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Figures: 2026 tax year

Paying tax you owe

How to pay a balance in each country, why paying is separate from filing, and what happens when you cannot pay the whole amount by the deadline.

Updated 24 July 2026 · 1 min read

Filing and paying are two separate acts. Doing one does not do the other.

How to pay the CRA

Pay through your bank's online bill payment, through My Payment, by pre-authorised debit, or at a financial institution with a remittance voucher. A cheque is payable to the Receiver General for Canada.

The balance is due 30 April 2027.

If you cannot pay it all

Pay what you can by the deadline and file on time anyway. The penalty for filing late is much heavier than the interest on paying late.

  • The CRA will discuss a payment arrangement, and will look at taxpayer relief where a penalty arose from circumstances beyond your control.

This does not happen automatically. You have to ask.

Do not send cash

Never put cash in an envelope. If you pay a balance online, post the return on its own and keep the payment confirmation with your copy.

Sources

Every figure and every procedure on this page was checked against the pages below on the date shown. The agencies revise these pages, so confirm anything you are about to act on.

  1. Payments to the CRA (opens in a new tab)canada.ca · checked 24 July 2026
  2. Interest and penalties for individuals (opens in a new tab)canada.ca · checked 24 July 2026
  • Tracking your refund

    Where to check a refund in each country, how long a posted return takes to process, and why a paper return is slower than a transmitted one.
    After you fileFiling your return
  • Filing late or asking for more time

    What filing a T1 late costs, why the CRA grants no extension to ask for, and why a late return is still far better than no return at all.
    DeadlinesAfter you fileFiling your return
  • Where to mail your Canadian return

    A paper T1 goes to the CRA tax centre for where you live. Confirm the address on the CRA page on the day you post, because tax centre assignments change.
    Printing and mailingFiling your return
  • When your Canadian T1 return is due

    Your 2026 T1 return is due 30 April 2027, and any balance owing is due the same day. Late filing costs 5 per cent of the balance plus 1 per cent a month.
    DeadlinesFiling your return

This article explains a form and a process. It is general information, not tax advice about your own situation, and Hypertax does not send your return to the CRA — you print it and mail it. See the not-tax-advice notice and the rest of the help centre.