If you do not pay an amount that is due on time, the CRA may apply interest to the amount you owe. Interest is charged on most late personal and business tax payments, including required instalments.
Interest is not applied to debts you may owe because of overpayments of Canada child benefit or personal GST/HST credit.
How interest is charged to different types of amounts owing
Interest begins accumulating on your debt from the day your payment was due.
CRA's interest rates may change each quarter. Look up our quarterly interest rates to calculate interest on a debt.
You can automatically calculate the estimated interest that will accrue on future payments by scheduling a series of pre-authorized payments to pay a debt in My Account or My Business Account.
We may charge a penalty for late payments or certain payments that must be submitted electronically.
Types of payment penalties we may applyIn some extraordinary circumstances, certain penalties and interest amounts may be cancelled or waived.
If you made a late instalment payment, or paid less than the required amount, you may be able to offset interest and penalties by earning credit interest. You can earn credit interest by paying your next instalment payment early, or by overpaying your next instalment.