Andrew Goldman has been writing for over 20 years and investing for the past 10 years. He currently writes about personal finance and investing for Wealthsimple. Andrew's past work has been published in The New York Times Magazine, Bloomberg Businessweek, New York Magazine and Wired. Television appearances include NBC's Today show as well as Fox News. Andrew holds a Bachelor of Arts (English) from the University of Texas. He and his wife Robin live in Westport, Connecticut with their two boys and a Bedlington terrier. In his spare time, he hosts “The Originals" podcast.
Care to help us start a rumor? 2009’s Terminator Salvation, the fourth installment in the killer robot franchise, was originally going to be called T4, but then Arnold Schwarzenegger nixed it because he didn’t want audiences to think it was an action flick starring Canadian tax slips.
What are T4 slips?
If various tax slips were ever assembled in a police lineup, the T4 would be the one that gets picked out every time. Every Canadian adult who’s had a full time job would recognize the T4, the shorthand name for “Statement of Remuneration Paid” form. Right here on the CRA’s website, “T4 Statement of Remuneration Paid (slip),”you’ll find the T4’s official home. The slip includes your name, social insurance number and how much you were paid in a given year, as well as the amount of taxes that were withheld. Additionally, on the form, you’ll find scads of other financial information from a tax year–the amount of your contributions to a registered pension plan (RPP), union dues you paid, how much you contributed to Employment Insurance (EI), Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) or Quebec Pension Plan (QPP). The CRA sets out all the particulars on this page here.
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Employers send T4s not only to you, the employee, they also provide identical copies to the CRA. Besides feelings of moral obligation, this is the big reason you really need to pay your taxes every year; you may feel invisible, but if you received a T4, the tax authorities know exactly how much you earned in any given year.
When do I receive my T4?
T4s are a pretty reliable bunch, arriving annually at the very beginning of March, a good eight weeks before tax day. If an employer mails in the slips, the T4s must be postmarked on the last day of February, or the employer will risk being assessed penalties.
Other T4 Slips
The T4 is the king of the jungle in an ecosystem of hundreds of slips. Completists may enjoy spending hours reviewing the CRA’s “forms listed by number” pagebut for brevity’s sake, we’ll acquaint you with a few of T4s more popular cousins. What do all these T slips have in common? They’re statements of income and both you and the CRA receive copies.
T3: statement of trust income allocations and designations
T4A: statement of freelance, pension, retirement, annuity or other income
T4A§: statement of Canada Pension Plan benefits.
T4A(OAS): statement of Old Age Security benefits.
T4RSP: statement of RRSP withdrawals
T4RIF: statement of Registered Retirement Income Fund income
T5: statement of investment income
The T4 form explained
The Most Important Boxes on the T4
We’re not big on playing favourites. We love all the boxes on the T4, and if you do too, check out the CRA ’s guide that outlines the purpose of every box on the form.
But here are a select few T4 boxes that you’ll hear about quite a bit.
Box 14: employment income.
Box 16/Box 17: employee’s CPP/QPP contributions
Box 18: employee’s EI premiums
Box 20: RPP contributions
Box 46: charitable donations
Box 85: employee-paid premiums for private health service plan
How to get a T4 online
The absolute best way to access your current tax year T4 and past year T4 slips is through the CRA’s website. You’ll find T4 forms in the CRA’s personal taxpayer section known as “My Account,”an interface the agency explains is “a secure portal that lets you view your personal income tax and benefit information and manage your tax affairs online.” There are two ways to sign in and access “My Account.” The first is you have an account with one of the sixteen big banks the CRA calls “sign in partners.” If you can access your account online, you can easily use that sign in info to get directly into the “My Account” section. The second method is by using a CRA user ID and password to log directly into the CRA website. If you don’t have a login and password (or have forgotten it) register for one here. To confirm you are indeed you, they’ll ask for your social insurance number as well as one of the figures from a past T4 slip. On its “Registration process to access the CRA login services” page, the CRA provides step-by-step instructions and various trouble shooting solutions.
