What to report and what not to report on T4 slips

On this page

• Types of income you should report on T4 slips
• Types of income you should not report on T4 slips
• References

Types of income you should report on T4 slips

Most amounts paid to an individual by an employer are referred to as remuneration. You have to fill out a T4 slips to report the following:

• salary or wages (including pay in lieu of termination notice)
• tips or gratuities
• bonuses
• vacation pay
• income in certain situations, such as barbers and hairdressers, taxi drivers and drivers of other passenger-carrying vehicles, fishing income, Indians, and placement or employment agency workers
• gross and insurable earnings of self-employed fishers
• employment commissions
• taxable benefits or allowances
• retiring allowances
• payments from a wage loss replacement plan either paid directly by you or paid by a third party on your behalf included in box 14 – Employment income (see Step 6a on page 12 for more information)
• any other remuneration included in box 14 – Employment income (go to Step 6a)

You must also file a T4 slip if any of the following apply:

• pension adjustment (PA) amounts for employees who accrued a benefit for the year under your registered pension plan (RPP) or deferred profit sharing plan (DPSP)
• you were required to deduct Canada pension plan (CPP), Quebec pension plan (QPP) contributions, Employment insurance (EI) premiums, Provincial parental insurance plan (PPIP) premiums, or income tax from the remuneration
• the remuneration is more than $500
• if you provide current employees with taxable group term life insurance benefits, you must report the amounts on a T4 slip, even if the total of all remuneration paid in the calendar year is less than $500

You have to report income on a T4 slip for the year during which it was paid, regardless of when the services are performed, or if the employee is deceased. For example, you pay your employee in January 2022 for income they earned in December 2021. You will have to report that income on their T4 slip for 2022 since that is the year it was paid.

Types of income you should not report on T4 slips

Do not file a T4 slip if:

• construction is your primary source of business income, and you paid amounts to subcontractors for goods and services rendered in connection with construction activities (file a T5018 return)
• you paid pensions, lump-sum payments, annuities, or other income, including amounts paid to a proprietor or partner of an unincorporated business (file a T4A return)
• you paid fees (except for director fees), commissions, or other amounts to a non-resident for services rendered in Canada, other than employment situations (file a T4A‑NR return)
• you provide former employees or retirees with taxable group term life insurance benefits, you must report the benefit on a T4A slip so long as the amount reported is greater than $50
• you paid a retiring allowance to a non-resident of Canada (file an NR4 return)
• you paid amounts from a retirement compensation arrangement (file a T4A‑RCA, Statement of Distributions from a Retirement Compensation Arrangement return)

For more information, go to T4A‑RCA return.

To see guides, forms, interpretation bulletins, and information circulars the CRA refers to, go to Forms and publications.

References

Acts

• ITA: 150(1) Filing returns of income – general rule
• ITA: 153(1) Withholding
• ITA: 162(1) Failure to file return of income
• ITA: 162(2) Repeated failure to file
• ITA: 162(5) Failure to provide information on form
• ITA: 162(7) Failure to comply
• ITA: 163(1) Repeated failure to report income
• ITA: 163(2) False statements or omissions
• ITA: 163.2(1) Misrepresentation of a Tax Matter by a Third Party  
• ITA Regulations: 200(1) Remuneration and Benefits 
• ITA Regulations: 200(2)-(6)  Remuneration and Benefits
• ITA Regulations: 202(1) Payments to Non-Residents
• ITA Regulations: 238 Reporting of Payments in Respect of Construction Activities
• CPPA: 8 Contributions by Employees and Employers in respect of Pensionable Employment
• CPPA: 21(1) Amount to be deducted and remitted by employer
• CPPA: 21(2) Liability for failure to deduct and remit
• CPP Regulations: 10(1) Filing of Employer’s Returns
• CPP Regulations: 13(1) Distribution of Employee’s Portion of Return
• CPP Regulations: 14 Penalties
• EIA: 82(1) Deduction and payment of premiums
• EIA: 82(4) Liability for failure to deduct
• IECPR: 11(1) Filing of Employer’s Returns
• IECPR: 14(1) Distribution of Insured Person’s Portion of Return
• IECPR: 15 Penalties