PD7A remittance voucher

A statement and a voucher in one document

The PD7A has two parts: a statement showing your previous remittances and a voucher for the next one. The CRA sends it to regular and quarterly remitters, and it is the form you are expected to use when you pay current source deductions on paper.

It is issued once a payment for current source deductions is received or a PD7A reply has been processed. A nil remittance reported through TeleReply or My Business Account does not trigger a new one. If you remit electronically for six months in a row, or your first remittance on the account is electronic, paper statements and vouchers generally stop arriving. Your statements remain available online.

What you need when you pay

The CRA lists what to have ready: your payroll program (RP) account number, the paydays you are remitting for, the remitting period end date, your gross payroll for the period, the number of employees paid on the last payday of the period, your remitter type and frequency, and the due date.

Paying at a bank branch requires the original paper voucher. Each one carries micro encoding that the bank needs to process the payment, so photocopies and faxes are not accepted. A missing voucher is not an excuse for a late payment: you must still remit by the due date, and replacement vouchers can be ordered from the CRA.

An illustrative example

Suppose a small Hamilton shop is a regular remitter, so each month’s deductions are due on the 15th of the following month. In March it pays two employees and withholds, illustratively, $1,800 of CPP, EI and income tax, then adds $700 of employer CPP and EI. The bookkeeper fills in the March voucher with the account number, gross payroll, employee count and the $2,500 total, and pays at the bank by April 15.

The next PD7A arrives after the payment is processed, showing it on the statement and supplying the following voucher. Those figures are illustrative only.

Look-alike forms and common mistakes

Other vouchers have narrower jobs. The PD7R is for a Payment on Filing reconciliation payment, available only if you meet the CRA’s eligibility conditions, and it cannot be used for current remittances. The PD7D vouchers relate to assessed balances or arrears, and the CRA says to keep those payments separate from current source deductions. Accelerated remitters receive the PD7A(TM) and PD7A-RB booklets instead.

The usual mistakes are paying an arrears amount with the current voucher, using a photocopy at the bank, and assuming a payroll provider’s payment replaces checking the statement.

What to discuss with your accountant

Ask who reconciles the CRA statement to your payroll liability accounts each period, and how you will notice a payment that was misallocated or missed. If you pay by mail or at a branch, agree on who holds the vouchers and calendars the due dates. If you are considering a switch to online payment, ask how you will keep a confirmation for every remittance.