CRA Tax Instalments: Who Pays, When and How Much (Self-Employed)

Short answer: You have to pay CRA tax instalments for 2026 if your net tax owing is more than $3,000 ($1,800 if you live in Quebec) for 2026, and was also more than that in either 2025 or 2024. Instalments are due March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15. The CRA sends reminders in February and August with suggested amounts; if you pay those amounts on time, you are not charged instalment interest, even if you owe more when you file. Late or short payments are charged interest compounded daily, with a penalty if that interest passes $1,000. GST/HST has its own instalment rule for annual filers.

These are the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) rules for individuals, including sole proprietors, freelancers and contractors, for the 2026 tax year. They exist because nobody withholds tax from a self-employed person’s income. The quarterly dates sit alongside your filing and payment deadlines in the self-employed tax deadline guide, and how to send the money is covered in how to pay CRA taxes owing.

Who has to pay tax instalments to the CRA?

You pay instalments for 2026 if your net tax owing is more than $3,000 in 2026 and was more than $3,000 in either 2025 or 2024; in Quebec the figure is $1,800.

The CRA’s who has to pay page sets the two-part test, and the province you live in on December 31 decides which threshold applies. Net tax owing is, roughly, your income tax after credits minus any tax already withheld at source. For most sole proprietors almost nothing is withheld, so net tax owing is close to the whole income tax bill.

Your net tax owing	2024	2025	2026	Instalments for 2026?
First year in business	$0	$0	$5,000	No: no earlier year over $3,000
Business took off last year	$0	$4,500	$6,000	Yes
Quiet year	$4,000	$2,000	$2,500	No: 2026 is under $3,000
Quebec resident	$1,000	$2,000	$2,200	Yes: both over $1,800

The first row is why new freelancers are often caught out in their second year: no instalments in year one, then a full year’s balance due on April 30 and, from then on, instalments on top. In the tax calculator examples, even $40,000 of net self-employment income produces more than $3,000 of income tax.

When are CRA instalments due?

They are due March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15 of the tax year, and the CRA sends reminders before each pair.

Date	What is due	Reminder
March 15, 2026 (a Sunday, so on time the next business day)	1st instalment for 2026	February reminder
June 15, 2026	2nd instalment for 2026	February reminder
September 15, 2026	3rd instalment for 2026	August reminder
December 15, 2026	4th instalment for 2026	August reminder

The 2026 dates are on the CRA’s payment due dates page. Not getting a reminder (form INNS1) does not cancel the obligation: if you meet the test, you owe the instalments whether or not a reminder arrives.

How much should each instalment be?

You choose one of three options: pay the amounts on the CRA’s reminders, base the payments on last year, or base them on an estimate of this year.

Option	How the amount is set	Best when
No-calculation	The CRA works it out from your latest assessed return and prints it on the reminders: March and June are each a quarter of your 2024 total; September and December split what is left of your 2025 total	Your income is fairly stable, or rising
Prior-year	A quarter of your 2025 total on each date	2025 was a better guide than 2024
Current-year	A quarter of your estimated 2026 total on each date	Your 2026 income will be clearly lower

In every option, the total covers more than income tax: the CRA’s options to calculate page adds the CPP contributions payable on your self-employment income, and EI premiums if you have opted into EI special benefits, to your net tax owing.

The no-calculation option carries a guarantee: if you pay the reminder amounts by the due dates, the CRA does not charge instalment interest or a penalty, even if your real 2026 bill turns out higher. You pay the difference with the rest of your balance by April 30, 2027. The current-year option has no such guarantee; if you underestimate, interest runs on the shortfall.

Worked example: three ways to pay the same instalments

Jordan is a self-employed electrician in Saskatoon. His instalment totals (net tax owing plus CPP) were $4,200 for 2024 and $6,000 for 2025, and he expects about $8,000 for 2026. His net tax owing alone was above $3,000 in 2025 and will be in 2026, so he has to pay instalments.

Option	March 15	June 15	Sept 15	Dec 15	Paid in 2026	Left for April 30, 2027
No-calculation	$1,050	$1,050	$1,950	$1,950	$6,000	about $2,000
Prior-year	$1,500	$1,500	$1,500	$1,500	$6,000	about $2,000
Current-year	$2,000	$2,000	$2,000	$2,000	$8,000	about $0

The no-calculation figures are $4,200 ÷ 4 for March and June, then ($6,000 − $2,100) ÷ 2 for September and December. Either of the first two options means no instalment interest as long as Jordan pays on time; he simply pays the remaining $2,000 or so by April 30, 2027. Using his own higher estimate clears the bill before April, but it is a choice, not a requirement.

Where the current-year option bites is when you use it to pay less than the reminders. If Jordan expected a slow year, paid $1,000 a quarter on a $4,000 estimate, and finished the year at $6,500, he would be charged instalment interest on the shortfalls from each due date.

