Quarterly tax instalments for Canadian gig workers in 2026

If you deliver for Uber Eats, DoorDash, SkipTheDishes, or Instacart, you may not have an employer withholding income tax from every payout. That is one reason the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) can require you to make tax instalments during the year instead of waiting to pay your full balance after filing.

This guide explains the rule in plain language for Canadian delivery drivers. It is based on CRA pages and the CRA's 2026 instalment calculation chart reviewed on August 6, 2026. I wrote it to answer the practical questions drivers run into: whether instalments apply, how to calculate them, how to pay, and what to do when your income changes. The CRA is the authority, and this is general information rather than individualized tax advice.

The short answer

You may have to pay 2026 tax instalments if both of these conditions apply:

1. Your 2026 net tax owing is more than $3,000 ($1,800 if you live in Quebec on December 31), and
2. Your net tax owing was also more than the applicable threshold in 2025 or 2024.

The CRA uses instalments to collect tax throughout the year, roughly as an employer would withhold tax from paycheques. For a self-employed delivery driver, the amount usually reflects income tax plus self-employed CPP contributions and, where applicable, voluntary EI premiums. The threshold itself is based on net tax owing; the instalment calculation then adds the relevant CPP and EI amounts.

What are CRA quarterly tax instalments?

A tax instalment is a payment toward the tax you expect to owe for the current year. It is not a new tax and it is not a fee for using a delivery app. It is an early payment of your personal income-tax balance and related amounts.

For example, imagine you had a strong year delivering for several apps. Your platforms paid you during the year, but they did not deduct enough income tax at source. When you file, you could owe a large balance. CRA instalments split that expected balance into payments while you are earning the money:

• March 15, 2026
• June 15, 2026
• September 15, 2026
• December 15, 2026

The standard schedule is four payments. A special 75%/25% schedule can apply when the CRA reminder only requires September and December payments. Farmers and fishers have different rules, but those rules do not normally apply to food-delivery driving.

The CRA says that self-employed people earning business, professional, or commission income may have to make instalments. Whether a driver is an employee or self-employed depends on the facts of the working relationship, not simply what an app calls the driver. The CRA's courier guidance lists factors used when examining that relationship. This article focuses on drivers who are operating as self-employed workers. If you need the wider filing workflow first, see the 2026 delivery-driver tax filing guide.

When does a gig worker have to pay instalments?

The two-part test is easier to understand if you separate the current year from the previous years.

1. Your 2026 balance must be over the threshold

For most Canadian residents, the relevant threshold is more than $3,000 of net tax owing. For a Quebec resident on December 31, 2026, the threshold is more than $1,800.

Net tax owing is not the same as your gross delivery income. It is the amount left after the tax return's deductions, credits, and other applicable amounts are taken into account. Your delivery expenses, such as the supportable business-use portion of vehicle costs, can affect your net business income and therefore your tax estimate. Keep the records needed to support those claims; do not simply subtract an arbitrary percentage.

2. You must also have been over the threshold in 2025 or 2024

The CRA's test also looks at either of the two preceding years. For 2026, you generally have to make instalments when your net tax owing is over the applicable threshold in 2026 and was over that threshold in either 2025 or 2024.

This means a driver who had one unusually profitable year may not automatically be required to make instalments the following year if the other parts of the test do not apply. Conversely, a driver who has owed more than the threshold for several years should expect the CRA to continue sending instalment reminders.

The CRA may send an instalment reminder if it thinks you will likely have to pay. A reminder is useful, but it is not the only thing that matters. If your actual circumstances change, review the calculation rather than blindly repeating last year's payment.

A simple example

Suppose you live in Alberta. Your 2025 net tax owing was $3,800, and your 2024 net tax owing was $3,400. You expect your 2026 net tax owing to be $4,200. You meet both parts of the test, so you should plan for 2026 instalments.

Now suppose your 2026 net tax owing will be only $2,400 because you worked fewer hours and had properly supported business expenses. You may not need 2026 instalments, even if the CRA sent a reminder, because your estimated current-year net tax owing is under $3,000. Keep the calculation showing how you arrived at that estimate.

How to calculate your 2026 instalment amount

The CRA gives you three calculation options. You can choose the option that works best for your situation. The options are not three different taxes; they are three ways to estimate the amount you should pay during the year.

The CRA's 2026 calculation chart for instalment payments is the most useful worksheet for the prior-year and current-year options. It uses figures such as net tax owing, CPP contributions payable on self-employment and other earnings, and voluntary EI premiums where applicable.

