The employee guide to Canadian payroll year-end

Editor's note: This blog post was updated in January 2025 for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

Canadian Payroll Resources for Employees

When you have the right resources at the right time, your year-end goes a lot smoother. Every year, we make it our priority to gather all the essential up-to-date information we can find to ensure you have everything you need for an easier year-end.

In this post, you’ll find several sharable resources designed to help you, your managers, and your employees successfully file their income taxes for 2024, all while delivering a seamless payroll experience.

We hope these year-end tools will lighten the load for your hardworking payroll team and keep everyone on the same page.

What’s new with your first pay of 2025?

1. CPP/QPP contributions, EI, and QPIP premiums are reset in the New Year
2. Employees should complete a new TD1 form and submit it to payroll if there's changes to their tax claim amounts or they want additional taxes deducted from their 2025 pay.
3. Refer to our Payroll Year-End Guide for any Federal or Provincial tax changes you need to know about
4. Stay up to date with any minimum wage changes for your province
5. In most jurisdictions, the 2024 tax slip filing due date is February 28, 2025

Federal TD1 Changes for 2025

Provincial TD1 Changes for 2025

^{*If the employee’s taxable income from all sources for the year will be $200,000 or less. Employees in Manitoba with an income greater than $400,000 can enter $0. Employees with income between $200,000 and $400,000 can complete a TD1MB-WS Worksheet to calculate their partial claim once its available.}

^{**If the employee's taxable income from all sources for the year will be $25,000 or less. Employees in Nova Scotia with an income greater than $75,000 can enter $8,744. Employees with income between $25,000 and $75,000 can complete a TD1NS-WS Worksheet to calculate their partial claim.}

^{***If the employee's taxable income from all sources for the year will be $177,882 or less. Employees in Yukon with an income greater than $177,882 can complete TD1YT-WS Worksheet to calculate their partial claim.}

Minimum Wage Info

*Beginning April 1, 2024, the minimum wage rate will be adjusted with inflation plus an additional 1% annually.

**The minimum wage is adjusted annually using a formula based on the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Yellowknife and the percentage change in the average hourly wage (AHW) in the NWT for the preceding calendar year.

†Special minimum wage rates for those under 18, homeworkers, and hunting/fishing/wilderness guides also increasing.

††Minimum wage increases every year on April 1. This annual increase is tied to inflation, calculated using the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Employee communications for Canadian payroll year-end

Now that you’re in full swing of getting those tax slips issued before the end of February, your inbox might be starting to pile up with questions from employees. Questions like, “What does Box 40 mean on my T4?” or “When do I get my T4?” Don’t sweat it. To educate employees on what they can expect regarding payroll year-end, share the tax slip guides and communications templates provided below.

Interactive 2024 tax slip guides for Canadian employees

• T4 Tax Slip Guide
• T4A Tax Slip Guide
• RL-1 Tax Slip Guide

Frequently asked questions from employees for 2024 year-end

Sometimes internal communications get missed. If your employees don’t receive or see your communications regarding 2024 tax slip information or what they can expect from their first pay of 2025, we’ve put together a comprehensive FAQ of the most common questions employees ask their payroll team.

Employee tax slip FAQ for payroll year-end

1. Why do I have two T4 Slips?

If you have received more than one T4 from us, there are a few possible reasons:

• You worked at different locations and/or different divisions of the company which required us to produce a T4 for each business number you worked in
• You worked or earned income in different ways, for example, you were on contract for a period of time and then gained full-time employment with us
• You worked for the company in two different provinces during the year

If any of these apply, and you received the two slips together, make sure you include both slips in your tax return.

2. What is box 40 on my T4?

Box 40 includes Taxable Benefits you’ve received in the year as well as earnings and allowances. The company pays Taxable Benefits on your behalf and may include life insurance, wellness spending accounts, flat-rate car/cell phone allowances, etc.
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Taxable Benefits are identified as such on your pay statements. When you add up the items identified as Taxable Benefits on your pay statements, you should arrive at the total in box 40. If your total is not the same as box 40, please contact your payroll team or manager.
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For more information on how taxable benefits and allowances appear on your T4, go to the CRA’s Benefits and Allowances Chart.

3. Why does my income in box 14 on my T4 seem high?

Box 14 includes your gross income as well as all applicable taxable benefits that are shown in Box 40. The amount shown in Box 14 should be added to your gross year-to-date income from your final year-end pay statement. The total should equal the amount shown in Box 14. If this is not the case, please contact your payroll team.

If your company pay frequency is bi-weekly or weekly, there is an extra pay period so the amount in Box 14 may be slightly higher than you expected.

4. Why does my income in box 14 on my T4 seem low?

You may have received two or more T4s. The amount shown in Box 14 in each T4 should be totalled and equal to your final December pay statements year-to-date earnings, plus the total of taxable benefits recorded in Box 40 of each T4. If this is not the case please contact your payroll team or manager.

