GST/HST Payment Dates 2026: Credit Payments and Business Filing Deadlines

The GST/HST credit payment dates for 2026 are approximately January 5, April 3, July 3, and October 5, and business filing deadlines depend on whether you file monthly, quarterly, or annually. This page covers both sides of the GST/HST calendar: when the CRA pays individuals the quarterly credit, and when businesses must file returns and remit what they collected. Dates follow the CRA's standard quarterly pattern; confirm the official schedule on canada.ca before planning around any single date.

When Are the GST/HST Credit Payments in 2026?

The CRA pays the GST/HST credit four times a year, around the 5th of January, April, July, and October, moving the payment to the preceding business day when the 5th falls on a weekend. For 2026, that works out to the following schedule:

You do not apply for the credit separately: filing your annual tax return is the application, and the CRA calculates your entitlement from your family net income and number of children. If a payment does not arrive, the CRA asks that you wait 10 business days before contacting them. Direct deposit is faster and more reliable than cheques, and you can set it up through CRA My Account.

When Are Business GST/HST Filing Deadlines in 2026?

Your filing deadline is set by your reporting period: monthly and quarterly filers file and pay within one month after the period ends, and most annual filers file and pay within three months after fiscal year-end. The CRA assigns a default frequency based on revenue (you can elect to file more often), and the deadline rules look like this:

The self-employed row is the trap that catches the most people: the return can wait until June 15, but the CRA starts charging interest on any balance owing from April 30. If you expect to owe, pay by April 30 even if the paperwork comes later. To figure out what you actually owe on your sales, our free GST/HST calculator handles every provincial rate in both directions (adding tax to a price or backing it out of a total).

How Do GST/HST Remittances and Instalments Work?

You remit the difference between the GST/HST you collected and the input tax credits you claim on business purchases, by the same deadline as the return. Most businesses pay through online banking (add the CRA GST/HST payee), CRA My Business Account, or NETFILE with payment; remittances of $10,000 or more generally must be made electronically. If your input tax credits exceed what you collected, you file the same way and receive a refund instead.

Annual filers have one extra obligation: quarterly instalments. If your net GST/HST owing is $3,000 or more in both the current and previous fiscal year, you must pay instalments due within one month after each fiscal quarter ends. For a December year-end, that means instalments around April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31. Underpaying triggers instalment interest even if you settle in full at year-end. Keeping clean records is most of the battle here: if invoicing and tax tracking is eating your admin time, we have written about automating GST/HST invoice handling with AI, and our free invoice generator produces CRA-compliant invoices with the right tax fields built in.

What Happens If You File or Pay Late?

Late GST/HST filing costs you a penalty plus compounding interest, and the formula is unforgiving. The late-filing penalty is 1 percent of the balance owing, plus 0.25 percent of that balance for each full month the return is late, to a maximum of 12 months. On top of that, the CRA charges interest at its prescribed rate, compounded daily, from the day after payment was due. The prescribed rate resets quarterly and has been high enough in recent years that interest often outgrows the penalty itself.

• File even if you cannot pay. The penalty attaches to late filing. Filing on time and paying late limits the damage to interest alone.
• Nil returns are still mandatory. Registered businesses must file every period, even with zero sales. Unfiled returns can freeze refunds and rebates across your CRA accounts and eventually trigger an arbitrary assessment, where the CRA estimates what you owe.
• Repeat offenders pay more. A demand to file followed by non-compliance brings an additional penalty, and chronic late filing raises your audit profile.
• Interest is not deductible. Penalties and interest paid to the CRA are not deductible business expenses, so the true cost is higher than the cheque you write.

If you have fallen behind by years rather than months, the CRA's Voluntary Disclosures Program can provide penalty relief when you come forward before they come to you; talk to an accountant before filing a stack of late returns blind.

Quick Planning Checklist for 2026

• Mark your filing deadlines now: one month after each period (monthly/quarterly) or three months after year-end (annual corporations).
• Self-employed with a December year-end: pay by April 30, file by June 15.
• Annual filers owing $3,000+: budget quarterly instalments, not one year-end lump.
• Set aside the tax as you collect it. A separate savings account for GST/HST collected is the single most effective habit, since the remittance money was never yours.
• Run your numbers through the GST/HST calculator when quoting, and check the income tax calculator and payroll calculator if you also remit source deductions, which run on their own separate CRA schedule.
• Charging customers? Our guide to GST/HST on Canadian invoices covers what must appear on an invoice at each sale threshold.

Frequently Asked Questions

This article is general information, not tax advice. Deadlines and rates reflect CRA rules as of June 2026; confirm current dates and rates on canada.ca or with your accountant.