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Accounting encyclopedia · Payroll

Remitter type

Your remitter type is the CRA’s classification of how often you send payroll deductions. It is usually based on your average monthly withholding amount from two calendar years earlier. The four types are quarterly, regular, and accelerated threshold 1 and threshold 2. The type sets your remitting periods and due dates, not how often you pay employees.

Sora Accounting & Tax · General information · Editorial policy
Updated · 3 min read

One payroll account, four ways to be a remitter

A branch showing the CRA remitter types, quarterly, regular and the two accelerated thresholds, that set how often payroll deductions are due.

Visual labels: Quarterly remitter; Regular remitter; Accelerated threshold 1; Accelerated threshold 2.

How the CRA assigns your type

The CRA generally looks at your average monthly withholding amount (AMWA): the total required remittances in a calendar year, divided by the number of months, up to 12, in which a remittance was required. The AMWA from two calendar years ago drives the current year’s type. The CRA reviews every payroll account in November and tells you in writing if your type changes. You can also see it in your CRA online account.

If you have more than one payroll account, the type is the same for all of them. Associated corporations share a type, based on their combined remittances with each month counted once.

The four types

Quarterly remitters pay by the 15th of the month after each calendar quarter. New employers qualify if the monthly withholding amount is under $1,000 and compliance is perfect. Established employers qualify if the AMWA is under $3,000 and compliance is perfect.

Regular remitters, with an AMWA under $25,000, pay by the 15th of the following month. Accelerated threshold 1, with an AMWA from $25,000 to $99,999.99, pays up to twice a month: the 1st to 15th is due on the 25th, and the 16th to month-end on the 10th of the next month. Threshold 2, at $100,000 or more, remits up to four times a month, each due on the third working day after the period ends, and must pay electronically or at a financial institution.

An illustrative example

A Burlington landscaping company with illustrative deductions averaging $4,000 a month is a regular remitter, so June’s deductions are due July 15. If its AMWA in some later year works out to $30,000, it becomes a threshold 1 remitter two calendar years after that year and must start remitting for each half month. The calendar change is the main effect: nothing about the wages or the employee deductions changes, only when the cash must reach the CRA.

Staff do not need to be paid more often when the type changes, because remitter type has no link to pay periods.

Perfect compliance and other points

Quarterly status depends on a clean record: no late remittances or penalties, no overdue T4 returns, and for a GST/HST account, no balance owing or overdue returns. One late payment can move you to monthly remitting. The CRA accepts early payments, but paying more often does not change your type. Late or missed remittances generally carry graduated penalties that start at 3% for a payment one to three days late, plus interest.

If you have no payroll in a period, a nil remittance still needs to be reported by the due date.

What to discuss with your accountant

Ask which type your account holds today, what your AMWA was two years ago, and what it is likely to be next time the CRA reviews it. If you are hiring quickly, plan the cash for a shorter remitting cycle before it arrives. If you qualify to drop to a less frequent type, ask how to request a review.

Sources & editorial notes

Sources checked October 24, 2026. The examples are illustrative and provide general information. Discuss how the guidance applies to your circumstances with your accountant.

Rules and guidance can change. Use the current official source and confirm the treatment for your facts. To flag an error, contact Sora.