For more information on how taxable benefits and allowances appear on your T4 see the Benefits and Allowances Chart.

5. What is the difference between a T4 and a T4A?

The Canada Revenue Agency requires that different tax slips be used to report specific types of income.

• A T4 is a tax slip issued to report employment income, taxable benefits, and retiring allowances
• A T4A is a tax slip for income such as pension, lump sum payments, and other income as defined by the CRA

6.  How can I get a reprint of my tax slip if I lose it?

You can print copies of your tax slips from the Avanti Self-Service Portal, if available. You can also access them from your personal CRA or RQ account; they’ll be available once they’ve had a chance to process the slips.

Otherwise, please contact your payroll team or manager and request another copy.

7.  Do I need to print my online tax slips?

If you are filing your taxes electronically, printing the slip is entirely optional since you aren’t required to mail copies to the CRA or RQ. You can always have access to the slips through your Avanti Self-Service Portal should you need them now or in the future.

8. Will the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) accept a self-printed/online tax slip?

T4/T4A/NR4 forms are submitted to the CRA by the employer on behalf of the employee.

In the case of a personal audit, the CRA accepts self-printed tax slips from the Employee Self-Service Portal. The form generated matches all specifications from CRA and will look identical to a printed T4 or T4A.

9. What if there is incorrect information on my T4/T4A?

If your Social Insurance Number is incorrect, or you believe the financial information on your tax receipt is incorrect, please contact your payroll team for them to review. If there is an issue, a new tax receipt may need to be issued. If your address is incorrect, simply enter the correct information on your tax return.

10.  How do I arrange to make changes to my tax claim amounts or have additional taxes deducted from my pay in 2025?

You will need to complete a new Provincial and Federal TD1 for 2025, indicating the additional amount you’d like deducted. You can access the new TD1s through the CRA website. Once completed, please submit your TD1 forms to your payroll team.

11. Why are over half of my tax slip boxes empty?

Only the tax boxes relevant to you will be completed. But if you feel there is a box that should have a value in it please contact your payroll team.

12. Why is my income in box 14 greater than the CPP pensionable and EI insurable earnings?

Box 14 is the sum of all income you received which was subject to income tax. There is no limit on the amount of income subject to tax deductions.

13. Who should I contact if I have a question?

If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact your payroll team.

To facilitate a response to your query, please have your T4 and/or T4A, as well as your final December 2024 pay stub available.

14.  I need help filing my tax return.

The Canada Revenue Agency can help you if you're having a tough time filing your income tax return.

If you are a student, senior, person with a disability, a newcomer to Canada, or a low-income earner with a simple tax-filing situation, contact Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP) at 1-800-959-8281 to ask for help. CVITP volunteers work with members of local community organizations who can help you complete and file your return.
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Frequently asked questions from employees 2025 first pay period

1. Why is my paycheque less in January than it was in December?

Check your December 2024 pay statement to see if you maxed out on your CPP and EI contributions in 2024. Remember that CPP and EI restart every January.

Additionally, CPP, QPP, EI, and QPIP have increased, which means more will be taken off each paycheque. The new employee annual maximum contributions for 2025 are:

• CPP: $4,034.10
• eCPP: $396
• QPP: $4,339.20
• eQPP: $396
• EI: $1,077.48
• Québec EI: $860.67
• QPIP: $484.12

2. I want to contribute to my RRSP in the first 60 days of the new year; what is the RRSP annual contribution limit for 2025?

The maximum RRSP annual contribution limit for 2025 is $32,490.

3. How much am I allowed to put into my TFSA during 2025?

The TFSA limit for 2025 is $7,000.

4. Will the minimum wage be changing in 2025, and if so, when and by how much?

Check out this guide to minimum wages and planned increases across Canada.

5. Why do I need to review my TD1s each year?

A new TD1 ensures that you inform us of any changes in your life that could impact your income tax calculations. This could include having a new dependent, becoming a caregiver, or recently enrolling in school. If changes are needed, sending new TD1s to your payroll team ensures your taxes will be calculated accurately at the source, your pay.

6. How do I prevent the additional tax from coming off my cheque this year?

If you were previously having additional tax deducted but want to change the amount, or no longer want additional tax deducted, then complete a new federal TD1 form and send it to your payroll team.

Additional payroll legislative updates and links

Here you’ll find provincial and federal information on payroll deductions, payroll year-end employer kits, and more.

• T4 (CRA)
• T4A (CRA)
• RL-1 (Revenu Québec)
• T2200 Form and Work-From-Home Expenses

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Additional Payroll Year-End Reading Links

• The Ultimate Guide to Canadian Payroll Year-End
• T2200 Forms: What you need to know
• Make it zen: Payroll tips for a smooth year-end