Payroll remittances in Canada: what small employers need to know

Short answer: A payroll remittance sends employee source deductions and applicable employer contributions to the CRA. Your remitter type determines the schedule. Regular remitters generally pay by the 15th of the next month; quarterly and accelerated remitters use different schedules. Check your assigned type before choosing a date. Quebec payroll also involves separate Revenu Québec requirements.

General information for Canadian employers, not tax advice. Payroll rules, rates and thresholds change — always confirm current details with the CRA at Canada.ca payroll.

What is a payroll remittance?

When you run payroll, you withhold applicable amounts from gross pay and remit them, together with the relevant employer contributions. These withheld amounts are source deductions. Payroll expense, net pay and the remittance are different figures; your bookkeeping should make each one traceable.

What source deductions include

Outside Quebec, source deductions generally include:

• Income tax (federal and provincial)
• Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions
• Employment Insurance (EI) premiums

You then add the employer’s share of CPP and EI. The total — employee withholdings plus the employer’s contributions — is what you remit.

For Quebec employment, provincial income tax, QPP and QPIP involve Revenu Québec; federal deductions also need to be handled as applicable. Do not use the CRA table below as a complete Quebec payroll calendar. See Revenu Québec’s remittance guidance and confirm your payroll setup with your accountant.

Remitter types and how often you remit

For established employers, the CRA generally uses average monthly withholding amount (AMWA) from two calendar years earlier. New small employers use a monthly withholding amount (MWA) test for quarterly eligibility. The general schedules below are from the CRA’s When to remit guidance, checked October 14, 2026.

Remitter type	Eligibility overview	General due date
Quarterly: new small employer	Account open under 12 months, MWA under $1,000 and perfect payroll/GST/HST compliance	April 15, July 15, October 15, January 15
Quarterly: existing small employer	Account open at least 12 months, AMWA under $3,000 and perfect compliance over the previous 12 months; CRA notifies eligible employers	April 15, July 15, October 15, January 15
Regular	AMWA under $25,000, unless another type applies	15th of the next month
Accelerated: threshold 1	AMWA $25,000–$99,999.99	Paydays on the 1st–15th: 25th of that month; paydays on the 16th–month-end: 10th of the next month
Accelerated: threshold 2	AMWA $100,000 or more	Third working day after the 7th, 14th, 21st and month-end

Confirm your assigned type in your CRA account or correspondence. The amount alone is not a reason to switch schedules. Special situations such as closing a business have separate rules.

The payday, rather than the end of the work period, determines the remitting period. For example, wages for work in September paid in October belong to October’s remitting period. The CRA’s employers’ guide explains this distinction. Allow for payment processing and check the CRA’s weekend and recognized-public-holiday rules.

Nil remittances

If no source deductions were made for the period, report a nil remittance by the due date for your remitter type and indicate when deductions are expected to resume. This can arise with seasonal workers or a period without employees. Do not report nil merely because a payment has not yet left your bank: if deductions were made, the CRA says not to report a nil remittance for that period. Use the current CRA online or telephone reporting instructions.

How to remit (and the PD7A)

Choose a supported method using the CRA’s current payroll payment instructions. Common options include financial-institution online banking, CRA My Payment and pre-authorized debit. Confirm the payroll account number, payee details and processing time before paying.

The PD7A is the statement of account for current source deductions and includes remittance information. Keep the relevant statement or voucher and your payment confirmation with the payroll records. Check current electronic-payment requirements rather than assuming mailing a cheque is suitable for every payment.

A payroll remittance bookkeeping checklist

Run this review for the relevant remitting period, even if payroll software or a provider prepares the payment:

1. Collect the payroll reports. Confirm which actual paydays fall in the period and include corrections or off-cycle runs.
2. Separate the figures. Identify gross wages, net pay, employee deductions and employer contributions. A net-pay bank withdrawal is not the remittance total.
3. Check the ledger entries. Review the expense and liability accounts and whether an imported payroll journal has also been entered manually.
4. Confirm the intended payment. Check the amount, payroll account, period and due date against the supporting reports.
5. Follow the payment through. Match the bank withdrawal and confirmation, then check how the payment appears in the CRA account. A bank withdrawal alone does not establish that it reached the correct account.
6. Explain the remaining liability. Keep a note of amounts not yet due, payments still processing, corrections and questions requiring review. Do not clear a difference with an unexplained journal entry.

The CRA explains how to confirm remittances and view statements. For the wider month-end routine, see the monthly bookkeeping checklist.

Missed or late remittances

Late or short remittances can lead to penalties and interest. If you find a missing or misallocated payment, compare the payroll reports, bank records and CRA account before deciding what needs correcting. Ask your accountant or the CRA about the appropriate correction and any outstanding obligation. Avora can help organise and reconcile the underlying records through cleanup and catch-up support.

Year-end: T4s

After the calendar year ends, you prepare a T4 slip for each employee, give employees their slips, and file the T4 information return with the CRA — generally by the last day of February following the year. Clean payroll records through the year make this straightforward; reconstructing them in February does not. See how to prepare your books for your accountant.

Employees vs contractors

Remittances apply to employees. Genuine independent contractors invoice you and handle their own taxes — you don’t withhold source deductions for them. But misclassifying an employee as a contractor (common in trades and on projects) is a CRA risk, and getting it wrong means missed remittances. When it’s unclear, confirm the employee-vs-contractor status with the CRA or your accountant. See business vs personal expenses for keeping the related records clean.

Other employer obligations (vary by province)

Depending on where you operate, you may also have:

• Workers’ compensation premiums — e.g. WorkSafeBC in British Columbia; each province has its own board.
• Employer Health Tax (EHT) — a payroll tax in some provinces such as Ontario and British Columbia (rules and exemptions differ).
• Records of Employment (ROEs) when an employee has an interruption of earnings.

These are jurisdiction-specific — confirm what applies to you. The deadlines page explains how these connect to your bookkeeping.

Where bookkeeping fits

Good payroll bookkeeping keeps every cycle documented and reconciled, so:

• Employees are paid correctly and on time
• Remittances are prepared with the right figures before each due date
• Nil periods are reported rather than forgotten
• Your payroll liability accounts reconcile to what was actually remitted
• The trail into year-end T4s is clean

It’s part of the wider routine in the Canadian small business bookkeeping checklist.

Common payroll mistakes

• Missing a remittance due date (penalties follow quickly)
• Not knowing your remitter type — and using the wrong schedule
• Forgetting a nil remittance for a quiet period
• Miscalculating CPP/EI or the employer share
• Not reconciling payroll liabilities to what was remitted
• Treating an employee as a contractor without checking the CRA’s rules

The next step

Avora provides payroll bookkeeping and remittance support within an agreed scope: organised pay-run records, reconciliation of payroll liabilities and payment documentation, and preparation for year-end. Responsibility for processing, approving and sending each payment should be agreed explicitly. See our payroll support service, take the Bookkeeping Health Check, or discuss your payroll records.

Avora provides bookkeeping and payroll support, not tax or legal advice.

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Reviewed October 14, 2026. Confirm your assigned remitter type, current payment requirements and any provincial obligations with the applicable authority.