Quick answer: For 2026, you may have to make Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) income-tax instalments if your 2026 net tax owing is more than $3,000 (more than $1,800 if you live in Quebec) and it was also above that threshold in either 2025 or 2024. Most people who must pay use four due dates: March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15. The CRA’s instalment guide is the authority for these rules.
What this means: An instalment reminder is a useful starting point, but it does not by itself prove that you owe instalments. Your current-year net tax owing matters too. Income from self-employment, rent, investments or several jobs can leave too little tax withheld during the year.
What to do next: Check your CRA reminder and estimate your 2026 net tax owing. If instalments apply, choose a CRA calculation option and confirm the payment has reached your account. The CRA instalment payment page has the current payment methods.
Do you actually have to pay instalments?
The two-year test is the key. For 2026, compare your estimated net tax owing for 2026 with the provincial threshold, then check whether either 2025 or 2024 exceeded it. Both parts must be true. The CRA’s who-has-to-pay page explains the test and links to its calculation chart.
“Net tax owing” is not simply your total income or the tax shown before credits and withholding. Use the CRA calculation chart or your assessed information rather than guessing from gross income. If you received a reminder but your 2026 net tax owing will be at or below the threshold, the CRA says you do not have to pay 2026 instalments.
You might receive a reminder because the CRA expects instalments based on earlier returns. February reminders cover March and June; August reminders cover September and December. Check the amounts and dates on the notice in My Account. If your circumstances changed, a different calculation option may fit better.
There is a different schedule when your main source of income is self-employment income from farming or fishing. Qualifying farmers and fishers have one December 31 payment date instead of the ordinary March, June, September and December dates. Check the CRA’s farmers-and-fishers exception.
The 2026 due dates
| Most individual instalments | Due date |
|---|---|
| First payment | March 15 |
| Second payment | June 15 |
| Third payment | September 15 |
| Fourth payment | December 15 |
If a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or CRA-recognized public holiday, the CRA considers a payment on time if it receives it on the next business day. A qualifying farmer or fisher instead has one December 31 instalment due date. Check the CRA due-date page for the rule that applies to you.
It is worth checking your payment method’s processing time before the last day. The due date is about the payment reaching the CRA under its rules, not merely about when you remembered to schedule it.
Three ways the CRA lets you calculate payments
The CRA offers three options. These are choices for calculating the required instalments, not three separate taxes.
- No-calculation option: Pay the amounts on the CRA reminders. The CRA bases them on information from your latest assessed return. This is straightforward if your situation is fairly stable.
- Prior-year option: Calculate your 2026 instalments using your 2025 net tax owing and the CRA chart. These are still payments toward 2026 tax. It may fit when 2026 looks similar to 2025 but different from 2024.
- Current-year option: Estimate your 2026 net tax owing and applicable CPP contributions or voluntary EI premiums. It may fit when this year differs substantially from the prior years.
The CRA options page has the official chart and special instructions, including what to do if you received only an August reminder. Do not simply divide an annual figure by four in every situation.
A smaller estimated payment is not automatically the better choice. If a prior-year or current-year estimate is too low, instalment interest may apply. Keep the figures behind your estimate so you can revisit it if your income changes.
How to make and check a payment
The CRA accepts instalments online, in person or by mail. Start from its how-to-pay instalments page, which routes you to current options. For an in-person or mailed instalment, use an instalment remittance voucher so the payment goes to the right account.
After paying, keep your confirmation or other proof. The CRA says it does not send an immediate receipt for each instalment. You can check My Account after allowing the payment to process, or compare against Form INNS2, the instalment payment summary the CRA sends in February. If the payment appears on the wrong account, use the CRA’s transfer-payment option where available or contact the CRA.
Do not confuse an instalment with paying a balance owing after a tax return is assessed. Both go to the CRA, but they serve different periods. If you are dealing with an already-assessed balance you cannot pay, use the CRA payment-arrangement instructions instead.
What if your income has changed?
A reminder can be too high for a year in which income falls, or too low if income rises. Re-estimate the current-year amount using the CRA chart. If you expect net tax owing to stay below the threshold, the CRA says a reminder alone does not require a payment.
Tax deducted from certain pension or benefit income may also reduce the amount you need to cover through instalments. The correct request depends on the income source: the CRA options page identifies different forms or contacts for OAS, CPP and employer-sponsored pension benefits. It does not give one universal form for every situation.
For self-employment, rental, investment and capital-gains income, withholding usually is not built in the same way. If your estimate is complicated, a tax professional can help you check the calculation without claiming that one option is automatically cheapest.
If you miss or underpay an instalment
The CRA may charge instalment interest when you were required to pay, received a reminder showing an amount, and paid late, paid too little or did not pay. It compounds interest daily using a prescribed rate that can change quarterly. That is why an old article’s fixed interest percentage quickly becomes misleading.
A separate instalment penalty can apply under the CRA’s stated conditions. It is not an automatic flat fee for every missed date. See the CRA interest-and-penalty explanation for the current method. If you missed a date, make a payment as soon as you can and check your CRA account rather than waiting for the next reminder.
Frequently asked questions
- Does an instalment reminder mean I definitely have to pay?
- No. The CRA sends reminders to people who will likely need to pay. The 2026 net-tax-owing test still matters.
- Can I pay a different amount from the reminder?
- The CRA offers no-calculation, prior-year and current-year options. Check the official chart and the risk of interest if your estimate is low.
- Are instalments only for self-employed people?
- No. Other income with too little tax withheld, such as rent, investments, certain pensions or several jobs, can also lead to instalments.
- How do I know the CRA received my payment?
- Keep your payment proof and check Accounts and payments in CRA My Account after allowing for processing. The CRA also issues an instalment summary later.
Related guides and official help
- Browse Canadian Money Help tax guides — related tax topics; confirm any amounts or deadlines with their linked official sources.
- CRA payment arrangements — when the issue is an existing debt, not an instalment.
Rules and process basis
This is a plain-English route through the CRA’s 2026 personal-income-tax instalment instructions. It is not an estimate of your tax bill or a recommendation to choose a particular calculation method. Quebec thresholds and farming/fishing schedules differ; check your own reminder and current CRA instructions.