How to get past T4 slips
If you’ve lost one or more T4 slips and need a copy, the absolute best place to retrieve them is through the “My Account” section on the CRA’s website. Directly above, in the “How to get a T4 online” section, you’ll find some detailed instructions on how to access the site. The CRA should have T4 slips dating back several years. If the information you’re seeking is missing, reach out to the human resources department of the current or former employer who issued the slip. They should be able to set you up.
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A T4 is a document that summarizes all of the money paid by an employer to an employee during a calendar year. It’s analogous to the W-2 form that U.S. employees get from their employer used to file income taxes. A T4 slip is also known as a Statement of Remuneration Paid.
T4s for employment in 2021 were due Monday, February 28, 2022.
You may be able to get a slip for a current or previous year if the issuer sent them to the CRA. If you use My Account with the CRA, you may be able to view your tax slips online. You can also request a copy from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) or by calling 1-800-959-8281.
Additionally, many employers are now providing digital T4 slips to employees. They may come via secure company email or an employee portal. It’s possible that you will also receive a paper copy via mail.
In Canada, every employer is required by law to complete a T4 Statement of Remuneration Paid slip and summary for each of their employees for the prior year by the last day of February, or, if the last day of February falls on a weekend, the first business day following that.
If an employer mails in the slips, the T4s must be postmarked on that day, or risk being assessed penalties.
You can calculate your net income by subtracting all allowable deductions from your total income for the year. This figure is used to determine your federal and provincial or territorial non-refundable credits, or any social benefits you receive like the GST/HST credit or the Canada child benefit.
Income may include one or more of the following:
Employment
Tips
Wage loss replacement
Pensions
Self-employment
Investments
Capital gains
Social assistance payments
Commissions
For a full list of income sources, check the CRA’s website.
Allowable deductions, which are subtracted from your total income to determine your net income, could include:
Registered pension plan (RPP) deductions
RRSP contributions
Union or professional dues
Child care expenses
Moving expenses
Business investment loss or
Employment expenses
Here’s a list of additional allowable deductions from the CRA website.
You may be able to get a slip for a current or previous year if the issuer sent them to the CRA. If you use My Account with the CRA, you may be able to view your tax slips online. You can also request a copy from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) or by calling 1-800-959-8281.
You should contact your employer to request your T4 slip if you haven’t received it by the deadline for the current year. Also, verify that your employer has your correct address and social insurance number on file.
If your employer sent your T4 information to the CRA, you may be able to access your T4 slip through the CRA’s My Account platform.
Employers could face fines up to $7,500 in late-filing penalties depending on how late slips are filed and how many T4 slips are outstanding.
In Canada, every employer is required by law to complete T4 Statement of Remuneration Paid slips and summaries for the prior year by the last day of February, or, if the last day of February falls on a weekend, the first business day following that.
Your T4 slip is divided into boxes that are labeled with a unique line number. When completing your income tax returns, you’ll receive specific instructions that reference these numbers.
If you are using tax filing software, you may have the option to use the Auto-fill my return feature to automatically fill in parts of an income tax and benefit return with information that the CRA has available at the time of the request. Typically, the CRA will already have your T4 information on file, which means it will import your information to the correct place for your income tax filing documents.
Used for the CERB, CEWS, and CESB eligibility (pandemic subsidies or benefits,) this box is used to report retroactive employment income from March 15 to May 9, 2020. There’s no need to report this amount on your tax return, as it’s included in box 14 of your T4 slip.
Used for the CERB, CEWS, and CESB eligibility (pandemic subsidies or benefits,) this box is used to report retroactive employment income from May 10 to July 4, 2020. There’s no need to report this amount on your tax return, as it’s included in box 14 of your T4 slip.
Used for the CERB, CEWS, and CESB eligibility (pandemic subsidies or benefits,) this box is used to report retroactive employment income from July 5 to August 29, 2020. There’s no need to report this amount on your tax return, as it’s included in box 14 of your T4 slip.
Used for the CERB, CEWS, and CESB eligibility (pandemic subsidies or benefits,) this box is used to report retroactive employment income from August 30 to September 26, 2020. There’s no need to report this amount on your tax return, as it’s included in box 14 of your T4 slip.
Last Updated April 28, 2022
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