An instalment reminder arrived. Is it actually right?

Reviewed by EverStone CPA · August 2026

Quick answer: An instalment reminder shows amounts the CRA calculated from your PAST filings — it is a payment schedule proposal, not an assessment. If this year’s income will be lower, you may legitimately owe less or nothing per instalment; if you underpay against what the year truly turns out to owe, instalment interest attaches. The judgement is a projection question, which is exactly what our instalment calculator and instalments guide are for.

What the reminder is, mechanically

Instalments prepay a year’s tax during the year. The CRA’s reminder amounts are computed from prior-year figures because that is all it can see — it does not know your current year. That is why the reminder is neither ignorable nor automatically correct: it is one of the calculation options the rules allow, based on data that may no longer describe you.

The three legitimate responses

Pay as billed — safe harbour: paying the reminder amounts on time protects you from instalment interest even if the year ends up owing more.
Pay based on this year’s estimate — allowed, and cheaper when income has dropped; but if the estimate proves low, interest applies to the shortfall.
Pay nothing — correct only when the year’s tax will fall under the instalment threshold. Guessing wrong here is the expensive version.

What people get wrong

Treating the reminder as junk mail, and treating it as an invoice, are both errors. It is a forecast you are invited to correct — and the correction should be a calculation, not a mood. Ten minutes with the calculator and last year’s numbers settles which of the three responses is yours.

Book a free consultation Email us your question

Fastest first step: email what you’re facing to info@everstonecpa.com — reply within one business day, and we book the consult from there.

General information, not tax advice. The document in your hand and its own dates govern.

Common questions

Is an instalment reminder a bill I legally owe?+

It is a schedule the CRA computed from prior filings. What you legally owe for the year is decided by the year — but paying the reminder amounts on time is the safe-harbour option that prevents instalment interest regardless of how the year lands.

My income dropped this year. Do I still pay these amounts?+

You may elect to pay based on the current year’s estimate instead — that is explicitly allowed. The risk sits on your estimate: undershoot and interest attaches to the difference. Run the projection before deciding, not after.

What happens if I just ignore it?+

If the year ends up owing enough that instalments were required, instalment interest applies to what should have been paid through the year. If the year truly falls below the threshold, nothing happens. The letter is the prompt to find out which world you are in.

Can EverStone work this out with me?+

Yes — email the reminder and your rough year-to-date picture to info@everstonecpa.com, and we will tell you which of the three responses fits before the first date on the schedule.

Email the reminder before the first due date

A CPA reads it against your actual year and answers with a number, not a guess.

Email us — info@everstonecpa.com Or book directly