--- title: "Payroll Year-End Checklist for Canadian Employers" url: https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/payroll-year-end-checklist-canada description: "A payroll year-end checklist for Canadian employers: reconcile remittances to slips, file T4s by the end of February. Check what the PIER review looks for." type: guide updated: 2026-10-12 summary: "Payroll year-end means reconciling what you remitted to the CRA against what the T4 slips report, filing the T4 information return by the last day of February, and responding to any PIER review of CPP and EI. Employers with more than five slips of a type must file electronically." faq_count: 6 publisher: EverStone CPA Inc., a Chartered Professional Accountant firm registered with CPA British Columbia and CPA Alberta service_area: British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba language: en-CA contact: info@everstonecpa.com · https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online --- [Home](https://www.everstonecpa.com/) [Blog](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog) Payroll Year-End Checklist for Canadian Employers Payroll # Payroll year-end: *a checklist for Canadian employers* By EverStone CPA · Updated September 2026 · 9 min read **Quick answer:** Payroll year-end means reconciling what you remitted to the CRA against what the T4 slips report, filing the T4 information return by the last day of February, and responding to any PIER review of CPP and EI. Employers with more than five slips of a type must file electronically. Reconcile first — that is what prevents a PIER assessment. **Rather have a CPA handle this?** A CPA at EverStone replies with a straight answer and a fixed fee for your situation. [Get My Fixed Quote →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=payroll#enquiry-form) ## Key takeaways - T4 and T4A returns are due the last day of February following the calendar year they cover. - For returns filed on or after 1 January 2024, more than five slips of the same type must be filed electronically. - The relieving administrative policy caps the late-filing penalty at a $100 flat amount for one to five T4 slips. - The CRA’s PIER review compares required CPP and EI against what your T4s reported, and asks for a reply within 30 calendar days. - Reconciling remittances to slips before filing is what prevents a PIER assessment later. Payroll year-end is a reconciliation dressed up as a filing deadline. The work is confirming that what you remitted equals what the slips say you withheld; after that, it is administration. Work out your own date with the [slip deadline calculator](https://www.everstonecpa.com/t-slip-deadlines#deadline-checker). Related: [A PIER report landed. Your payroll math is being questioned.](https://www.everstonecpa.com/cra-letter-pier-report). ## Step 1 — Reconcile remittances to the payroll register Add up every remittance the corporation actually sent to its payroll (RP) account for the calendar year and compare it to the total of income tax, CPP and EI in your payroll records, employee and employer portions together. Differences usually come from a bonus run that was never remitted, a payment applied to the wrong program account, or a remittance posted to the wrong year. Sort these before the slips are produced, not after. If you are not sure what should have been remitted in the first place, start with [how the RP account and source deductions work](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/payroll-remittances-canada-rp-account). **Would rather not do payroll year-end yourself?** We reconcile the year, file the T4s and T4As and the summary by the deadline, as part of payroll on a fixed monthly fee. [Get a payroll quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=payroll#enquiry-form). [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=payroll#enquiry-form) ## Step 2 — Check the taxable benefits Benefits are where clean payroll goes wrong. Employer-paid life insurance premiums, personal use of a company vehicle, gift cards, allowances and reimbursements that do not meet the CRA’s conditions all belong in employment income and should have had deductions taken through the year. Anything discovered in January has to be added to the slips and the shortfall remitted, which is precisely how PIER letters get generated. ## Step 3 — Produce and check the slips Check each employee’s social insurance number, legal name and province of employment, and set Box 28 for anyone exempt from CPP or EI. Anyone who turned 18 or 70 in the year needs their CPP status checked. **The slips are due to employees too.