T-slips: who files what, for whom, by when

The three slips owner-managers actually file

• T4 — salary. If the corporation paid anyone a salary — including you — a T4 reports it, alongside the CPP and EI story told on our payroll figures page. Due, with its summary, by the last day of February; see the deadlines page for this year’s date.
• T5 — dividends. Paid yourself dividends? The corporation issues a T5, on the same end-of-February clock. The salary-vs-dividends choice decides which of these two slips your own pay generates — and many owners file both.
• T5018 — construction subcontractors. If construction is your primary business and you pay subcontractors, T5018s report those payments, due six months after your reporting-period end. Our free tracker keeps the running record that makes filing a formality, and the full T5018 guide covers the rules.

Why slips bite harder than returns

A late T2 hurts the corporation. A late or wrong slip hurts other people’s filings — employees and subcontractors who cannot complete their returns — and slip penalties are per slip, so small payrolls still generate real numbers. The pattern that prevents all of it is boring: reconcile payroll in January against the remittance calendar, decide the salary/dividend split before year-end rather than in February, and keep subcontractor payments recorded as they happen.

What we handle

Slip preparation and filing is part of payroll service and of year-end engagements — produced from books that are current, which is the actual trick. If January reliably surprises you, that is the thing to fix.

General information, not tax advice. A letter’s own wording and dates govern — confirm anything that affects a decision on a free consult.