--- title: "T4, T4A and T5 Deadlines: When Slips Are Due and Fines" url: https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/t4-t4a-t5-slip-filing-deadlines-canada description: "When T4, T4A and T5 slips must be filed and given to recipients, the late penalty per slip, and how it scales with the slip count. Check your dates." type: guide updated: 2026-10-05 summary: "If your corporation paid employment income, certain contractor or other income, or dividends during the year, you almost certainly owe the CRA a slip — T4, T4A or T5 — and nearly all are due by the last day of February following the calendar year. Penalties start at a $100 minimum and rise with the number of slips, plus $25 a day for not giving employees their copies." faq_count: 7 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) T4, T4A and T5 Slip Deadlines and Penalties Corporate tax and CRA # T4, T4A and T5 slips: *deadlines, who gets which, and what late filing costs* By EverStone CPA · Updated July 2026 · 8 min read **Quick answer:** If your corporation paid employment income, certain contractor or other income, or dividends during the year, you almost certainly owe the CRA a slip — T4, [T4A](https://www.everstonecpa.com/forms/t4a) or [T5](https://www.everstonecpa.com/forms/t5) — and nearly all are due by **the last day of February** following the calendar year. Penalties start at a $100 minimum and rise with the number of slips, plus $25 a day for not giving employees their copies. More than five slips of one type must be filed electronically. Different slips, one deadline. **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 reports employment income; T5 reports investment income including dividends you pay yourself; T4A reports various other income such as certain fees and pension amounts. - The filing deadline for T4, T4A and T5 slips is the last day of February following the calendar year they cover. - Late-filing penalties start at a $100 minimum and rise with the number of slips filed late. - Failing to give an employee their T4 on time is a separate penalty: $25 per day, minimum $100, maximum $2,500. - More than five slips of one type must be filed electronically, or a further penalty applies. ## Which slip is which Three slips cover the situations most incorporated owners run into. They report different kinds of payments, but they share almost the same deadline and penalty regime. Work out your own date with the [T-slip deadline calculator](https://www.everstonecpa.com/t-slip-deadlines#deadline-checker). - **T4 — Statement of Remuneration Paid.** Reports employment income: salary, wages, bonuses and taxable benefits you paid to employees, including yourself if you take a salary through payroll. - **T5 — Statement of Investment Income.** Reports investment income, including the [dividends](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/eligible-vs-non-eligible-dividends-canada) your corporation pays you. If you pay yourself by dividend rather than salary, this is your slip. - **T4A — Statement of Pension, Retirement, Annuity, and Other Income.** A catch-all for various other payments, such as certain fees for services, self-employed commissions, and pension or annuity income. Note that if you pay *construction subcontractors*, you may instead owe a [T5018](https://www.everstonecpa.com/glossary#t5018), which has its own rules and a different reporting period — we cover that in [our T5018 guide](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/t5018-subcontractor-reporting-construction). **Running payroll for a team?** EverStone runs your pay, remits source deductions on schedule, and files the ROEs and T4s, with payroll part of monthly bookkeeping from $325 a month. See [our payroll service](https://www.everstonecpa.com/payroll-services-canada), or [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) ## The one deadline to remember For T4, T4A and T5 slips, both the deadline to **give the recipient their copy** and the deadline to **file the return with CRA** are the same: the last day of February following the calendar year the slips apply to. If that date falls on a weekend or a public holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day. Because payroll and dividend reporting share this date, late February is a genuine crunch for owner-managed corporations — it’s worth preparing slips in January rather than the last week of February. ## You probably have to file electronically If you file **more than five information returns (slips) of a single type** for a calendar year, CRA requires you to file them electronically — by Web Forms or Internet file transfer — rather than on paper. File on paper when you weren’t allowed to, and there’s a penalty: $125 for 6 to 50 slips of a type, rising from there. For a small corporation with only a handful of slips this rarely bites, but it’s worth knowing the threshold is low. Payroll or dividend slips due? February is busier than it looks when T4s and T5s land on the same deadline. We prepare and file your slips on time, correctly, and keep the CRA accounts clean. Send an enquiry. [Send an Enquiry →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=payroll#enquiry-form) [See fixed fees](https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing) ## What late filing actually costs There are two separate penalties, and they can both apply. First, for **filing the information return late**, the penalty is the greater of $100 and an amount based on how many slips are late and how many days late they are (up to 100 days): Late-filing penalty per day and maximum, by number of information slips filed late | Number of slips filed late | Penalty per day | Maximum penalty | | 1 to 5 | Flat penalty (not per-day) | $100 | | 6 to 10 | $5 | $500 | | 11 to 50 | $10 | $1,000 | | 51 to 500 | $15 | $1,500 | | 501 to 2,500 | $25 | $2,500 | | 2,501 to 10,000 | $50 | $5,000 | | 10,001 or more | $75 | $7,500 | Second, and separately, if you **don’t give an employee their T4 slip** by the deadline, CRA can charge $25 per day for each slip not given, with a minimum penalty of $100 and a maximum of $2,500. That penalty is about the employee’s copy, not the CRA filing, so you can be penalized twice for the same slip if you miss both. ## The owner-manager angle Even a one-person corporation usually has at least one slip to file: a T4 if you pay yourself a salary, or a T5 if you pay yourself dividends. It’s easy to treat these as an afterthought once the busy corporate year-end is behind you, but the February slip deadline is often earlier than your corporate tax deadline, and the penalties start at a flat $100 even for a single late slip. Building slip preparation into your January routine — alongside reconciling the prior year’s books — is the simplest way to avoid an entirely avoidable penalty. 