** The T4 information return goes to the CRA and the individual slips go to your employees. Both are governed by the same deadline, and an employee who cannot file their own return on time because a slip never arrived is a problem you will hear about first. ## Step 4 — File by the deadline T4, T4A, T4A-NR and T4PS returns are due **the last day of February**. If that is a weekend or CRA-recognized public holiday, the next business day is on time. Two situations shift the date: if the business stops operating, the return is due within **30 days**; if a partner or sole proprietor dies, within **90 days**. T5018 returns are due six months after the reporting period ends; see [T5018 subcontractor reporting](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/t5018-subcontractor-reporting-construction). ## Step 5 — File electronically if you have more than five slips From 1 January 2024, more than five information returns of one type for a year must be filed electronically; the threshold used to be 50. Paper filing when electronic was required has its own penalty per return type. ## What late filing costs Each slip is a separate information return, and the penalty is based on how many were filed late. It is $100 or the amount from the CRA’s chart, whichever is more. A relieving administrative policy reduces the amount for small employers filing T4, T4A, T5 or T5018 slips: Late-filing penalties for T4, T4A, T5 and T5018 slips under the small-employer policy | Slips filed late | Penalty per day (up to 100 days) | Maximum | | 1 to 5 | Not based on number of days | $100 flat penalty | | 6 to 10 | $5 | $500 | | 11 to 50 | $10 | $1,000 | | 51 to 500 | $15 | $1,500 | Not sure how this applies to you? Every corporation is different. Send an enquiry for a straight answer and a fixed quote. [Send an Enquiry →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=payroll#enquiry-form) [See fixed fees](https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing) ## The PIER review Each year the CRA runs a **pensionable and insurable earnings review**, comparing the CPP and EI required on each employee’s earnings with what your T4 slips reported. Discrepancies appear on a PIER listing with the affected employees, any balance due and a remittance voucher. The CRA names four common causes: - Box 28 of the T4 slip not completed correctly. - An employee’s change of age altering pensionable status — turning 18 or 70 — without the deductions being adjusted. - A social insurance number or name entered incorrectly on the T4. - An extra payment made during the year where the CPP pay-period exemption was applied more than once. The timeline is fixed: an initial PIER package on day 1 requesting a reply within **30 calendar days**; a notice of assessment on **day 45** if you neither reply nor pay in full; and amended T4s issued to you on **day 65**. You do not need to respond if you agree with the calculation and will remit the exact amount shown by the deadline. You do need to respond if you disagree, returning the PIER with corrected information and an explanation. The PIER is sent electronically if you are registered for My Business Account or Represent a Client, where it stays available for the last five years — another reason to have [CRA online mail and notifications](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/direct-deposit-and-cra-online-mail-business) configured before February. ## Step 6 — Provincial payroll obligations Federal slips are not everything. BC employers may owe employer health tax (see the [BC employer health tax guide](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/bc-employer-health-tax-guide)), and employers with BC workers file a WorkSafeBC payroll report. Check leavers too. Their T4 must reconcile to the ROE, and any retiring allowance goes in codes 66 and 67, not box 14. See [final pay and the ROE on termination](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/terminating-an-employee-canada-final-pay). ## The bottom line Reconcile first, fix benefits second, file by the end of February, and read the PIER when it arrives. Almost every payroll penalty a small employer pays traces back to skipping the first step. Sources - [Canada Revenue Agency — When to file information returns](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/payroll/file-information-returns-slip-summaries/when-to-file.html) - [Canada Revenue Agency — How to file information returns](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/payroll/file-information-returns-slip-summaries/how-to-file.html) - [Canada Revenue Agency — Pensionable and insurable earnings review (PIER)](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/payroll/file-information-returns-slip-summaries/receiving-payroll/earnings-review.html) This article is general information, current as of July 2026. It is not tax, legal or accounting advice and creates no client relationship. Rules change and situations differ, so [speak with a CPA](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=payroll#enquiry-form) before acting on it. About this article **EverStone CPA** Prepared and reviewed by a CPA at EverStone CPA, serving businesses in BC, Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba. [About the firm →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/about) · [Send an enquiry →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=payroll#enquiry-form) ### Keep reading [Payroll remittances & the RP account →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/payroll-remittances-canada-rp-account) [T4, T4A & T5 slip deadlines →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/t4-t4a-t5-slip-filing-deadlines-canada) [WorkSafeBC registration →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/workers-compensation-registration-bc)[Restaurant tips and payroll: controlled versus direct tips, CPP, EI and the T4 →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/restaurant-tip-reporting-payroll-canada)[The Year-End Playbook: a Free 5-Email Course →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/year-end-playbook)[Buying equipment in Mission: the purchase date, CCA and the timing →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/mission-equipment-purchase-cca-timing)[Surrey construction: T5018, holdbacks and WorkSafeBC in one year end →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/surrey-construction-t5018-holdbacks-worksafebc-year-end)[Abbotsford agri-food processors: what the year end has to show →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/abbotsford-agri-food-processor-year-end) FAQ Never miss it again Subscribe to our Canadian tax deadline calendar — the fixed CRA dates land in your calendar every year with a reminder a week ahead. [Add the deadline calendar](https://www.everstonecpa.com/cra-tax-deadlines#ics) ## Frequently asked questions **When are T4 slips due in Canada?** The last day of February after the calendar year. If that falls on a Saturday, Sunday or CRA-recognized public holiday, a return received or postmarked the next business day is on time. **Do I have to file T4s electronically?** From 1 January 2024, more than five information returns of one type for a year must be filed electronically. Paper filing when electronic was required has a separate penalty per return type. **What is the penalty for filing T4s late?** Each slip counts as an information return and the penalty is $100 or a per-day amount, whichever is more. Under the relieving administrative policy for small employers, one to five late T4 slips attract a $100 flat penalty, six to ten attract $5 per day to a maximum of $500, and 11 to 50 attract $10 per day to a maximum of $1,000. **What is a PIER review?** The CRA’s pensionable and insurable earnings review. It compares the CPP and EI each employee’s earnings required with what the T4s reported, and lists gaps with the balance due and a remittance voucher. **How long do I have to respond to a PIER?** The initial PIER package asks for a reply within 30 calendar days. If you do not reply or pay in full, a notice of assessment is issued around day 45, and amended T4 slips are issued to you around day 65. No response is needed if you agree and will remit the exact amount shown by the deadline. **What causes most PIER discrepancies?** The CRA points to four: Box 28 of the T4 not completed correctly, an employee turning 18 or 70 without deductions being adjusted for the change in pensionable status, an incorrect social insurance number or name on the slip, and an extra pay run where the CPP pay-period exemption was applied more than once. ## Want payroll year-end handled without the February scramble? Tell us how many people you paid this year. A CPA replies by email within one business day with the year-end steps and a fixed fee. [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=payroll#enquiry-form)[Book a Paid Advice Call](https://www.everstonecpa.com/advice-call) ## Have a question about this? Ask free through [the quick-question form](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question); a CPA replies by email within one business day. Need more? A paid 45-minute **Advice Call** with a CPA is $225 plus GST, credited to your first invoice if you become a client within 60 days. Want us to take it on? [Send an enquiry](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=payroll#enquiry-form). Closing one payroll year means opening the next on new figures; [the rates that apply from January](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/cpp-ei-rates-2027) lists them. [Ask a Free Question](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) [Book a Paid Advice Call](https://www.everstonecpa.com/advice-call) Email info@everstonecpa.com ★★★★★ “…He is very knowledgeable and has saved me tons in taxes by restructuring my group of companies — the best accountant I've worked with in the last 10 years, after switching from three different firms.” Matt Hildebrandt · Google review **Run your own numbers with the free calculators:** [work out your instalments](https://www.everstonecpa.com/tax-instalment-calculator) · [run the salary-or-dividends numbers](https://www.everstonecpa.com/salary-vs-dividends-calculator) · [when the T2 has to be filed](https://www.everstonecpa.com/t2-deadline-calculator) [← Payroll remittances: what your CRA RP account actually requires](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/payroll-remittances-canada-rp-account) [Pension income splitting: what qualifies and when the age test applies →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/pension-income-splitting-canada) More on this subject: [every T2 guide in one place](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-hub). More on this subject: [our payroll guides](https://www.everstonecpa.com/payroll-hub). More on this subject: [all year-end topics](https://www.everstonecpa.com/year-end-hub). --- Source: https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/payroll-year-end-checklist-canada Prices: https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing · Contact: info@everstonecpa.com · https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online