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Canada GST/HST + Payroll Remittance Calendar (2026): A Weekly Cash Reserve System for Small Food Businesses

A practical 2026 playbook for Canadian owner-operators to convert GST/HST and payroll remittance deadlines into weekly reserve transfers and avoid deadline cash shocks.

Published Feb 14, 2026
canada restaurant cash flowgst hst remittancepayroll remittancetax reserveowner operatorcanada
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A common owner complaint in Canada is simple: “Sales are moving, but remittance week still hurts.”

That usually means timing is broken, not demand.

Quick Summary

  • Build GST/HST and payroll reserves weekly
  • Keep tax buckets separate from operating cash
  • Use CRA deadline rules as fixed calendar anchors
  • Re-estimate reserves monthly from real year-to-date numbers

Why This Matters in 2026

Statistics Canada reported all-items CPI at +1.8% in December 2025 (released January 20, 2026), but food purchased from restaurants was +3.1% year over year. CFIB’s January 2026 release (published January 29, 2026) also showed short-term optimism at 49.8 and long-term at 55.0, still below neutral optimism territory.

That gap explains why operators can feel busy and still cash-tight.

Reserve Formula (Simple and Usable)

weeklyGSTHSTReserve = expectedGSTHSTNetForCycle / weeksInCycle
weeklyPayrollReserve = expectedMonthlySourceDeductions / 4.33
totalWeeklyReserveTransfer = weeklyGSTHSTReserve + weeklyPayrollReserve

Use your actual remitter type and cycle length.

Worked Example

Assume:

  • Expected quarterly GST/HST net remittance: $9,100
  • Expected monthly source deductions remittance: $3,200
weeklyGSTHSTReserve = 9,100 / 13 = $700.00
weeklyPayrollReserve = 3,200 / 4.33 = $739.03
totalWeeklyReserveTransfer = 700.00 + 739.03 = $1,439.03

Round up to $1,460 per week for a safety margin.

Calendar Setup

  1. Enter each GST/HST due date from your CRA reporting cycle.
  2. Add payroll remittance reminders for the 10th (internal check) and 15th (deadline).
  3. Schedule automatic weekly reserve transfers.
  4. Recalculate transfer amounts at each month close.

Where Operators Get Burned

  1. Using one blended account for tax and operations
  2. Treating remittance as a month-end task only
  3. Not adjusting reserve amounts when payroll hours rise
  4. Assuming headline CPI reflects restaurant-specific pressure

Weekly Control Checklist

  • GST/HST reserve bucket on-track
  • Payroll reserve bucket on-track
  • Actual payroll vs estimate checked
  • One top-up transfer executed if short

Bottom Line

Deadline stress is mostly a reserve-design problem.

If you convert CRA deadlines into weekly transfers, remittance months become routine.

KitchenCost helps owner-operators keep true unit economics current, so tax reserves come from planned margin rather than emergency cash.

Sources (checked on 2026-02-14)

Frequently Asked Questions

When are GST/HST returns and payments generally due in Canada?

CRA states monthly and quarterly GST/HST filers are generally due one month after the reporting period end, while annual filers are generally due three months after year-end.

When are payroll source deductions usually due?

CRA guidance says regular remitters usually have to remit by the 15th day of the month after paying employees.

Why do many owners feel tax stress even when sales are stable?

Because remittance timing and reserve timing are different systems. Stable sales do not guarantee reserve cash if transfers are delayed.

How often should I transfer tax reserves?

Weekly transfers are practical for most small teams and usually prevent deadline-week cash compression.

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