Apply the threshold to net tax owing
For ordinary CRA personal instalments in 2026, the test considers net tax owing above $3,000 in 2026 and in either 2025 or 2024. For Québec residents, the threshold is $1,800. Gross income or the size of a bank balance is not this test.
Ottawa retirees, consultants and investors may have income with insufficient tax withheld. Gather the assessments, current income and withholding information, instalment reminders and payments already made. Québec provincial instalments also need their own review where applicable.
Worked example: a reviewed reminder schedule
Suppose a hypothetical Ottawa retiree’s reviewed August reminder lists $1,750 for September 15 and $1,750 for December 15. Following those two listed amounts schedules $3,500. A payment register records each date, amount, tax year and confirmation number.
If $600 was sent earlier, verify its allocation before treating the remaining requirement as $2,900. The payment could have settled a prior-year balance instead. This arithmetic is a reconciliation example, not a substitute for the CRA calculation or an instruction to reduce a reminder.
Understand the option before changing the amount
CRA provides reminder-based, prior-year and current-year calculation approaches. A current-year estimate needs reliable income, withholding and relevant contribution figures. When only an August reminder was issued, the payment pattern under the calculation options is not necessarily two equal halves.
Document the method and supporting figures. Reduced investment income may justify a review, but an unsupported reduction can result in instalment charges. Farming, fishing and deceased-person rules have different features and are outside this ordinary Ottawa example.
Keep instalments separate from the annual balance
The 2025 personal balance was ordinarily due April 30, 2026, including for self-employed individuals with the later filing deadline. Payments for that balance are different from instalments toward 2026. Use the correct account and payment-year selection.
After payment, retain confirmation and check the posting. Update the cash schedule without assuming that a scheduled bank instruction was completed. The 2026 return will eventually reconcile the year’s liability and payments; paying instalments does not file that return or guarantee there will be no balance.
Put this into practice
Sources and current guidance
A practical next step
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