As you know that the installment request starts only if one owed more than $3K (= big amount) tax by next April (= late payment) two years in a row (=repeated behavior). If one always pays his/her taxes due by end of each year, he/she would never receive an installment request from CRA. For anyone who knows roughly how much tax he/she needs to pay (say +-2K), he/she can choose to pay at the year end rather than wait until next April, avoid installment payments altogether and yet not incur penalties or interest, plain and simple and legal, no tricks at all.AltaRed wrote:I am quite aware of the methodologies for paying installment payments. I've used all 3 in the past. The point I am getting at is avoiding installment payments altogether and yet not incur penalties or interest.
When I received my first installment request, I read it carefully and understood that I had choices (the note said that I can even ignore the request depending upon the current year's income), so I simply chose to pay tax once at the end of that year instead by the multiple dates on the request. And I always payed my tax by end of the year since. CRA didn't send me any more installment requests, never charged me any interest, no complaints either. That was also the case with my partner but happened in different year. It is simpler for us to pay tax this way (partially by RRSP withdrawing tax holding at end of each year). But it may be simpler for others paying their taxes in different ways.
The bottom line is that we all pay our tax dues, and we can do whatever is allowed and is simpler for ourselves.