Share your thoughts: Reporting fees for service

From: Canada Revenue Agency

Status: Active

Reporting fees for service (RFS) is the legislated requirement for businesses and organizations (including sole proprietors and corporations) to report fees paid to other businesses for services provided. These payments must be reported to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) on the prescribed form, usually the T4A slip.

Collecting data on these payments allows the CRA to validate the income and expense amounts businesses and organizations report on their tax returns. Currently, as a part of RFS, businesses and organizations must report payments for services to businesses that exceed $500 in a calendar year.

In 2011, a moratorium on assessing penalties for failing to the complete box 048 of the T4A slip was introduced. This was meant to allow businesses and organizations time to gain familiarity with the changes and adopt practices to comply with the RFS requirement. Though it was intended as a temporary measure, the moratorium remains in place.

Consultation methodology

The CRA's People First philosophy guides us to meet client needs and expectations by putting people at the centre of everything we do. Our philosophy reinforces the importance of engaging people to understand their experiences, the issues that they face, and how we can improve our programs and services to align with their specific needs.

The CRA is looking to better understand businesses’ and organizations’ awareness of, and readiness to comply with, the RFS requirement.

We are seeking feedback through:

• an online questionnaire (open to all businesses and organizations who hire another business or businesses to receive a service in exchange for payment), which ran from May 22 to July 22, 2024
• a working group with key stakeholder organizations representing businesses of varied industries and sizes across Canada (by invitation)

Through these engagement activities, the CRA is seeking insights on the challenges Canadian businesses and organizations are facing with RFS payments. The feedback received will help identify ways to clarify reporting requirements, streamline processes, and proactively support businesses and organizations in understanding and meeting their tax obligations.

Topics of discussion

We would like to learn about:

• appropriate methods and challenges with RFS reporting
• invoicing practices for goods and services
• how to minimize the administrative burden
• how prepared businesses and organizations are to meet this reporting requirement
• how to provide proactive support for businesses and organizations who need to meet this requirement

How to participate

The questionnaire is now closed.

What we learned

We will share the results of the questionnaire, once available.

Related information

• Reporting fees for service
• Payments of fees for service - Canada.ca
• Reporting Fees for Service (RFS) Final report (2020 public opinion research)

Contact us

Individuals who want to get more information may contact us by sending an email to: ReportingFeesService-DeclarationHonorairesService@cra-arc.gc.ca