Can a Canadian city charge a card fee on taxes and fines?

The short answer

• Two government categories qualify in Canada. Fines (9222) and tax payments (9311). Your acquirer assigns the merchant category code (MCC), the four-digit code that says what kind of business you are.
• US categories do not apply. Government services (9399), court costs (9211) and bail (9223) are on Visa's US list, not the Canadian one.
• Tax authorities have one extra step. Visa says a taxing authority, or its third party, charging the fee must be authorized to process tax payments.
• The caps are 1.5% on Visa Debit and 2.5% on credit and prepaid. The fee must reflect your real cost, so it can be lower.
• Québec bars card fees on consumers. Whether that covers a municipality is a question for your lawyer.

Visa's rules in five lines

The service fees guide has the full rules. In short: a service fee is allowed only in eight Canadian categories. It cannot be combined with a surcharge, and convenience fees are not permitted on Visa in Canada. Mastercard has no Canadian service fee program like Visa's. Québec bars card fees on consumers. Then follow the set-up steps.

Which municipal payments can carry a Visa service fee

This table follows Visa's Canadian list. The answer depends on the MCC your acquirer assigns, not on what the payment is called.

How public agencies take payments

Visa's Canadian rule says a merchant charging a service fee must accept Visa in all card-absent channels where it takes payments. Card-absent means the card is not at the counter: online and by phone.

The fee must also be shown as a "Service Fee" before the payer finishes, with a way to cancel at no cost. FCAC adds that the payer must be able to pay another way.

What Canadian municipalities publish

Three municipal payment pages we read on 8 October 2026 show how this works in practice:

• North Cowichan, BC takes credit cards for property taxes and other municipal bills. Its page lists a 2.1% fee on credit card payments.
• Hearst, ON takes property tax by Visa, Mastercard or debit, online or by phone, through a third party. The page lists a 2.5% fee on credit and 1.5% on debit.
• Clare, NS takes Visa and Mastercard for taxes through a third party that adds 2.5%. It also offers pre-authorized payments and e-Transfer.

Hearst and Clare both say the town receives no part of the fee. That matches Visa's Canadian rule that a third party may charge the fee and process it as its own transaction.

Municipal pages often use the words "convenience fee" for this charge. Under Visa's rules for Canada, the label that counts is "Service Fee", and Visa's FAQ says convenience fees are not permitted in Canada. If you plan a fee, ask your acquirer which rule it will run under.

An example: a property tax instalment

The fee goes on the final amount, after any discount. It cannot be higher than on a similar payment with a similar card.

Québec municipalities and agencies

The OPC says merchants may not charge consumers a fee for paying by card, debit or credit. A sign or warning does not change that. Whether the Consumer Protection Act covers a municipality or public agency is not settled by the OPC page. Check with your lawyer before adding any card fee in Québec.

Some Québec cities skip the question. Laval's tax page lists bank bill payment, cheques, money orders, and Interac debit, cheque or cash at its counter. It lists no credit card option.

Other ways to cover the cost

Where CleverPays fits

Visa and Mastercard write the network rules. Your acquirer assigns your MCC and decides whether you are eligible. Provincial law and your own council's policies sit above both. You decide whether to charge a fee. CleverPays does not set network rules or give legal advice.

We can check with you whether your account supports a service fee. We can set up the fee display at checkout, where the product supports it, and test a payment, a refund and the receipt with you. We can review your statement so the fee matches your real cost. We answer in English and French.