Understanding your Canadian 2023 T4 tax slip

This interactive reference will help guide you through, and explain, the information that goes into the creation of your annual T4 slip.

What You Need To Know

Annually, every Canadian employee receives a copy of a T4, T4A, or RL-1 form, provided by their employer. These forms are produced with the purpose to calculate and report annual personal tax amounts required for filing taxes with the Canada Revenue Agency. The information presented on these forms is a summary of the accumulated labour and payment information for an individual employee for the prior tax year.

How To Use This Guide:

  • Select the appropriate tax slip below.
  • Hover over the input boxes within the form to reveal its description.
  • Review and compare your tax slip information with the sample.

Before contacting your payroll administrator, please review this interactive tax slip guide.

Additional Links:

2023

Personal Tax Filing Deadline:
April 30, 2024

What do all those boxes on your T4 tax slip mean?

The T4, also known as the Statement of Remuneration Paid, is a year-end tax form that shows how much money you earned in the tax year and how much was withheld and remitted to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). You need it when you file your tax return.

Canadian 2022 T4 Tax Slip

T4 Tax Slip Box Descriptions | Une description de chaque case dans un feuillet d’impôt T4

10
Province of Employment -
Province d’emploi
If you worked in more than one province you will receive multiple T4s, one for every province you have worked in.
• • •
Si vous avez travaillé dans plusieurs provinces vous recevrez un T4 par province.

12
Social Insurance Number (SIN) -
Numéro d’Assurance Social (NAS)
Your Social Insurance Number.
• • •
Votre Numéro d’Assurance Social (NAS).

14
Employment income
Revenus d’emploi

Includes (but is not limited to): wages or salary, vacation pay, commissions, bonuses, taxable benefits; often a sum of several T4 boxes.
• • •
Comprend (mais n’est pas limité à): les salaires ou traitements, les indemnités de vacances, les commissions, les primes, les avantages imposables; souvent une somme de plusieurs cases T4.

16
Employee’s CPP contributions
Cotisations de l’employé au RPC

The maximum 2023 CPP contribution is $3,754.45
• • •
Le maximum pour 2023 est 3 754,45$.

16A
Employee's second CPP contributions
Deuxièmes cotisations de l'employé au RPC
The maximum 2023 CPP2 contribution is $0.
• • •
Le maximum pour 2023 est 0$.

17
Employee’s QPP contributions
Cotisations de l’employé au RRQ

This will only be populated if you worked in Québec. The maximum for 2023 is $4,038.40
• • •
Cette case sera complétée seulement si vous avez travaillé au Québec. Le maximum est pour 2023 est 4 038.40$.

17A
Employee's second QPP contributions
Deuxièmes cotisations de l'employé au RRQ
The maximum 2023 CPP2 contribution is $0.
• • •
Le maximum pour 2023 est $0

18
Employee’s EI premiums
Cotisations de l’employé à l’AE

The maximum for 2023 is $1,002.45
• • •
Le maximum pour 2023 est 1 002,45$.

20
RPP contributions
Cotisations à un RPA

The amount of any Registered Pension Plan contributions.
• • •
Le montant des contributions faites à un régime de pension agréé.

22
Income tax deducted
Impôt sur le revenu retenu

Total amount deducted from your pay for income tax (Federal and Provincial).
• • •
Montant total des déductions faites pour les impôts sur le revenu.
24
EI Insurable Earnings
Gains assurables d’AE

The maximum for 2023 is $61,500.
• • •
Le maximum pour 2023 est 61 500$.

26
CPP/QPP pensionable earnings
Gains ouvrant droit à pension
The maximum for 2023 is $66,600.
• • •
Le maximum pour 2023 est 66 600$.

28
Exempt CPP/QPP, EI and PPIP
Exemption de RPC/RRQ, AE, RPAP

An X under CPP/QPP, EI, or PPIP
indicates that your earnings are exempt from these withholdings. The majority of taxpayers are not exempt, so it will likely be left blank.
• • •
Un X inclus dans ces cases indique que le revenu d’un employé est exempt pour RPC/RRQ, AE ou RPAP. La majorité des contribuables ne sont pas exempt, donc ces cases seront probablement vides.

29
Employment Code
Code d’emploi

This code only applies to specific situations for CPP like employment agency workers, taxi drivers and
barbers or hairdressers, otherwise it will be left blank.
• • •
Ce code est seulement utilisé dans des situations spécifiques comme conducteur de taxi ou coiffeur par exemple pour le RPC.

44
Union Dues
Cotisations Syndicales

This box contains all union dues collected for this tax year.
• • •
Cette case contient toutes les cotisations syndicales.