Option 1: No-calculation option

This is the simplest option. Use the amounts the CRA prints on your instalment reminder. The CRA calculates the suggested instalment from your latest assessed return and tells you what to pay.

This option makes sense when your income, deductions, and credits are fairly similar from year to year. It is convenient, but it can be too high if your delivery work has slowed down or your expenses have changed significantly.

If your reminder says to pay four amounts, follow the four dates. If it only shows September and December, the CRA generally expects 75% of the year's amount on September 15 and the remaining 25% on December 15.

Option 2: Prior-year option

Use the prior-year option when your 2026 income, deductions, and credits will be similar to 2025 but were significantly different in 2024.

You use your 2025 tax information and the CRA chart to calculate the year's total. In broad terms, you calculate the amount of net tax owing and add the applicable self-employed CPP contributions and voluntary EI premiums. Then you pay it according to the instalment schedule.

This can be useful when 2025 is a better picture of your current delivery work than the older year. It also avoids having to forecast every kilometre, fuel bill, platform fee, and other expense for the entire 2026 year.

Option 3: Current-year option

Use the current-year option when your 2026 income, deductions, and credits will be significantly different from both 2025 and 2024.

Estimate your 2026 figures, including:

• total income from Uber Eats, DoorDash, SkipTheDishes, Instacart, and other work
• reasonable and supportable business expenses
• your estimated 2026 net tax owing
• CPP contributions payable on self-employment and other earnings
• voluntary EI premiums, if applicable

Put those figures through the CRA's 2026 calculation chart. Then divide the total according to the schedule. This option can produce a more accurate result when you have stopped driving, started driving much more, changed provinces, changed vehicles, or expect a major change in deductions.

The risk is obvious: a current-year estimate is only as good as the numbers behind it. Update your estimate during the year instead of making one optimistic guess in January and never checking it again.

The practical way to estimate as a delivery driver

A workable routine is:

1. Export or save each platform's weekly or monthly earnings statement.
2. Track gross income separately from expenses and payouts deposited into your bank account.
3. Keep a mileage log with business kilometres and total kilometres.
4. Record fuel, repairs, insurance, phone, supplies, parking, and other potentially deductible costs with receipts.
5. Estimate your net business income, not just your app deposits.
6. Use the CRA chart and your most recent notice of assessment.
7. Recheck the estimate after each quarter or whenever your work pattern changes.

The CRA says motor-vehicle claims need records of both total kilometres and kilometres driven to earn income. For a mixed-use vehicle, a driver generally claims only the supportable business portion of eligible costs. The mileage-tracking guide for Canadian gig workers explains what to record, while the gig-worker deductions guide goes deeper into vehicle, phone, parking, platform-fee, and equipment costs. Good records improve your estimate and give you evidence if CRA asks how you calculated your expenses.

You can also use the GigPulse Canadian gig-worker tax calculator to estimate income tax, CPP, and the effect of eligible expenses. The calculator walkthrough explains which numbers to gather and what the result means. For a broader reserve habit before you know your final figures, read how much tax to set aside from delivery income. These are planning tools, not a CRA instalment statement or a substitute for the CRA chart and your tax return.

Worked example: Jordan's 2026 quarterly instalments

Here is an illustration, not a promise of what any particular driver will owe. Jordan lives in Ontario, drives for DoorDash and Uber Eats, and has no tax withheld from those payouts. Jordan's prior net tax owing was $3,400 in 2025 and $3,100 in 2024, so the historical part of the CRA test is met.

Jordan estimates the following for 2026 after reviewing platform statements and business records:

• Estimated 2026 net tax owing: $4,800
• Estimated self-employed CPP contributions payable: $1,200
• Voluntary EI premiums: $0
• Estimated total instalment amount: $6,000

Because the estimated net tax owing is above $3,000 and the prior-year test is also met, Jordan plans for instalments. Under the ordinary four-payment schedule:

2026 due date	Jordan's planned payment
March 15	$1,500
June 15	$1,500
September 15	$1,500
December 15	$1,500

The $6,000 is not calculated by multiplying gross app payouts by a fixed percentage. Jordan arrived at it using estimated net tax owing, CPP, and the CRA's 2026 calculation chart. If Jordan's work drops, expenses change, or another employer starts withholding tax, Jordan should update the estimate before blindly making the remaining payments. If the final calculation is lower, the result may be a credit or balance adjustment; if the estimate is too low, instalment interest can apply.

