Remittance is the act of sending withheld or collected tax amounts, and related employer amounts where required, to the CRA.
A remittance is a payment sent to the CRA to satisfy a tax collection or reporting obligation. In payroll context, it usually means sending source deductions and related employer amounts after they have been calculated or withheld.
Remittance is one of those terms that appears in payroll, GST/HST, and other tax workflows. If you misunderstand it, it becomes harder to see the difference between collecting an amount, reporting it, and actually sending it in.
In payroll context, remittance often refers to sending source deductions and related employer amounts to the CRA on the required schedule. That can include income tax withheld from employees, employee CPP or EI amounts, and the employer’s own CPP or EI shares that must accompany the payroll remittance.
In broader Canadian tax language, remittance can also refer to sending GST/HST or other required amounts under a different tax program. That is why the term is broader than withholding. Withholding is about taking money off a payment. Remittance is about sending the required amount to the authority that must receive it.
The reporting step also matters. A remittance obligation often sits beside a filing obligation, but the two are not identical. Sending the money is not the same thing as filing a T4 information return or a GST/HST return.
An employer may withhold income tax, CPP, and EI from employee pay. Those amounts still have to be remitted, along with the employer’s required CPP and EI shares. The withholding step and the remittance step are related, but they are not the same action.
Remittance is not the same as a deduction itself.
It is also not limited to payroll. The same word can appear in GST/HST and other tax-payment workflows.
It does not automatically mean the taxpayer has filed everything correctly. A payment can be remitted late, early, or without the related return being handled properly.
What is the difference between withholding and remittance? Answer: Withholding is the act of taking an amount from a payment. Remittance is the act of sending the required amount to the tax authority.
Does remitting an amount automatically mean the related return or slip has already been filed? Answer: No. Remitting money and filing the related return or information slip are connected steps, but they are not the same step.
Schedules, remitter classifications, and payment channels depend on the tax program and taxpayer situation, so the exact remittance obligation should always be checked in the current CRA guidance.