45
Employer-offered dental benefits
Prestations dentaires offertes par l'employeur

Indicates if the employee or any family members were eligible to access any dental care insurance or coverage of of dental services that the employer offered.
• • •
Indique si l’employé ou un membre de sa famille était admissible à une assurance soins dentaires ou à une couverture des services dentaires offerte par l’employeur.

46
Charitable Donations
Dons de bienfaisance

This box contains any charitable donations made through payroll. If you made other donations outside the office, the charity must issue you a separate
tax receipt.
• • •
Cette case contient le total des donations qui ont été faites par le service de paie. Si vous avez fait d’autre donations assurez-vous d’avoir un reçu de paiement.

50
RPP or DPSP registration number
Numéro d’agrément d’un RPA ou d’un RPDB

This is your employer’s registration number for a company pension or deferred profit sharing plan.
• • •
Cette case inclus le numéro d’enregistrement
de l’employeur pour une caisse de pension ou un régime de participation différée aux bénéfices.
52
Pension adjustment
Facteur d’équivalence

This is the amount that shows pension contributions that impact the total RRSP amount allowable for the year.
• • •
Ce montant indique les contributions qui affectent le total admissible dans les REER pour l’année.

54
Employer’s account number
Numéro de compte de l’employeur

This is your employer’s business number.
• • •
Cette case est pour le numéro de compte de l’employeur.

55
Employee’s PPIP premiums
Cotisations de l’employé au RPAP

This stands for Provincial Parental Insurance Plan and is only applicable to Québec employees.
• • •
Cette case est pour les cotisations de l’employé au Régime Provincial d’Assurance Parental. Cette cotisation ne s’applique que pour les employés du Québec.

56
PPIP insurable earnings
Gains assurables au RPAP

This stands for Provincial Parental Insurance Plan and is only applicable to Québec employees, it shows the insurable earnings for this plan for the year.
• • •
Cette case est pour le montant assurable utilisé pour calculé les cotisations de l’employé au Régime Provincial d’Assurance Parental. Ce montant ne
s’applique que pour les employés du Québec.

Other Information
Information supplémentaire

These are additional boxes that can be populated for other amounts not shown elsewhere on the T4 Tax Slip.
• • •
Ces cases sont utilisées pour d’autres montants qui ne sont pas inclus dans le reste du feuillet T4.

EMPLOYER’S NAME
NOM DE L’EMPLOYEUR

Your employer's legal name.
• • •
Le nom légal de votre employeur.

EMPLOYEE’S NAME AND ADDRESS
NOM ET ADRESSE DE L’EMPLOYÉ

Your legal name and current address.
• • •
Votre nom légal et adresse actuel.

YEAR
ANNÉE

The taxation year the T4 is issued in.
• • •
L’année d’imposition dans laquelle le T4 a été créé.

Frequently Asked Questions

Your time is precious, let’s save you a few clicks. Here are some of our most asked questions.

Why do I have two T4 Slips?
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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.

What is Box 40 on my T4?
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Box 40 on your T4 is the amount of Taxable Benefits that you have received in the year. Taxable Benefits are those benefits that have been paid by the company on your behalf. Taxable Benefits include items like employer-paid life insurance.

Taxable Benefits are identified as such on your pay statements. If you total 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.

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

Why does my income in box 14 on my T4 seem high?
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Box 14 includes your gross salary as well as all applicable taxable benefits that are shown in Box 40. The amount shown in Box 40 should be added to your gross year-to-date salary from your final pay statement of the year. The total should equal the amount shown in Box 14. If this is not the case, please contact your payroll team.

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

How can I get a reprint of my tax slip if I lose it?
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If your company uses the Avanti Self-Service Portal, you can print as many copies of your T4/T4A from your employee account as required (if you opted in to receive your tax slip electronically).

If you do not have the self-service option by the last day of February, please contact your payroll team who can provide you with a copy of your T4.

Employees can also obtain T4s/T4As online directly from Canada Revenue Agency.

Do I need to print my online tax slips?
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If you are filing your taxes electronically, printing the slip is entirely optional. As an employee, you will always have access to the slips through your Employee Self-Service Portal should you need them now or in the future.

If you file electronically, you can read the values for each of the tax slip boxes online as you are completing your income tax return.

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

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

How do I arrange to make changes to my tax claim amounts or have additional taxes deducted from my pay in 2024?
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You will need to complete and submit new TD1 Forms (Provincial and Federal) for 2024 indicating the changes or additional amount to be deducted.

Check with your payroll administrator for the TD1 forms or visit the CRA website.

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

Why is my income in Box 14 greater than the CPP pensionable/EI insurable earnings?
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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.

Who should I contact if I have a question?
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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 2023 pay stub available.