What to report and what not to report on T4 slips

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

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 slip to report the following:

• salary, wages (including pay in lieu of termination notice), tips or gratuities, bonuses, vacation pay, employment commissions, gross and insurable earnings of self-employed fishers, and all other remuneration (see Box 14 – Employment income for a detailed list) you paid to employees during the year;

• taxable benefits or allowances;

• retiring allowances;

• deductions you withheld during the year; and

• 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 have to fill out T4 slips for all individuals who received remuneration from you during the year if:

• you had to deduct CPP/QPP contributions, EI premiums, PPIP premiums, or income tax from the remuneration; or
• the remuneration was more 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 2017 for income they earned in December 2016. You will have to report that income on their T4 slip for 2017 since that is the year it was paid.

If you provide employees with taxable group term life insurance benefits, you always have to prepare T4 slips, even if the total of all remuneration paid in the calendar year is $500 or less. If you provide former employees or retirees with such benefits, you have to prepare a T4A slip. For more information, see Guide RC4157, Deducting Income Tax on Pension and Other Income, and Filing the T4A Slip and Summary.

If you provide either an employee, a former employee, or a non-resident employee with security options benefits, you have to prepare a T4 slip. For more information, go to Security options.

Types of income you should not report on T4 slips

The following types of income are not reported on a T4 slip.

• If you paid pensions, lump-sum payments, annuities, or other income (including amounts paid to a proprietor or partner of an unincorporated business), see T4A – Information for payers.
• If you paid fees (except for director fees), commissions, or other amounts to a non-resident for services rendered in Canada, other than employment situations, see Guide RC4445, T4A-NR – Payments to Non-Residents for Services Provided in Canada for information about filling out a T4A-NR return.
• If you are an employer with construction as your primary source of business income, and you paid amounts to subcontractors for goods and services rendered in connection with construction activities, fill out a T5018 slip, Statement of Contract Payments.
• If you paid amounts from a retirement compensation agreement, see Guide T4041, Retirement Compensation Arrangements Guide for information about filling out a T4A-RCA return.

Date modified:

2016-12-22