CRA, in plain English.

CRA collects payroll source deductions and employer contributions. Remittance dates follow the assigned remitter category. T4 filing is a separate annual obligation, with a last-day-of-February deadline subject to CRA’s weekend/public-holiday rule.

What CRA administers.

Canada Revenue Agency is the federal authority that administers payroll source deductions across Canada. Three deductions define the obligation: income tax withholding, Canada Pension Plan contributions, and Employment Insurance premiums. Together, these are what employers calculate, collect, and remit to CRA on behalf of their employees, every time a payroll runs.

CRA collects CPP, CPP2 and EI along with income tax. Add employer CPP/CPP2 and EI contributions to the employee deductions when reconciling the total remittance. Remit by the assigned deadline, which need not be the payday.

The vehicle for payment is the PD7A.

The PD7A remittance schedule.

CRA has quarterly, regular and two accelerated remitter categories. Use the assigned category, applicable reference-year rules and the appropriate payment method or voucher. PD7A and accelerated-remitter statements differ.

T4 filing and employee-copy deadlines are the last day of February after the tax year, subject to CRA’s weekend/public-holiday rule. That gives March 2, 2026 for 2025 remuneration and March 1, 2027 for 2026 remuneration.

Two forms, two authorities.

Service Canada, not CRA, receives the Record of Employment. That is not a technicality. That is a distinct federal body with a distinct form and a distinct filing process. CRA owns the T4, filed annually by the last day of February, subject to CRA’s weekend/public-holiday rule. Service Canada owns the ROE. Same government. Different forms, different authorities, different processes.

What shows up in audits.

• Routing the ROE to CRA or bundling it into the T4 package. Service Canada is a different federal body with a different form and a different process entirely.
• Missing CPP2 when it applies. CPP and CPP2 are separate contributions, and payroll systems not updated for the second tier omit it from the calculation entirely.
• Filing on the wrong remittance schedule. CRA assigns quarterly, regular, or accelerated categories under its reference-year rules. A category shift that goes unnoticed turns timely-looking payments into late remittances in CRA records.
• Missing the T4 deadline. The last day of February applies to every employer, regardless of province, industry, or payroll size.

How Workzoom runs it.

Workzoom has run Canadian payroll since 2001. Still family-owned. County of Renfrew, an Ontario municipality, and Silvera for Seniors both run on it today. Twenty-five years of CRA remittance schedules, CPP changes, EI adjustments, and T4 filing cycles absorbed into the platform, not bolted on after the fact.

On every pay run, Workzoom calculates income tax withholding, CPP, CPP2, and EI, and generates the PD7A for the employer to submit and remit to CRA. At year-end, it generates the T4 for the employer to file with CRA by the last day of February, subject to CRA’s weekend/public-holiday rule. One database holds HR, time, and payroll in the same employee record, which means no export step between the data and the form. The employee data that drove the pay run is the same data that populates the year-end filing. The employer submits. The employer remits. Workzoom makes sure the numbers are right before they get there.