Payroll Account (RP)

Definition

A payroll program account is the CRA identifier that lets a corporation remit Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions, Employment Insurance (EI) premiums, and federal and provincial income tax withheld from employees. It is represented by the RP suffix on the nine-digit Business Number (BN), for example 123456789 RP 0001. The four-digit reference at the end distinguishes multiple payroll accounts under the same BN (for example, separate accounts for different operating divisions).

Key rules

• The obligation to open the account is triggered the first time the corporation pays salary, wages, bonuses, vacation pay, tips, or most taxable benefits to an employee, as set out in Income Tax Act s.153(1).
• Register before the first remittance due date. A new regular remitter normally pays by the 15th of the following month; eligible new small employers can remit quarterly under the conditions below.
• Ways to register: use Business Registration Online through your CRA account to register or add an RP account to an existing BN. If you cannot complete registration online, follow CRA's current Form RC1 instructions. CRA account registration has multiple identity-verification routes, so not having a recently assessed return does not by itself prove that online registration is unavailable.
• A new employer, meaning one whose payroll account has been open for less than 12 months, remits quarterly without applying if its monthly withholding amount is under $1,000 and its payroll and GST/HST accounts have a perfect compliance record. Otherwise it is a regular remitter and pays by the 15th of the following month. After that, the remitter type generally follows the average monthly withholding amount (AMWA) from two calendar years earlier. The four types and their thresholds are covered in remittance frequency.
• A director of a corporation can be personally liable under Income Tax Act s.227.1 and CPP s.21.1 for unremitted source deductions, including interest and penalties.
• Payments to true independent contractors do not require a payroll account, but worker status depends on the actual relationship, including the applicable common-law or Quebec civil-law analysis described in RC4110.

Example

A BC-incorporated consulting company hires its first employee on June 10, 2026, with a first pay date of June 20, 2026.

1. The director registers for an RP account in My Business Account on June 12, receiving 987654321 RP 0001.
2. On June 20, the company runs the first pay cycle, withholding CPP, EI, and federal and BC income tax.
3. The June withholdings are due by July 15, 2026, paid through online banking using the BN plus RP suffix as the payee account. The date is the same either way: if the company qualifies as a new small employer (monthly withholding under $1,000 and a perfect compliance record), it remits quarterly and the April to June quarter is due July 15; if not, it is a regular remitter and June is due July 15.

Common mistakes

• Waiting until T4 season to register. CRA applies a 10% failure-to-deduct penalty on amounts that should have been withheld at source.
• Using a personal SIN instead of the corporation's BN when remitting.
• Opening a single RP account for multiple legal entities. Each corporation needs its own BN and its own RP.
• Confusing the RP account with the RT (GST/HST) or RC (corporate income tax) account. They are separate CRA programs under the same BN.
• Closing the RP account by simply stopping remittances. The corporation must remit all source deductions, file its final T4 slips and summary (within 30 days of the day the business stops operating, if it does), give employees their copies, and ask CRA to close the account. Until then CRA expects a remittance, or a nil remittance report, by each due date for its remitter type.

Related concepts

Once the RP account is live, the mechanics fall into place: TD1 forms set the withholding base, CPP, EI, and income tax are calculated each pay cycle, and the combined amount is sent to CRA with a PD7A voucher. Year-end reporting flows to T4 slips.