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CRA tax instalments for gig workers

By Jin JeongUpdated Checked against CRA and BC government 2026 figures

If you are self-employed and your tax bill was large last year, the CRA expects you to pay in advance, in up to four instalments through the year, rather than as one lump sum next April. Missing them can cost you interest and penalties. This guide explains who has to pay, when, how much, and what the instalment test looks like for a delivery or rideshare driver. All amounts are in CAD.

From the author. I delivered full time for DoorDash in Vancouver, BC from 2019 to 2026. In a good month at the peak I earned around C$10,000; these days it is around C$4,000. I did not set money aside from my payouts, and at filing time I ended up paying large lump-sum tax bills. That is why this section exists. — Jin Jeong

What instalments are, and why they exist

Employees have income tax, CPP and EI taken from every pay cheque, so their tax is paid as they go. Self-employed people do not. The CRA's answer is the instalment system: if your tax owing is consistently large, you pay it in advance through the year on set dates. For a gig driver, "tax owing" includes both income tax and the CPP you owe on your self-employment income, which is what makes the amount big enough to trigger instalments sooner than many people expect.

Who has to pay instalments

The CRA's rule, for residents outside Quebec, is that you must pay instalments for a year if your net tax owing is more than C$3,000 in that year and in either of the two previous years. For 2026 that means over C$3,000 in 2026 and also over C$3,000 in 2025 or 2024. Quebec residents have a lower threshold (C$1,800) and a separate provincial system, and are outside the scope of our calculators.

"Net tax owing" is your total tax for the year, including CPP on self-employment income, minus tax already deducted at source (for example by an employer). A driver with a job whose employer withholds enough to cover the extra gig tax has little net tax owing and no instalment trigger.

The test has one important consequence. In your first year of driving you generally will not have to pay instalments, because there is no earlier year over C$3,000. The whole bill arrives at filing time. In your second year, if that first-year bill was over C$3,000, you are likely required to pay instalments for the year that follows. Many new drivers are not aware of this until the CRA sends a reminder.

The dates

Instalments are due on March 15, June 15, September 15, December 15. (Farmers and fishers have a single December 31 due date.) The first payment of the year therefore falls due early in March, so instalments have to be planned before you know what the year's income will be. The calculation options below explain how the amounts are set.

How much to pay: the three options

The CRA lets you choose among three ways of calculating instalments.

  1. No-calculation option. The CRA sets your instalment amounts from your latest assessed return and sends you reminders showing the amounts. It works best if your income, deductions and credits stay about the same from year to year. You pay what the reminder says.
  2. Prior-year option. You calculate the amounts yourself from your last return using the CRA's chart for the year. Suited to a year that looks like last year but is notably different from the year before.
  3. Current-year option. You base instalments on your estimated net tax owing, CPP payable and voluntary EI premiums for the current year. This suits a year that will differ significantly from both previous years, for example when your income is climbing or falling.

The CRA states that under the prior-year and current-year options, paying the full amount by the due dates avoids instalment interest and penalties, unless your estimate was too low. Use the CRA's chart for exact arithmetic on your own file. The numbers below are estimates for illustration; they divide estimated net tax owing into four equal payments, which is the simplest case of the current-year option.

Four drivers, four situations

These figures come from the same engine as our calculator (2026, BC). Example amounts are CAD estimates.

1. First-year full-time driver

Gross C$50,000, 75.0% business use, vehicle costs C$12,000, other expenses C$1,000. Estimated net tax owing: C$8,022. That is over C$3,000, but with no prior-year history instalments are not required for this year. The full C$8,022 falls due by April 30 of the following year. If this driver set nothing aside, that is a large lump sum. Setting aside 16.0% of every payout would have covered it.

2. The same driver in year two

Same income. Because the prior year was over C$3,000, instalments are required: yes. A quarter of the estimated bill is about C$2,006 on each of the four dates, C$8,022 in total. Paying those on time prevents instalment interest and avoids a single lump sum in April.

3. Part-time driver with a low bill

Gross C$22,000, 70.0% business use. Estimated net tax owing: C$1,642. At or under C$3,000, so no instalments are required for this year, whatever last year looked like.

4. Driver with a day job

Employment income C$45,000 with C$5,000 of tax withheld, plus C$15,000 gross gig income. Total tax on the return C$8,856; net tax owing after withholding: C$3,856. That is over C$3,000. One way to prevent a bill like this is to ask your employer to withhold more, but that is a decision for you and your payroll department.

What happens if you miss instalments

The CRA says that if you must pay instalments and do not, you may be charged instalment interest and penalties. The CRA's page on interest and penalty charges sets the rates and how they can be reduced or cancelled, and the rates change, so check that page rather than relying on a number in a guide. The practical lesson: late instalments cost money on top of the tax itself.

Do I still need to pay tax on April 30?

Yes. Instalments are prepayments toward your annual bill. Any balance left on your return is due April 30 of the next year, even though self-employed filers can file until June 15. If you paid the right instalments, the April 30 balance is small. If you did not, the difference lands then.

A practical plan for a gig driver

  1. Year one: assume the bill comes in a lump sum. Move your set-aside percentage into a separate account on every payout, so that the lump sum is already there.
  2. Year two: expect a CRA reminder. Decide which of the three options fits your situation. If your income has changed a lot, the current-year option usually fits better than the no-calculation option.
  3. Each quarter: re-run the calculator with your year-to-date income and see whether the estimate has moved.
  4. Pay on the dates: March 15, June 15, September 15, December 15. Put them in your calendar at the start of the year.
  5. After you file: see whether your instalments were too high or too low and adjust next year.

Frequently asked questions

Do instalments apply if I only drive part time?

The test is purely about the amount of net tax owing, not about hours. A part-time driver with a day job often has low net tax owing because the employer's withholding covers some of it. A part-time driver with no other income can still have a small bill if their profit is low.

What if I overpay?

If your instalments exceed your actual tax, the difference is refunded or credited when your return is assessed.

Are instalments the same as GST/HST remittances?

No. GST/HST has its own reporting periods and instalment rules for registrants with larger amounts. This guide covers personal income tax and CPP instalments only. See our GST/HST guide.

Does this apply in Quebec?

Quebec has its own threshold (C$1,800) and a separate provincial return, and our calculator does not cover it.

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