The money had left my bank account. A few days later, the instalment balance I expected to change still looked untouched.
I had selected a saved payee without reading its full name. The payment existed; I needed to find where it had gone.
Trace the payment before repeating it
I saved the bank confirmation, amount, date and payee details. CRA says online payments may take three business days to appear, while cheques take longer. After the relevant processing period, check the account activity and available payments. CRA's payment-confirmation guidance.
I compared the intended tax year and account with the actual allocation. A payment to an old balance and an instalment for the current year serve different purposes, even when both payees begin with "CRA."
I did not assume that a bank withdrawal proved the right obligation was paid, or that the unchanged screen meant the first payment had failed.
Use the appropriate correction route
Eligible individual payments can be transferred through the account's payment-transfer option. Business accounts have their own transfer functions, including certain transfers between program accounts under the same business number. If the option is unavailable or the payment cannot be located, contact CRA through its official process.
Keep the original confirmation and the transfer result together. Recheck the corrected allocation and ask about any interest calculation affected by the payment issue; do not assume a screen update resolves every consequence.
I renamed the saved bank payee more clearly and added the intended year to my payment checklist. The next time, I will verify the destination before confirming the transfer, then verify its application afterward.
Checked October 20, 2026. This concerns payments you made; refund tracking addresses money expected from CRA.
