How to Pay CRA Tax Instalments (2026): Every Method, Ranked

The CRA gives self-employed instalment payers six real ways to send money: pre-authorized debit through My Account, online banking bill payment, the CRA’s own My Payment service, in person at a Canadian bank or credit union, a third-party provider, or mail — and they are not equally easy. The CRA’s own payment page lays them all out, along with a fact that trips people up every cycle: you can only use a debit card to pay with CRA’s My Payment service — you cannot use credit cards with My Payment (Canada Revenue Agency). If you want a credit card, that’s a different route entirely. Here is every method the CRA actually names, ranked by how much ongoing effort it asks of you, ahead of the September 15 instalment date.

The six methods, ranked by effort

#	Method	Effort after setup	Cost
1	Pre-authorized debit (My Account)	None — withdraws itself	Free
2	Online banking bill payment	Low — scheduled through your bank	Free
3	CRA My Payment	Medium — one-time, log in each time	Free
4	Counter service at a bank/credit union	Medium — in person, needs a voucher	Free
5	Third-party provider (credit card / e-Transfer)	Medium — separate account, separate service	Provider service fee
6	Mail (cheque)	High — postal lead time, needs a voucher	Free (postage only)

1. Pre-authorized debit — set it once, forget both dates

If you never want to think about September 15 or December 15 again, this is the method. You can schedule one or more future payments using CRA’s pre-authorized debit (PAD) online service — set them up in CRA My Account, My Business Account, or Represent a Client for direct withdrawals from your chequing account (Canada Revenue Agency). The only catch is timing: payments must be scheduled at least 5 business days before the first payment is withdrawn (Canada Revenue Agency). Set up both the September and December amounts in one sitting today, and the rest of the year runs itself — which pairs well with keeping a tax jar filled so the withdrawal never surprises your chequing account.

2. Online banking bill payment — the familiar option

Most people already know this one because it’s how they pay every other bill. Some banks and credit unions in Canada allow you to add the CRA as a payee to make a single or multiple scheduled payments — payments are made directly from your bank account, and the options depend on your bank or credit union and your banking package (Canada Revenue Agency). Search your bank’s bill-pay payee list for “Canada Revenue Agency” or “CRA” — most banks list a separate payee specifically for instalments, distinct from the one for a balance owing, so double-check you’ve picked the instalment payee before scheduling.

3. CRA My Payment — debit only, one-time

My Payment is the CRA’s own portal, and it comes with a hard rule worth repeating because it catches people mid-payment: you can only use a debit card to pay with CRA’s My Payment service. You cannot use credit cards with My Payment (Canada Revenue Agency). It’s a one-time transaction each visit rather than something you schedule ahead — useful if you’d rather push a payment through manually on the day than automate it, but it means logging in twice a year instead of once.

4. In person at a bank or credit union — bring a remittance voucher

Still an option, and still fully manual. You can make a payment to the CRA at any bank or credit union in Canada — payments are made directly from your bank account, and you will need a remittance voucher (Canada Revenue Agency). Print or request the voucher from My Account before you go; without it, the teller has nothing to apply your payment against.

5. Third-party providers — the credit card and e-Transfer route, with a fee

If you specifically want to pay by credit card or Interac e-Transfer, the CRA doesn’t take either directly — you go through a provider. Some third-party service providers will accept a credit card payment and send it to the CRA on your behalf — service fees will be charged by the provider (Canada Revenue Agency), and separately, some third-party service providers will accept a payment through Interac e-Transfer and send it to the CRA on your behalf — service fees will be charged by the provider (Canada Revenue Agency). The CRA names PaySimply and Plastiq as providers that accept credit card payments, and PaySimply for e-Transfer. Also worth noting: the CRA does not endorse these websites, products, services, or publications — it provides these links only for convenience (Canada Revenue Agency). This route makes sense when a credit card float or rewards points are worth more to you than the fee — but confirm the exact fee before committing, since it comes out of your pocket, not the CRA’s.

6. Mail — slow, and needs a voucher too

The most traditional option, and the one with the least room for last-minute timing. You can send a cheque or a series of postdated cheques in Canadian funds, drawn on a Canadian bank or credit union, with or without a paper return, through the mail — and you should include a remittance voucher (Canada Revenue Agency). Because it’s the only method here with real transit time built in, it’s the one where “I’ll do it on the 14th” actually risks a late payment.

What the CRA never accepts, so you don’t waste time

Worth knowing before you try: the CRA does not accept any form of cryptocurrency, does not accept gift cards, does not accept traveller’s cheques, does not accept cash by mail, and does not accept non-Canadian currencies (Canada Revenue Agency). Cash payments are only accepted in person at a Canada Post retail location, with a customized QR code and a service fee charged at Canada Post.

Whichever method you pick, the date doesn’t move

September 15, 2026 is the due date regardless of how you pay. If your first-ever reminder arrived in August, it’s asking for 75% of the year’s total now and 25% on December 15 — that split is the CRA’s standard first-reminder rule, explained in your first CRA instalment reminder. A payment made late — by any method — starts instalment interest from the due date, compounded daily at the CRA’s prescribed rate of 7% for the third quarter of 2026; the arithmetic on what that actually costs is in what a missed instalment payment costs. And if you’re still deciding whether you owe an instalment at all, why an instalment reminder is not a bill walks through the threshold test first — Québec residents specifically should read the $1,800 Québec threshold, since the number and the payment channel are both different there. If you haven’t estimated your amount yet, the CRA instalment calculator takes about a minute.

The calm way to choose

Pick the method that matches how much you trust yourself to remember a date twice a year. If the honest answer is “not much,” pre-authorized debit removes the question entirely. If you’d rather keep control and just need a nudge, online banking or a calendar reminder tied to My Payment works fine. Either way, set it up this week rather than on September 14 — the method matters less than having it scheduled before the date arrives.

Sources

• CRA — Payments to the CRA (hub page: make a payment, due dates, instalments)
• CRA — Make a payment (all six methods: PAD, online banking, My Payment, counter service, third-party providers, mail; fee caveats; methods never accepted)
• CRA — Who has to pay tax instalments (thresholds and due dates)
• CRA — Prescribed interest rates (7% on overdue amounts for Q3 2026, July 1–September 30)

This article explains CRA rules in plain language. It is general information, not tax advice for your situation — every figure and quoted line above was verified against the Canada Revenue Agency pages listed on 24 August 2026. Rules, fees, and available providers change; check the current CRA page before relying on a number.