Common Mistakes Drivers Make

Quarterly payments are easier when you avoid these predictable problems:

• Confusing a tax reserve with an instalment payment. Money in a savings account helps with cash flow, but only a payment received by the CRA counts as an instalment.
• Using gross app deposits as the instalment calculation. The CRA calculation looks at net tax owing and adds applicable CPP and voluntary EI amounts; it is not simply a percentage of deposits.
• Ignoring the prior-year test. A high 2026 estimate alone is not the whole test. Check your 2024 and 2025 net tax owing too.
• Treating the CRA reminder as permanently correct. The reminder is based on assessed information. Recalculate when your hours, province, other job, expenses, or withholding changes.
• Forgetting CPP. Delivery drivers often focus on income tax and forget that self-employed CPP can be part of the total instalment amount. The 2026 CPP guide for gig workers explains that calculation separately.
• Claiming personal costs to lower the estimate. Personal kilometres, personal phone use, unsupported vehicle percentages, and ordinary personal purchases do not become deductible because they happened during a delivery shift.
• Paying the wrong CRA payee. A tax instalment, a balance owing on a filed return, and GST/HST remittance are different payment types. Check the label before confirming online banking.
• Waiting until December to start tracking. Reconstructing kilometres, tips, platform fees, and receipts from memory makes the current-year option less reliable. Update your records throughout the year.

What happens if you do not pay instalments?

If you are required to pay and you miss a due date, pay late, or pay less than required, the CRA may charge instalment interest. CRA says this interest is compounded daily at the prescribed rate, which can change every three months.

A separate instalment penalty may also apply. For 2026, the CRA generally applies that penalty only when your instalment interest for the year is more than $1,000. The penalty calculation compares the relevant amounts and is not simply a flat percentage of your missed payment.

There is an important distinction here: paying your final balance by the tax-filing deadline does not necessarily erase instalment interest. Instalments are intended to be paid during the year. If you realize that you are behind, pay what you reasonably can as soon as possible, update your estimate, and keep your calculation and payment records.

If you overpay one instalment or make a later payment early, the CRA says that can reduce interest and may create an instalment credit for the same tax year. That credit is not refundable and can only be used against eligible interest charges for that year.

How to avoid needing instalments

There is no legitimate trick that turns a required instalment into a savings-account balance. Money sitting in your account is not money paid to the CRA. Also keep GST/HST separate from income tax and CPP; the GST/HST guide for Canadian gig workers covers that separate obligation. You may be able to reduce or eliminate the need for instalments by reducing your expected net tax owing or increasing tax paid at source.

Keep accurate, supportable business records

Your net business income is generally your business income minus eligible business expenses. Vehicle costs, phone and data, platform fees, supplies, and parking may be relevant depending on the facts, but personal expenses are not business deductions. Mixed-use costs need a reasonable business-use allocation.

This is not a reason to spend money just to create a deduction. A $100 expense does not make you $100 richer. It may reduce taxable income, but you still paid the expense. Claim only costs that are reasonable, connected to earning income, and supported by records.

Increase tax withheld from other income

If you also have a regular job, you may be able to ask that additional income tax be withheld from that employment income. More tax paid through payroll can reduce the amount left owing from your delivery work.

The same general idea can apply to certain pension or benefit income when the payer allows additional withholding. The CRA's instalment options page explains ways tax withheld at source can reduce or eliminate instalment payments.

Use RRSP contributions where they actually fit

An RRSP deduction can reduce taxable income, but it is not automatically the right move. Consider your contribution room, cash flow, retirement plan, and the rules that apply to your return. The RRSP guide for Canadian gig workers explains why an RRSP is not a substitute for keeping cash available for CRA payments. Do not contribute money you need for fuel, repairs, rent, or the instalment itself just to chase a deduction.

Update your estimate when work drops

If you drove heavily in 2025 but barely drove in 2026, the no-calculation amount may no longer reflect your situation. Recalculate using the current-year option. If the estimate is below the threshold or amounts already paid cover the estimate, you may be able to reduce or stop additional instalments. Keep the numbers that support the decision.

How to pay CRA instalments in 2026: step by step

The CRA provides several payment methods. Online payment is usually the simplest for a delivery driver.

