T7DRA Changes - New Pilot Program

Suggestions
21

I will throw this out there…

Our local branch of the Royal Bank will process personal income tax payments (amount owing, installments) provided you have a bank account with them and a social insurance number. They have not required the T7DRA for a while now for their own clients. I expect most banks are the same.

It seems to me the bank teller uses a form of “online banking” to process these payments directly.
Anything that can be paid using online banking can be paid at the branch without a remittance form.

Of course, we live in a very small town, so maybe they provide a little more personalized service but I wouldn’t think they can do something that other banks can’t.

… just my experience. :wink:

1 Like
22

That is correct.

My bank (TD Canada Trust) also confirmed with me that as long as the taxpayer has a bank account with them a payment can be without the remittance form or NOA. The taxpayer has to also specify precisely to the bank where the payment is to be applied. The system the bank uses to remit is basically the same system as on-line banking only they do it for you. I suspect that all major brick and mortar financial institutions can provide this service if the aforementioned conditions are fulfilled. I would strongly suggest that the teller be asked to repeat back to the taxpayer, before they transmit, what they are about to do just to double check that they are applying the payment to the right taxpayer account at CRA. The bank will give a receipt of the completed transaction.

Bottom line: If the taxpayer has the remittance form or the NOA bring it along but it is not mandatory.

I still stand by my prediction that the post office option will be rarely used but as Cameron said they will, notwithstanding, build it into a future release of TaxCycle.

1 Like
23

@alcotaxprep

The CRA billpay systems vary from FI to FI and within each FI over time. Without the T7DR payment advice each FI’s teller logs into their CRA bill pay system. You are at the mercy of the FI to have their CRA payments options the the actual CRA MyPayment account and period options. Then you are at the mercy of the teller to set this up correctly. It is a total pain and can take several weeks or months to move the funds between accounts.

Be sure that the client’s teller pays the T1 payment on filing account and not the arrears payment or the current year installment payment account.

I have wasted thousands of hours during the period of time from 2000 to 2017 tracking, tracing, and reconciling clients CRA payments across their many accounts and many periods. It was a total nightmare before Rep a Client was available. Even now I can waste 1 or more hours to fix a misallocated payment and communicate the progress to a client. That is why I prefer remittance forms to pay at the bank or CRA My Payments with me sitting beside them to coach their entries. I deem the five or ten minutes spent ensuring that the payment is allocated correctly up front to a very worthwhile investment.

For this new T1 remittance system, I will create a custom letter wtih detailed instructions and options. This will include a note to hand to the teller. This reminds of my client who kept making spousal RRSP contributions instead of having his wife make the contribution. This happened even when I gave him his note. It was not until I accompanied him to his bank that he learnt that there was such a thing as a spousal RRSP contribution, and, that this was not the same thing as making a contribution in his wife’s name from their joint account.

I know whereof I speak.

I bank at both TDCanada Trust and BMO. TD Bank totally botched by own CRA bill payment set-up for Payroll and GST in 2006-2009. I had to have a couple of appointments at the Calgary TSO to fix it. There are a couple of TD branches in Calgary I won’t frequent because they are busy training branches with tons of teller errors. In general they are fine now. However I am battle hardened and cautious.

My clients bank at TD Canada Trust, BMO, CIBC, Scotia Bank, Royal Bank, ATB Financial, etc. These include a lot of elderly, trades, and complex clients with several entities, lots of CRA accounts, and payments due in several periods. I have helped them make their payments and reconcile their CRA accounts since 2003. Now they never leave my office (nor do I leave their home or office in the case of a drop off) without either a remittance form and completed check (with the memo field complete) or a payment receipt.

Each Financial Institution(FI) has their own offer and protocol. Even within each FI the protocols can vary from branch to branch and amongst tellers, depending upon their training and experience.

I have been helping my infirm and remote job site clients with paying their tax remittances since 2003. My mother helped her bookkeeping and tax clients since 1979. Between us we have seen a lot of variations upon this theme.

I have a long history with Banks and CRA…

Prior to moving to tax prep and bookkeeping in 2000, I was in computerized accounting systems implementation from 1976 to 1999. From 1992 to 1999 I worked on banking systems only. in 1992-1994 I worked on the IVR (inter active voice response) portion of the online banking and telephone banking systems for TD Bank, Canada Trust, Royal Trust, and CIBC. These were pioneering days and set the initial protocols. I have been in EDI in the mid 1980s.

I also worked for CRA in the T1 Call Centre in 2006 to 2007, both at Harry Hayes and the airport. We had tons of calls from clients looking for their payment on filing which was applied to either arrears or installment payments.

So, yes, I am battle hardened and cautious.

24

@snoplowguy

Yup… You are fortunate to have a great local bank branch. The good ones make things easy.

25

T2TY2016;T2TY2015;T2TY2014.Remittance vouchers.taxcycletemplate (29.6 KB)

We are a full service firm, and typically deliver payments for the clients to CRA. As such, in my client letter, I will give clients the option to have a T7DR to take to the bank, or to have auto payment designated on the T183. I will also offer the new post office method. But my standby will be this remittance form, which can be used at my office or to mail in payments.

26

I still have 3500 t7dra left will give them out to my older clients until I run out which could be next year.may also give them to all my clients if they ask. I agree with you bert