CANADA PRO and CANADA RIT Deposits: What Government Deposit Codes Mean

A deposit labelled “CANADA PRO” carries a payment-type code, not the name of a program. In the payment codes Payments Canada sets for direct deposits, “PRO” is the abbreviation for a provincial or local government payment. The code doesn’t say which program paid you, and the exact text your bank shows can vary. This page explains what the code covers, which provincial benefits the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) pays for the provinces, what a CANADA RIT deposit is, what the other government deposit codes mean, and how to check what a deposit is. The benefits guide lists the programs.

What PRO means

Direct deposits sent through Payments Canada’s system can carry a three-digit transaction code, which the sender uses to identify the type of payment. Payments Canada’s Standard 007 reserves codes 600-620 for provincial and local government transactions, and lists this code among them:

The standard treats each abbreviation as a suggested minimum that financial institutions may expand, so the wording on your statement depends on your bank. Federal programs have their own codes in the same standard, such as the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) and income tax refunds (RIT). The standard doesn’t list which programs use the provincial code, so PRO tells you the type of payer, not the benefit.

Provincial benefits CRA pays

CRA administers several provincial benefits on the provinces’ behalf. Some are paid on their own schedules:

Other provincial benefits arrive in the same payment as a federal one instead. The Ontario Child Benefit and the BC Family Benefit, for example, are paid with the CCB in a single monthly payment, and Saskatchewan’s low-income tax credit is paid with the quarterly Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit.

What is a CANADA RIT deposit?

A deposit marked “CANADA RIT” carries the code for a federal income tax refund: in Payments Canada’s Standard 007, code 317 is a tax refund, abbreviated “RIT” in English and “RIF” in French, so the same refund can show up as RIF. The CRA pays it after assessing or reassessing a return, and the account summary on the notice of assessment or reassessment shows the refund amount.

A refund arrives for one of these reasons:

• The year’s return: the tax paid for the year came to more than the tax owed.
• A change to a return already assessed: a refund that results from the change is sent once the request is processed.
• A credit claimed for past years: a credit from earlier years, such as the Disability Tax Credit, can produce a refund.

The CRA can keep all or part of a refund to cover an amount you owe it or certain other federal, provincial or territorial debts. In some cases it adds interest to a refund, and that interest is reported as income for the year it’s received.

The letters RIF are also Standard 007’s abbreviation for a retirement income fund payment (code 272), so a RIF deposit that doesn’t match a notice can be a payment from a retirement income fund.

To check a CANADA RIT deposit, compare it with the refund on the latest notice of assessment or reassessment, which is in your CRA account once the return is processed. If the CRA later finds that a refund was larger than it should have been, the extra counts as an amount owed from the day it was paid. How long a refund takes to arrive is covered in how long it takes to get a tax refund.

What other government deposit codes mean

Federal and provincial government payments each have a block of three-digit codes in Standard 007, and each code has a short abbreviation. For a federal payment, a bank statement usually shows that the money came from the Government of Canada and may say more about its type. The abbreviation is a suggested minimum that financial institutions may expand, so the wording on a statement varies.

The general codes FED, FPT and PRO mark a federal, a provincial or territorial, or a provincial or local government payment without naming the program. For those, the benefit payments listed in your CRA account show whether the deposit was one of the CRA’s. Two codes share the letters CDB: 326 for the Canada Dental Benefit (ended) and 328 for a disability benefit.

How to check what a deposit is

1. Match the deposit date to the schedules above, or to the payment calendar for the federal benefits.
2. Confirm in CRA My Account: under “Benefits and credits” you’ll see each program with its payment dates and amounts.
3. If no CRA payment matches, the deposit may come from a program your province or municipality runs directly, since the code also covers their payments.
4. Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security and Employment Insurance payments aren’t the CRA’s: the CRA says it doesn’t administer them, and they’re in My Service Canada Account instead.

A deposit paid by mistake, or a benefit overpayment, is covered in benefits and your tax return.

Why the amount changed or stopped

Provincial benefits paid by CRA are recalculated each July from your previous year’s tax return. A payment can change when:

• your family income went up or down
• you moved to or from the province
• your rent or property tax changed (for Ontario’s energy and property tax credit)
• your family changed: a new partner, a separation, or a child born, moving in or reaching the program’s age limit
• you didn’t file last year’s return, which stops the payments until you do

Is it taxable?

That depends on the program, not the code. The Ontario Trillium Benefit and the Alberta Child and Family Benefit are tax-free and aren’t reported as income.

Related pages

• Why did CRA deposit money in my account?
• Ontario Trillium Benefit
• Alberta Child and Family Benefit
• Canada Workers Benefit and its advance payments
• How long it takes to get a tax refund
• What is a notice of assessment?
• Benefits and your tax return