T4 vs T4A vs T5018: which slip for which payment

The decision in one table

Where a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday recognised by the CRA, the return is on time if received or postmarked on the next business day.

T4: employees

The T4 identifies all of the remuneration paid by an employer to an employee in a calendar year: salary or wages, tips, bonuses, taxable benefits and allowances, and employment commissions, together with the CPP, EI and income tax deducted. You must issue one if the total remuneration in the year was more than $500, or if you deducted CPP, EI or tax from any payment, whatever the amount.

The owner of a corporation who takes a salary is an employee of it, and gets a T4 like anyone else. Dividends do not go on a T4; they go on a T5. The slips and the summary are due on the last day of February after the year, and most employers must file them electronically. Our guide to T4, T4A and T5 deadlines covers the filing mechanics and what late filing costs, and the payroll year-end checklist runs through the reconciliation first.

T4A: fees for services and other income

The T4A covers payments that are not employment income: pension and superannuation, lump sums, self-employed commissions, annuities, research grants, and, in box 048, fees or other amounts for services. For an owner-managed business the box 048 case is the one that comes up: the consultant, the designer, the IT contractor, the cleaner who invoices you as a business.

The CRA’s rule for fees for services: report the payments on a T4A slip in box 048 where the total for the year was more than $500, do not include GST/HST or PST in the amount, and do not withhold CPP, EI or income tax. The slip is a report, not a remittance. It is due on the last day of February, with the T4s.

The slip does not decide the relationship. Issuing a T4A to someone who is in substance an employee does not make them a contractor, and the CRA tests the facts, not the paperwork. The test is set out in employee or contractor: the CRA’s classification, and the paperwork that supports each side in employment contract versus contractor agreement. The form itself is described on our T4A form page.

T5018: construction subcontractors

The T5018 exists because of the construction industry. A business whose primary source of business income is construction (more than 50% of its income-earning activity) must report payments to subcontractors for construction services where the total in the reporting period was more than $500 per subcontractor. The $500 is counted before GST/HST, but the amount reported in box 22 includes GST/HST and PST where applicable. Goods-only purchases are not reported; a mixed invoice of goods and services is.

Unlike the other two slips, the T5018 can follow a calendar year or the payer’s fiscal period, and it is due six months after the end of whichever you chose. A business with a 30 June year-end that reports on its fiscal period files by 31 December. A business that reports on the calendar year files by 30 June.

A general contractor who also pays an office cleaner does not put the cleaner on a T5018, because cleaning is not a construction service; that payment is a T4A box 048 case if it exceeds $500. And a business that is not primarily construction (a retailer that renovates its store, a landlord that hires a roofer) does not file T5018s at all. The T5018 guide covers what counts as construction activity and how the CRA matches the slips to subcontractor returns, and the form is on our T5018 form page.

Three examples

The employee. A landscaping company pays a crew member $48,000 in wages and a $1,000 bonus, deducting CPP, EI and tax each pay. That is a T4: $49,000 in box 14, the deductions in boxes 16, 18 and 22, due the last day of February. The company’s employer CPP and EI are a cost, not a slip entry.

The contractor. The same company pays a self-employed bookkeeper $7,200 plus GST over the year, on invoices. That is a T4A with $7,200 in box 048, nothing withheld, GST excluded, due the last day of February. If the bookkeeper were in substance an employee (set hours, company equipment, no other clients), the right answer is a T4 with deductions, and the T4A would not protect the company from the reassessment.

The construction subcontractor. A framing company, whose income is entirely construction, pays a drywall subcontractor $64,000 plus GST during its fiscal year ending 31 March. That is a T5018 with $67,200 in box 22 (the $64,000 plus 5% GST), filed by 30 September. If the framing company instead paid an accountant $4,000 for the year-end, that is a T4A, not a T5018, because accounting is not a construction service.

Penalties for late or missing slips

The late-filing penalty for information returns is charged per day late and scaled by the number of slips, from a minimum of $100 to a maximum of $7,500 for the largest filers. For a business filing up to 50 slips, the maximum is $1,000 per return type. The penalty applies to the T4, T4A and T5018 returns alike, and a business that files late in several types pays it on each. Filing on paper where electronic filing is required carries its own penalty. A return with the wrong slip type is a return that was not filed, so a T4A issued where a T4 was due does not stop the clock.

The bottom line

Employees get a T4 with deductions. Self-employed service providers get a T4A in box 048 with nothing withheld. Construction subcontractors get a T5018 from a construction payer, with GST/HST inside the figure and a six-month deadline. The slip follows the relationship; it does not create it. Classify the worker first, then choose the slip.

Which slip a given payment needs depends on the relationship and your business; ask about your own situation and a CPA replies free, usually the same business day. Every filing date is on the T-slip deadlines page.

General information for Canadian business owners, current as of November 2026; not tax, legal or accounting advice, and no client relationship. Rules change, so speak with a CPA before acting.