When is my payroll remittance due?

Your due dates come from a category the CRA assigns you: and it is based on what you withheld two calendar years ago, not on what you withhold now.

From two calendar years ago , CPP, EI and income tax you remitted, divided by the months you paid employees.

Selects the statutory holiday calendar for due dates.

Average monthly withholding
$8,000.00
Band
AMWA under $25,000
Your category
Regular remitter

An AMWA under $25,000 makes you a regular remitter, due monthly.

Monthly. The 15th day of the month after the month you paid your employees.

If your AMWA is under $1,000 and you have had a perfect compliance history for the last twelve months, you may qualify to remit quarterly instead — worth asking the CRA about, because it removes eight deadlines a year.

Due dates for 2026

  • Paid in JanuaryFebruary 16, 2026
  • Paid in FebruaryMarch 16, 2026
  • Paid in MarchApril 15, 2026
  • Paid in AprilMay 15, 2026
  • Paid in MayJune 15, 2026
  • Paid in JuneJuly 15, 2026

A deadline landing on a weekend or statutory holiday moves to the next business day.

Behind the numbers.

Every employer who withholds CPP, EI and income tax is placed in a remitter category, and the category decides how often you pay it over. It is set by your average monthly withholding amount , total source deductions remitted, divided by the number of months you paid employees.

The detail that catches people is which year that figure comes from: two calendar years ago. A business that doubled its payroll last year keeps its old, gentler schedule this year: and a business that shrank keeps the demanding one. Your current payroll does not move you.

  • Under $25,000 , regular remitter, due the 15th of the month after you paid.
  • $25,000 to $99,999.99 , threshold 1, twice a month.
  • $100,000 or more , threshold 2, up to four times a month, three working days after each period ends.

Small employers with a clean compliance history can also apply to remit quarterly, which removes eight deadlines a year. It is worth asking about: the CRA does not always offer it unprompted.

A deadline that falls on a weekend or a statutory holiday moves to the next business day, and the holiday calendar is provincial, so the same deadline can differ across the country.

Late remittances attract a penalty on the amount, not on the delay: so being one day late and thirty days late can cost the same. That is a good reason to keep the liability visible in the ledger rather than rediscovering it from a statement. comma does not run payroll, but it will take the journal your provider produces and keep CPP, EI and tax payable in accounts you can reconcile.

Clear books. A clearer head.

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