If writing a cheque is your preferred method of paying CRA, you might want to rethink that approach if you owe the government $10,000 or more. In an effort to encourage more electronic payments, CRA will soon be imposing a penalty of $100 for all payments of $10,000 or more that are paid by cheque. Before applying the penalty, CRA will be educating taxpayers about electronic payments options.
If you do owe CRA a sum of $10,000 or more, your penalty-free options for paying the taxes owing are:
- Paying online through your My Account for personal taxes or My Business Account for business taxes.
- Paying CRA directly through the My Payments portal. A personal or business bank account debit card is required.
- Paying online through a personal or corporate Canadian bank or credit union’s online banking app or website. Individuals should include their 9 digit social insurance number when setting CRA up as a payee. Businesses will need to select the appropriate payment type when setting CRA up as a payee and use their 15 digit business number.
- If you have a CRA remittance voucher you can make the payment from a personal, business or trust bank account at a branch of your Canadian bank or credit union account.
Trusts required to make a payment to CRA for $10,000 or more will not have the same easy-to access options as individuals or businesses, especially if the trust requires two or more signatures on any cheque. Paying by cheque and incurring the $100 penalty may be the most practical solution in many cases. Trustees can apply for a CRA My Trust Account, but the process is onerous and not always successful.
Additional information on payment options can be found on the CRA website. If you have any questions, please reach out to your GGFL partner.
