Set up and manage recipient information
Disclaimer
We do not guarantee the accuracy of this copy of the CRA website.
Scraped Page Content
Calculate payroll deductions and contributions
- Get ready to make deductions
- Determine if a benefit is taxable
- Determine the tax treatment of payments other than regular employment income
- Set up and manage recipient information
-
All types of payments
- Advance payments
- Annuity payments
- Bonus or irregular payments
- Commission payments
- Employee who dies
- Employee who is a non-resident
- Employee who is hired as a family member or a related person
- Employee who is leaving
- Employee who is on parental leave
- Employee who is registered, or entitled to be registered under the Indian Act
- Employee who is working outside Canada for a Canadian company or the Canadian government
- Employee's life events: Start, stop or restart CPP deductions
- Employer who is a non-resident employer
- Employer who provides a wage-loss replacement plan for short-term disability (reduced EI premium rate)
- Lump-sum payments
- Patronage payments
- Payments from a registered disability savings plan (RDSP)
- Payments from an employees profit sharing plan (EPSP)
- Payments from retirement compensation arrangements
- Payments from wage-loss replacement plans
- Payments of directors' fees
- Payments of retiring allowances
- Payments of wages in lieu of termination notice
- Payments related to death benefits
- Payments related to pension or superannuation
- Payments related to research grants
- Payments related to salary deferral arrangements
- Payments related to tenure of office (elected or appointed officials)
- Payments related to worker's compensation claims
- Payments to agriculture and horticulture workers
- Payments to barbers and hairdressers
- Payments to caregivers, baby-sitters and domestic workers
- Payments to emergency services volunteers
- Payments to employee of an employment agency (temporary-help)
- Payments to fishers
- Payments to foreign seasonal agricultural workers
- Payments to forestry workers for power saws or tree trimmers
- Payments to police officers for special or extra duty from third parties
- Payments to taxi and other passenger-carrying drivers
- Payments to workers at a circus, fair, parade or similar activity
- Qualifying retroactive lump-sum payments
- Retroactive payments
- Taxable benefits
- Tips and gratuities
- Vacation pay and public holidays payments
- How to calculate
- Make corrections before filing
Set up and manage recipient information
You may be looking for:
If you are a payer or an issuer, you are responsible for getting one of the following designated numbers from the recipient:
- Social Insurance Number (SIN)
- Business
number (BN) - Trust account
number
On this page
- Who should provide you with their SIN, BN or trust account number
- What if you do not receive the SIN from the recipient
- After receiving the SIN, BN or trust account number
- References
Who should provide you with their SIN, BN or trust account number
-
Recipients must obtain and provide the 9-digit number known as a SIN when requested by the payer or the issuer in Canada. Service Canada is responsible for issuing SINs.
A temporary SIN is issued to visitors, permit holders, refugees, and temporary workers who are legally entitled to work in Canada. These numbers begin with a 9 and have an expiry date.
Learn more on the recipient's responsibilities to obtain a SIN from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC): Who needs a Social Insurance Number (SIN)
-
When can a BN be provided instead of a SIN
If the recipient is an individual (for example, a self-employed worker) and has a business number (BN), a BN can be provided for the following slips:
-
When can a trust account number be provided instead of a SIN or a BN
If the recipient is a trust and has a trust account number instead of a BN, a trust account number can be be provided.
What if you do not receive the SIN from the recipient
If the recipient does not give you their SIN, you need to:
- Get the BN or trust account number from the recipient (if applicable)
- Show that you made a reasonable effort to get the SIN, BN or trust account number Example of what is a reasonable effort
After asking the recipient for their SIN many times, you decided to contact them in writing to request their SIN. You made notes of the dates you asked for the SIN verbally, and kept copies of any written requests.
- Suggest to the recipient to contact Service Canada and consult Who needs a SIN
Penalties
-
Payer and issuer
A $100 penalty may apply if the payer or issuer fails to show reasonable attempts to obtain a SIN, BN or trust account number.
-
Recipient
A $100 penalty may apply if the recipient fails to provide their SIN, BN or trust account number when required unless the recipient applies for one of them within 15 days of the request, and they provide it to the payer within 15 days of receiving it.
After receiving the SIN, BN or trust account number
Make sure the recipient gives you their correct name and SIN, BN or trust account number (if applicable).
You may ask for other types of identification, such as a birth certificate or a certificate of citizenship or permanent residence, before finalizing their service contract.
An incorrect SIN can affect a recipient's future Canada Pension Plan benefits if their record of earnings is not accurate.
When a recipient dies, you should include the following SIN when filling out the slip:
-
Slips filled out for the year in which the recipient died.
- You must include the SIN of the deceased recipient.
- If the slips are for funds distributed out of an estate, you must include the SIN of each beneficiary.
-
Slips filled out after the year in which the recipient died
You do not need to include the SIN of the deceased recipient.
SINs beginning with a "9" are valid only until the expiry date shown on the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada document authorizing the recipient to work in Canada. You must see the recipient’s existing immigration document authorizing them to work in Canada (for example, work permit, study permit) and verify that it has not expired.
If the immigration document has expired, ask the recipient to contact Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to get a valid document. You can advise the recipient to consult, What to do if your temporary SIN expires.
Learn more about hiring or extending the work of temporary foreign workers from the IRCC: Hire foreign workers
References
Legislation
- ITA: 162(5)
- Failure to provide information on form
- ITA: 162(6)
- Failure to provide designated number when requested
- ITA: 230(1)
- Books and records
- ITA: 237(1)
- Social Insurance Number – Recipient’s responsibilities
- ITA: 237(1.1) and (1.2)
- Production and definition of a designated number
- ITA: 237(2)
- Number required in information returns - Payer's and Issuer's responsibilities
What is a payroll account
Page details
- Date modified:
- 2024-08-20