois.justice.gc.ca.

This matters for a client that sold a division or cut staff in 2025. Without the election, it keeps remitting on the old, faster schedule for all of 2026.