Method 1: Pay through online banking

1. Sign in to your Canadian bank or credit union's online banking or mobile app.
2. Go to the bill-payment or payee section.
3. Add the CRA using the payee option for a tax instalment. Banks use slightly different labels, so do not choose a tax return balance or GST/HST option by mistake.
4. Enter your CRA account number or the identifying information your bank requests.
5. Enter the amount and select the payment date. Many banks allow future-dated payments, so you can schedule all four 2026 dates.
6. Save the confirmation number or screenshot, and check CRA My Account after processing.

The CRA says online banking payments generally appear in your CRA account within about three business days. Schedule ahead of the due date rather than relying on a last-minute transfer.

Method 2: Use CRA My Payment

1. Open the CRA's My Payment service.
2. Select the option for an individual income-tax instalment.
3. Choose Visa Debit or Debit Mastercard, if your activated debit card supports one of those options.
4. Follow the secure payment instructions through your financial institution.
5. Save the confirmation information.

The CRA does not charge a fee for My Payment, although your bank may have its own fees or transaction limits. Payments are usually considered paid the same business day, but payments processed after the CRA's stated cutoff, on weekends, or on statutory holidays may be dated the next business day.

Method 3: Pay in person or by mail

Use the instalment remittance voucher, form INNS3, so the payment is applied to the correct account. The CRA includes a voucher with the instalment reminder package, and you can also get a fillable voucher through CRA My Account or by contacting the CRA.

If you mail a cheque or money order, allow extra time. Keep a copy of the payment and proof of mailing. The CRA says cheque or money-order payments can take longer to appear in your account than online payments.

Confirm that the payment was applied

The CRA does not necessarily send an immediate receipt. Keep your proof until the payment appears under Accounts and payments in CRA My Account or until you receive the instalment payment summary, form INNS2, in February.

If a payment is not applied as expected, the CRA's payment guidance says you may be able to use the Transfer payment(s) option in My Account. Keep your bank confirmation and contact the CRA if you cannot correct the issue online.

Tools to track whether you need instalments

You do not need expensive software. A simple system that is updated regularly is better than a complicated system you abandon.

CRA My Account

Use CRA My Account to review your notices of assessment, instalment reminders, payment history, and account balance. This should be your source of truth for what the CRA has recorded, not a screenshot from a delivery app.

The CRA 2026 instalment chart

Download the official 2026 instalment calculation chart. Save the completed chart with your tax records so you can explain how you selected an amount.

A spreadsheet or notes app

Create columns for date, platform, gross earnings, fees, kilometres, vehicle expenses, phone, supplies, parking, tax paid at source, and instalments paid. Update it weekly or monthly. Track each platform separately at first, then combine the totals for your tax estimate.

Mileage and receipt tools

Use a mileage app, spreadsheet, or paper log that records the date, purpose, destination, and kilometres for business trips, plus your odometer readings. Photograph receipts when you receive them and store them in folders by year and expense type. The tool is less important than whether the records are complete and retrievable.

GigPulse tax calculator

The GigPulse calculator can help you estimate Canadian income tax and CPP while you plan your reserve and instalments. The step-by-step calculator guide shows how to enter income, vehicle costs, and other expenses. Treat the output as an estimate. It does not replace the CRA calculation chart, your notice of assessment, or professional tax advice when your situation is complicated.

Bottom line for Canadian delivery drivers

If you regularly owe more than the CRA threshold because your app income has no payroll withholding, quarterly instalments are a normal part of being self-employed. Check the 2026 threshold, compare your 2024 and 2025 net tax owing, choose the calculation option that fits your actual income, and pay on March 15, June 15, September 15, and December 15 when required.

The best habit is to review your numbers every month rather than waiting for tax season. Keep platform statements, receipts, mileage records, CRA confirmations, and copies of your instalment calculations together. That makes it easier to pay the right amount and easier to explain your return if the CRA asks questions.

If you are unsure whether you are self-employed, have multiple businesses, earn income in more than one province, or have a large balance, speak with a qualified Canadian tax professional. The CRA's rules are the starting point, but your actual facts determine the filing result.

Official sources and further reading

The following sources were used for this guide. They are Canadian government or CRA pages, not third-party tax blogs:

• CRA: Required tax instalments for individuals
• CRA: Who has to pay instalments
• CRA: Options to calculate instalments
• CRA: 2026 calculation chart for instalment payments
• CRA: 2026 instalment due dates
• CRA: Interest and penalty charges
• CRA: How to pay instalments
• CRA: Pay online with your bank or credit union
• CRA: Pay with a debit card through My Payment
• CRA: Courier employee or self-employed worker
• CRA: Motor-vehicle expenses and records