Your 2026 Ontario CRA Payroll Deadlines in One Place

Missing a CRA payroll deadline doesn’t come with a warning — it comes with a penalty. This page has every date an Ontario small business employer needs to know for 2026, in one place.

Bookmark it. Print it. Stick it on the wall next to the coffee maker. Whatever works.

Monthly remittance due dates

If you’re a regular (monthly) remitter — which most small businesses are — your source deductions are due by the 15th of the month following the pay period.

That means CPP, EI, and income tax withheld from January paycheques are due by February 15th. February’s deductions are due by March 15th. And so on.

If the 15th falls on a weekend or a statutory holiday, the deadline shifts to the next business day. But don’t cut it close — the CRA counts the date they receive the payment, not the date you send it.

The penalty for late remittances starts at 3% for amounts 1 to 3 days late, jumps to 5% for 4 to 5 days, 7% for 6 to 7 days, and 10% beyond that. These add up fast, especially if it happens more than once in the same calendar year — repeat offenders pay double the penalty rate.

Accelerated remitter thresholds

Not every employer remits monthly. The CRA assigns your frequency based on your average monthly withholdings over the past two calendar years:

• Threshold 1 ($25,000 to $99,999.99) — You remit twice per month. Deductions from the first 15 days of the month are due by the 25th. Deductions from the 16th through month-end are due by the 10th of the following month.
• Threshold 2 ($100,000 and above) — You remit within 3 business days of each pay date. No grace period.

Most small businesses with fewer than 20 employees fall well under these thresholds. If you’re not sure which category you’re in, check your PD7A statement from the CRA — it tells you.

T4 and T4A filing deadline

For the 2026 tax year, T4 slips must be filed with the CRA and provided to employees by February 28, 2027.

T4s report each employee’s total employment income and deductions for the year. T4As cover other types of income like subcontractor payments or retiring allowances.

Late filing carries a minimum penalty of $100 per day, up to a maximum of $7,500 for up to 50 slips. If you have more slips, the maximum goes higher. Don’t test it.

Electronic filing is mandatory if you’re issuing more than 5 T4s.

ROE timing rules

When an employee stops working — whether they quit, get laid off, or their contract ends — you must file a Record of Employment (ROE) electronically within 5 calendar days of whichever comes later: their last day of work or the last day they were paid.

The ROE is what Service Canada uses to determine EI eligibility. Getting it wrong or filing it late can delay your employee’s EI claim, which they won’t appreciate.

The “reason for separation” code matters. A layoff (code A) is different from a quit (code E) is different from a dismissal (code M). Use the right one — Service Canada follows up on mismatches.

CPP2 for 2026

Canada introduced a second tier of CPP contributions starting in 2024. For 2026:

• First earnings ceiling: $73,200 (standard CPP applies below this, at 5.95%)
• Second earnings ceiling: $85,000 (CPP2 applies on earnings between $73,200 and $85,000, at 4.00%)
• Maximum CPP2 employee contribution: approximately $472
• Employers match the CPP2 contribution dollar for dollar, same as regular CPP

If you have employees earning between $73,200 and $85,000, their deductions will be slightly higher than they were a few years ago. The CRA payroll tables handle the math — you just need to make sure you’re using the 2026 tables, not last year’s.

Ontario Employer Health Tax (EHT)

The EHT is a provincial payroll tax that Ontario employers pay on their total Ontario payroll. The annual return for 2026 is due March 15, 2027.

Good news for small businesses: the first $1,000,000 of Ontario payroll is exempt from EHT through 2026 (the exemption rises to $1,200,000 in 2027). If your total Ontario payroll is under that threshold, you don’t owe EHT — but you may still need to register and file a nil return depending on your situation.

For payrolls above the exemption, EHT is graduated from 0.98% up to 1.95%.

Key dates at a glance

Date	What’s due	Who
15th of each month	Previous month’s source deductions (CPP, EI, tax)	Monthly remitters
10th and 25th of each month	Semi-monthly remittances	Threshold 1 accelerated remitters
Within 3 business days of pay date	Source deductions	Threshold 2 accelerated remitters
Within 5 calendar days of last day worked/paid	Electronic ROE	All employers (when employee leaves)
February 28, 2027	T4/T4A slips — filed with CRA and given to employees	All employers
March 15, 2027	Ontario EHT annual return	Employers with Ontario payroll
March 31, 2027	WSIB premium remittance (Schedule 1 employers)	WSIB-registered employers

We track all of this so you don’t have to

Deadlines are the boring part of payroll — but they’re also the part where mistakes cost real money. When we handle your payroll, remittances go out on time, T4s get filed on schedule, and you never have to wonder whether today is the 15th.

Let us take the calendar off your plate.