What to report and exceptions

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Types of income to report on a T4A slip

Types of income not to report on a T4A slip

Types of income to report on a T4A slip

Fill out a T4A slip if you are a payer, such as an employer, a trustee, an estate executor (or liquidator), an administrator, or a corporate director, and you pay any of the following types of income:

• pension or superannuation
• lump-sum payments
• self-employed commissions
• annuities
• patronage allocations
• registered education savings plan (RESP) accumulated income payments
• RESP educational assistance payments
• fees or other amounts for services
• income replacement payments made under the Veterans Well-being Act
• other income such as research grants, payments from a registered disability savings plan (RDSP), wage-loss replacement plan payments if you were not required to withhold Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions and employment insurance (EI) premiums, death benefits, or certain benefits paid to partnerships or shareholders

You have to fill out the T4A slip, Statement of Pension, Retirement, Annuity, and Other Income, if you made any of the payments listed above and one of the following applies:

• the total of all payments in the calendar year was more than $500
• you deducted tax from any payment

You have to prepare a T4A slip for a subscriber if any RESP accumulated income payments totalling $50 or more are made in the calendar year. Also, you have to prepare a T4A slip for a beneficiary if any RESP educational assistance payments totalling $50 or more are made in the calendar year.

If you provided a group term life insurance taxable benefit to a former employee or retiree, you must report the benefit on a T4A slip using code 119. Beginning in 2018, employers who pay Group Term Life Insurance premiums on behalf of retirees, when it’s the only income reported on the T4A slip, are only required to report the premium if the amount is greater than $50. The $500 reporting threshold for T4A slips does not apply.

If you are the administrator or trustee of a multi-employer plan (MEP) and you provided a taxable benefit under the plan to an employee, former employee, or retiree, report the benefit on a T4A slip using code 119, if it is more than $25.

You have to prepare a T4A slip for tax-free savings account (TFSA) taxable amounts paid to a recipient when the amount for the year is more than $50.

For a complete list of the other types of income for which a T4A slip is required, see Other information.

Types of income not to report on a T4A slip

The following types of income are not reported on a T4A slip:

• Payments made by an agency, department or crown corporation for goods and services. Instead, fill out the T1204 slip, Government Service Contract Payments
• Payments made by individuals, partnerships, trusts, or corporations with construction as their main business activity to subcontractors for construction services. Instead, fill out the T5018 slip, Statement of Contract Payments
• Amounts paid or credited to a non-resident of Canada, such as interest, dividends, rental income, royalties, pension income, retiring allowances, or other similar types of passive income. Instead, fill out the NR4 slip, Statement of Amounts Paid or Credited to Non-Residents of Canada. For more information, see Guide T4061, NR4 – Non-Resident Tax Withholding, Remitting, and Reporting
• Payments from a retirement compensation arrangement. Instead, fill out the T4A-RCA slip, Statement of Distributions from a Retirement Compensation Arrangement (RCA). For more information, see Guide T4041, Retirement Compensation Arrangements Guide or call 1 800 959 5525
• Income paid from a life income fund (LIF). Instead, fill out the T4RIF slip, Statement of Income from a Registered Retirement Income Fund. However, if a life annuity is bought from the proceeds of a LIF, the annuity payments have to be reported in box 024 of a T4A slip
• Amounts paid for tips and gratuities, group term life insurance premiums paid for current employees, and other employment income. Instead, fill out the T4 slip, Statement of Remuneration Paid
• Payments received under a supplementary unemployment benefit plan (SUBP) that do not qualify as a SUBP under the Income Tax Act (for example, employer-paid maternity and parental top-up amounts). Instead, fill out the T4 slip, Statement of Remuneration Paid. For more information, see Guide T4001, Employers' Guide – Payroll Deductions and Remittances, and Guide RC4120, Employers' Guide – Filing the T4 Slip and Summary
• Undistributed amounts left in a deceased taxpayer's TFSA at the end of the trust's exempt period. For more information, see Guide RC4477, Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) Guide for Issuers