Over the last few months many of us have had to change the way we do things as a side effect of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Included in these changes is the way we pay our income taxes: as many of us have switched to online payments instead or writing cheques or going to the bank, to pay our instalments or balance of taxes for the year. Recently, we noticed that some of our clients have inadvertently paid their past year income tax balance due on their instalment accounts. Many individuals have instalments due on December 15. In order to avoid future misapplication of online payments, we have prepared a list of payment payee options for most Canadian banks for both the Federal and Quebec governments. In general, most banks provide 3 options as follows:

1. Payment for an amount owing on your account (generally prior year income tax assessments).
2. Payment for an amount owing related to a past return (generally balances owing regarding the current year tax return, currently indicated as 20XX on all the banks payee list).
3. Tax instalment payments.
4. Payment code – Some financial institutions have a fourth Revenue Quebec option. This code can be found on your statement of account or notice of assessment. When used, this option will apply the amount paid towards the specific balance due.

Below is a list of popular financial institutions and the payment options (as is) they use for both the Federal and Quebec Governments. The first column explains what the options mean, and second and third columns will show the actual wording used by each specific financial institution on their respective website. Simply click on your financial institution below to know which option to select, when paying amounts to the Federal and Quebec Governments.