I just finished paying my taxes. Yay! They’re done! There were a few pulse-quickening moments, though.
Being self employed, I can filereturns as late as June 15. However, the payment has to be in by April 30. So I decided to file the returns a few days after April 30 (to give more time to find receipts, etc.) And I would pay online at the Canada Revenue Agency websitein order to get the taxes in by April 30.Paying taxes online would be a first for me.
After tallying up the numbers, I surfed over to the My Payment page and clicked on the Before you start button. Good thing I didnt leave it to the last minute. There was a message saying that if you make your payment on or after 23:30 local time, it will be recorded the next business day.
Next, I opened the Start my Payment screen. A message said you “can use this service if you have access to online banking at a participating financial institution.” Only fourinstitutions were particpating. Whew,mine was one of them.
The navigation was clean. When it came time to submit the payment, the CRA site passed me to the financial institution’s website. I entered the amount of tax due and clicked. A message came back saying that it exceeded thedaily withdrawal limit for my account and could not be processed. Time on the clock: 10 PM.
But the message also prompted me to call the bank. So I did. The attendants were busy and I was put in the queue. I waited. And waited the minutes were ticking by. I began to think of boltingfor the nearest mail box or post office with a cheque in hand. But I wasnt sure if I would get there in time and/or if the cheque would be recorded as sent April 30.
Finally, an attendant came on the line. At first, itsounded like he could nothelp. Then he said: “Wait a few minutes while I talk to my supervisor.” When he came back, he had good news. We are going to raise your daily withdrawal limit so that you can pay your taxes. Thank you, I said. A couple more clicks and it was done.
Blogs & Comment
Paying taxes online
By Larry MacDonald
I just finished paying my taxes. Yay! They’re done! There were a few pulse-quickening moments, though.
Being self employed, I can filereturns as late as June 15. However, the payment has to be in by April 30. So I decided to file the returns a few days after April 30 (to give more time to find receipts, etc.) And I would pay online at the Canada Revenue Agency websitein order to get the taxes in by April 30.Paying taxes online would be a first for me.
After tallying up the numbers, I surfed over to the My Payment page and clicked on the Before you start button. Good thing I didnt leave it to the last minute. There was a message saying that if you make your payment on or after 23:30 local time, it will be recorded the next business day.
Next, I opened the Start my Payment screen. A message said you “can use this service if you have access to online banking at a participating financial institution.” Only fourinstitutions were particpating. Whew,mine was one of them.
The navigation was clean. When it came time to submit the payment, the CRA site passed me to the financial institution’s website. I entered the amount of tax due and clicked. A message came back saying that it exceeded thedaily withdrawal limit for my account and could not be processed. Time on the clock: 10 PM.
But the message also prompted me to call the bank. So I did. The attendants were busy and I was put in the queue. I waited. And waited the minutes were ticking by. I began to think of boltingfor the nearest mail box or post office with a cheque in hand. But I wasnt sure if I would get there in time and/or if the cheque would be recorded as sent April 30.
Finally, an attendant came on the line. At first, itsounded like he could nothelp. Then he said: “Wait a few minutes while I talk to my supervisor.” When he came back, he had good news. We are going to raise your daily withdrawal limit so that you can pay your taxes. Thank you, I said. A couple more clicks and it was done.