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 — Employers’ Guide: Filing the T4 Slip and Summary (RC4120)](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/publications/rc4120/employers-guide-filing-t4-slip-summary.html) - [Canada Revenue Agency — T5 information return penalties](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/completing-slips-summaries/financial-slips-summaries/return-investment-income-t5/t5-information-return/penalties.html) This article is general information for Canadian business owners and is current as of July 2026. It is not tax, legal or accounting advice, and it does not create a client relationship. Tax rules change and your situation is unique, so please [speak with a CPA](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=payroll#enquiry-form) before acting on anything here. About this article **EverStone CPA** Prepared and reviewed by a Chartered Professional Accountant at EverStone CPA, a CPA firm working with small and midsized 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) Slip deadlines are the same in every province. We prepare and file them for owners across BC, including [Vancouver](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-vancouver). Two payroll items run on their own clocks alongside the slips. A [record of employment](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/roe-record-of-employment-canada) is due within days of an interruption of earnings, not at year-end. And anything you gave an employee that counts as a benefit has to be valued and reported. See [taxable vs non-taxable benefits](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/taxable-vs-non-taxable-benefits-canada). Knowing the deadline is half of it; the other half is making sure the slips agree with what was remitted. The [payroll year-end checklist](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/payroll-year-end-checklist-canada) covers the reconciliation and the electronic filing threshold. One slip sits outside the February run entirely. Amounts paid or credited to a non-resident are reported on an NR4, due at the end of March. See [NR4 slips and Part XIII tax](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/nr4-slips-non-resident-payments-canada). ### Related articles [Eligible vs non-eligible dividends →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/eligible-vs-non-eligible-dividends-canada) [T5018 subcontractor reporting →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/t5018-subcontractor-reporting-construction) [Payroll remittances →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/payroll-remittances-canada-rp-account) [Late GST filing penalties in Canada: what missing the deadline actually costs →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/late-gst-filing-penalties-canada) 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 about T4, T4A and T5 Slip Deadlines and Penalties **When are T4, T4A and T5 slips due?** By the last day of February following the calendar year the slips apply to — this is both the deadline to give recipients their copies and the deadline to file the return with CRA. If it falls on a weekend or public holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day. **Do I need a slip if I’m the only person in my corporation?** Almost certainly. If you pay yourself a salary through payroll, you file a T4. If you pay yourself dividends, you file a T5. Both are due by the end of February. **What’s the penalty for filing slips late?** The late-filing penalty is the greater of $100 and a per-day amount that scales with the number of slips (for example, $5/day up to $500 for 6–10 slips, $10/day up to $1,000 for 11–50). Separately, failing to give an employee their T4 on time is $25 per day, minimum $100, maximum $2,500. **Do I have to file electronically?** If you file more than five slips of a single type for the year, CRA requires electronic filing (Web Forms or Internet file transfer). Filing on paper when you weren’t permitted to carries a penalty starting at $125 for 6–50 slips. **What’s the difference between a T4A and a T5018?** A T4A reports various other income such as certain service fees and pension amounts. A T5018 specifically reports payments to subcontractors in the construction industry and follows its own reporting-period and deadline rules. **Can I be penalized twice for the same slip?** Yes. Filing the information return late with CRA and failing to give an employee their copy on time are two separate penalties, so missing both dates on the same slip can attract both. The employee-copy penalty runs at a daily rate with its own minimum and maximum. Preparing slips in January rather than late February avoids both outcomes. **What if I find an error after the slips have been filed?** File an amended slip rather than leaving it. Corrected slips go to both the recipient and CRA, and the sooner the correction is in, the less likely the original is to surface as a mismatch when CRA cross-checks the slip against the recipient’s return. Amending is routine; leaving a known error is what turns into correspondence. ## Slip season sneaking up on you? We prepare and file your T4, T4A and T5 slips on time and reconcile them to your payroll and dividend records. Send an enquiry before the February rush. [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) **Run your own numbers with the free calculators:** [work out your T2 deadline](https://www.everstonecpa.com/t2-deadline-calculator) · [estimate your instalment payments](https://www.everstonecpa.com/tax-instalment-calculator) · [Salary vs dividends calculator](https://www.everstonecpa.com/salary-vs-dividends-calculator) [← T2 corporate tax deadlines & late-filing penalties](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/t2-deadline-penalties-canada) [T5018 reporting: what construction businesses must file about subcontractors →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/t5018-subcontractor-reporting-construction) More on this subject: [the payroll hub](https://www.everstonecpa.com/payroll-hub). ## Have a question about this? Ask it free through [the quick-question form](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) and a CPA replies by email within one business day. For something that needs a proper look, a one-off **Advice Call** is a paid 45-minute session with a Chartered Professional Accountant: $225 plus GST, booked by email or phone with a secure payment link. It is credited against your first invoice if you become a client within 60 days. Looking for an accountant to take this on rather than an answer? [Send an enquiry](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=payroll#enquiry-form). [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 --- Source: https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/t4-t4a-t5-slip-filing-deadlines-canada Prices: https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing · Contact: info@everstonecpa.com · https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online