What happens if you pay instalments late or not at all?

The CRA charges instalment interest, compounded daily, on late or short payments, and adds a penalty if that interest is more than $1,000 for the year.

The interest rate is the CRA’s prescribed rate, which can change every three months; for October to December 2026, the rate on overdue taxes is 7% a year. The instalment penalty only applies when instalment interest for the year passes $1,000. The CRA takes the higher of $1,000 and 25% of the interest you would have owed if you had paid no instalments at all, subtracts it from your actual instalment interest, and halves the result.

Example: your instalment interest for 2026 is $1,600, and with no instalments it would have been $2,000. 25% of $2,000 is $500, so the CRA uses $1,000. The penalty is ($1,600 − $1,000) ÷ 2 = $300.

You can undo some of the damage. The CRA uses an offset method: paying a later instalment early, or paying more than asked, earns credit interest that is set against the interest on a late or short payment for the same year. The credit is not refundable and cannot be carried to another year, but catching up in September can cancel most of the cost of missing June.

How do you pay CRA instalments?

Pay through online banking, My Account or any other CRA payment method, choosing the instalment option rather than “balance owing.”

In online banking, choose the CRA’s instalment payee, not the one for amounts owing on a return, and use your social insurance number as the account number; otherwise the payment may land on an earlier year’s balance. You can pay more often than quarterly, as long as each quarter’s amount is in by its due date. The other routes are in how to pay CRA taxes owing.

Do you have to pay GST/HST instalments?

Only if you file GST/HST returns annually and your net tax is $3,000 or more; then you pay quarterly instalments within one month after each fiscal quarter ends.

This is a separate rule from income tax instalments. The CRA’s GST/HST instalment pages set the $3,000 test, and each instalment is generally a quarter of your net tax, based on last year’s figure or on an estimate of this year’s. Net tax of $4,000 last year, with at least as much expected this year, means four instalments of $1,000. For a business with a December 31 fiscal year-end, the instalment dates look like this:

Fiscal quarter	Instalment due
January 1 – March 31	April 30
April 1 – June 30	July 31
July 1 – September 30	October 31
October 1 – December 31	January 31 of the next year

When you file the annual return, the instalments you paid go on line 110, so the return only collects what is left, as how to file a GST/HST return explains. Monthly and quarterly filers do not pay GST/HST instalments, because they remit with each return. In Quebec, GST and QST are administered by Revenu Québec, which runs its own instalment rules; see Quebec sales tax for contractors. Every other Canadian guide is on the Canada guides hub.

…and where does Keel fit?

Keel does not calculate instalments, send payments or connect to the CRA. It keeps the invoices, receipts and expenses that show, partway through the year, whether your tax bill is heading above or below last year’s, which is the question behind choosing an instalment option. Keel: Invoice Maker & Receipts is an iPhone app that keeps estimates, PDF invoices, receipts, expenses and business mileage under each job, with a “who owes you” view and reminder drafts you review and send yourself. Everything stays on your iPhone: no account, no bank connection, no cloud sync, and the App Store privacy label reads “Data Not Collected.”

It is free with no invoice limit (free invoices carry a small “Made with Keel” footer). Keel Lifetime is a one-time purchase ($249.99 USD; the App Store shows your local price) that adds custom branding, a signature, premium templates and accountant-ready exports and advanced reports. Keel: Invoice Maker & Receipts on the App Store.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to pay instalments if I didn’t get a reminder from the CRA? If you meet the test, yes. The reminders are a courtesy; the obligation comes from your net tax owing for this year and the two before it. If no reminder arrives but you expect to owe more than $3,000 ($1,800 in Quebec) and did last year too, work out an amount with the prior-year or current-year option and pay it by the quarterly dates.

Are CRA instalments mandatory? Once you meet the test, yes, in the sense that the CRA charges interest on any instalment you should have paid and did not. You can still pay the whole bill on April 30, but interest runs from each missed due date. If the reminder amounts look too high, the current-year option lets you pay less, at your own risk.

What if I can’t afford an instalment this quarter? Pay what you can by the due date and catch up with the next one. Interest only runs on the shortfall, and paying the next instalment early or adding extra to it earns credit interest that offsets the cost. The penalty only starts once instalment interest for the year passes $1,000.

Does CPP count toward my instalments? Yes. The CRA’s instalment calculations add the CPP contributions payable on your self-employment income, and any EI premiums if you opted in, to your net tax owing. For a self-employed person earning $70,000 in 2026, CPP alone is $7,913.50, so leaving it out would make each instalment far too small.

What are the GST/HST instalment due dates? For an annual filer who has to pay them, GST/HST instalments are due within one month after the end of each fiscal quarter. With a December 31 year-end, that is April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31. Each is generally a quarter of your net tax for the year.

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This article is general information, not tax advice. Consult a qualified accountant or tax professional.