HR glossary · Pay and payroll

T4 slip

A T4 slip reports an employee's pay and deductions for the year. You give one to each employee and file it with the CRA by the last day of February.

Also called: T4, Statement of Remuneration Paid, T4 tax slip

What T4 slip means

The T4 slip, Statement of Remuneration Paid, is the year-end tax slip you prepare for each employee. It shows what you paid them in the calendar year and what you deducted: income tax, CPP contributions and EI premiums, plus taxable benefits and some other amounts.

The employee uses it to file their income tax return. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) uses its copy to check the employee's return and to match what you deducted with what you remitted during the year.

Every employer with a payroll account files T4 slips, even with one employee. It is one of the fixed dates in a small employer's year.

How it works

Prepare one T4 for each employee you paid in the calendar year. The main boxes include employment income (box 14), EI insurable earnings (box 24) and CPP or QPP pensionable earnings (box 26), along with the tax, CPP and EI you deducted. Taxable benefits are included in income and some also have their own code; for example, taxable non-cash gifts use code 40.

Give each employee their T4 and file the T4 return (the slips plus a T4 Summary) with the CRA by the last day of February after the calendar year. If that day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the deadline is the next business day. For the 2026 tax year, that is 1 March 2027, because 28 February 2027 is a Sunday.

If you file more than 5 slips of the same type for the year, you must file electronically. With 5 slips or fewer you can still file on paper, although the CRA encourages electronic filing.

If you do not give an employee their slip, the penalty is $25 a day for each slip, with a minimum of $100 and a maximum of $2,500. If your business stops operating, the slips and summary are due within 30 days of the date it stops, not at the usual February deadline.

Is it the same in every province?

T4 slips are a federal CRA requirement and work the same way in every province and territory. Employers with employees in Quebec also prepare a Quebec slip, the RL-1, for Revenu Québec.

Example: Year end at a small dental office

Dr. Patel runs a 5-person dental office in Sudbury, Ontario. In January 2027 her bookkeeper prepares a T4 for each of her 5 employees for the 2026 calendar year, plus the T4 Summary.

With exactly 5 slips she could file on paper, but she files electronically, and the employees get their T4s by email and in print by mid-February. That is well before the 1 March 2027 deadline.

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Questions about T4 slip

When are T4 slips due?

By the last day of February after the calendar year, both to employees and to the CRA. If that day is a weekend or holiday, the next business day. For 2026 slips, that is 1 March 2027.

Do I have to file T4 slips electronically?

Yes if you have more than 5 slips of the same type for the year. With 5 or fewer, you can file on paper.

What is the penalty for not giving an employee a T4?

$25 a day for each slip not given, with a minimum of $100 and a maximum of $2,500.

Official sources

General information for Canadian employers, not legal advice. Rules differ by province and territory and change over time, so check with your provincial employment standards office (or the federal Labour Program if you are federally regulated) before you rely on it. See employment standards by province.

Checked against official sources on 4 November 2026.