T4 Slips: What They Report

What a T4 slip means

A T4 slip is the employment slip an employer files with the CRA and gives to the employee. It shows employment income and the income tax, Canada Pension Plan and employment insurance that were withheld. One job, one T4. Two jobs, two T4s.

Where to find a T4 slip

You get it from the employer, often online, by the end of February for the prior year. Box 14 is the usual employment income figure that feeds line 10100. The tax withheld is in its own box and becomes a credit, not part of income.

Why a T4 slip matters

Without the T4, the return is a guess. If the employer is late, tell the office. The CRA may already have the slip on file. A wrong box is fixed by the employer issuing an amended T4, then by adjusting the return if it was already filed.

Checking a T4 slip on your notice of assessment

When the notice of assessment arrives, compare this line with your copy of the return. A different figure means the CRA changed a slip or a deduction. Bring the notice and the slips to the Scarborough office. If that year was already filed, the fix is a T1 adjustment, not a second filing of the same year. Keep the notice with the file. Ask which year the notice belongs to before you pay a balance. The firm quotes a six-year retention period for tax records, counted from the end of the last tax year they relate to.

Work with the Scarborough office

Kennedy Tax & Accounting Inc. prepares the return from its only office in Scarborough, near Kennedy Station. You can visit or send the slips. English, Bengali and Tamil are spoken. A CPA has led the firm since 2010. A simple personal return starts at $49.99 + HST. Other work is quoted first.

The personal return is prepared on the personal income tax page. A corporation uses the T2 service. Books are on the bookkeeping page.