A remittance voucher is often required to pay the CRA at financial institutions, Canada Post retail outlets, or by mail. Paying tax in Canada, like anywhere really, is one of those rights of passage that happens when you come of age. No one really tells you how to do it or what is expected, only that you need to do it.

This leaves many of us having to muddle through and find the answers ourselves, hoping that we don’t get it wrong.

On your journey of discovery into the world of Canadian tax, you will have no doubt heard mention of a remittance voucher from the CRA.

But what is it?  How do you use it? What is it for?

Don’t worry, we’ll break down all of these questions to help you get on top of your taxes.

What is a remittance voucher?

Simply put, a remittance voucher is an important piece of paper that provides the CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) with the necessary information about your tax payments.

They are used specifically for paying the CRA at financial institutions, Canada Post retail outlets, or by mail.

If you are wanting a personalized remittance voucher you can now download and print them yourself, though it is worth double-checking as there are some that can only be ordered by post as they will have magnetic ink to prove their originality.

Who is the CRA?

The Canada Revenue Agency, or CRA, is the Canadian Governments revenue service that is responsible for collecting taxes, administering tax law and policies, and administers many benefit programs or tax credits for both the federal government and most provincial governments.

How to use a remittance voucher?

Using your remittance voucher is fairly straightforward, though it is worth taking your time to do and making sure you know what kind of payment you are wanting to make.

Let’s break down what information you will need to add for which type of payment a bit further:

Income Tax payments for individuals

SIN – If you’ve ordered a personalised remittance voucher then your Social Insurance Number (SIN) will already be added.  If you have ordered a non-personalised voucher then you will need to add your SIN in order to make sure the payment goes towards your contribution.

Tip – be careful when using a remittance voucher someone else has given you. If it is personalised to them then the payment will go towards their contribution.

Amount Paid – Here you will enter the amount you will pay to your account.

Instalment payment – if you are making an instalment payment then you will need to add the tax year into the instalment payment section.  The tax year is the calendar year your payment should be applied against.

Business Tax Payments

For your payroll, corporation, and GST/HST remittance vouchers you will need to fill in:

BN – the full 15 digits of your Business number (BN)

Amount Paid – this again is the amount you will pay to your account.

Remittance period ending – specifically for GST/HST you will need to enter the year, month, and day for the period you are paying against.  This helps the CRA apply the payment to the proper tax period.

Payroll deductions

For payroll deductions remittance voucher you will need to add:

Gross payroll in remitting period – this is the dollar amount of gross payroll.  This data is collected for Statistics Canada.

Number of employees – this is the number of employees you had during the remittance period that you are paying towards.

End of remitting period for which deductions were withheld – this is the year and month for the period you are paying.

Corporation Income Tax Payments

Remittance period ending – simply add the year, month, for the period you are wanting your payment to go towards.

Non-resident tax payments

If you are a non-resident paying tax then you will need to add the following:

Account number – you will have a non-resident account number that you will have to fill in.

Month for which non-resident tax was withheld – this is the year and month that you are remitting tax.

Amount paid – this again is simply the amount you want to pay to your account.

How to get a remittance voucher?

Getting your remittance voucher is also fairly straightforward:

Ordering

For your personalized and printable remittance voucher you can use:

• T7DR for arrears payments
• INNS3 for instalment payments

For everything else, you will have to order your remittance voucher.  This is easily done in the following ways (depending on what you need):

• My Business Account – for business owners you can order through my business account portal.
• Represent a client – for business employees and representatives they can use the form linked here.
• My Account – for individuals you can use your My Account login and order through the online portal there.

If you are looking for remittance vouchers for payroll, charities, information returns, or for non-resident accounts then you will have to order by phone as they cannot be ordered online.  Here are the numbers to call:

• Businesses: 1-800-959-5525
• Individuals: 1-800-959-8281
• Softwood lumber: 1-800-935-0313
• Excise and other levies: 1-800-959-5525
• TIPS: 1-800-267-6999
• Non-residents withholding tax (Part XIII):
• Calling from within Canada of the United States: 1-855-284-5946
• Calling from outside Canada or the United States: 613-940-8499

How long it takes to arrive

It can generally take between 5 to 10 working days for your remittance voucher to arrive by post once you’ve placed your order.

It is important to take this delay into consideration and give yourself plenty of time to order before needing to file.

Final Thoughts

Though it might sound scary and confusing, your remittance voucher is easy to order, simple to fill in, and takes no time to send off.  Once you’ve done your first one you’ll realise there’s nothing to it really.