By OptiVal Editorial Desk
T4 and T5 Slips in Canada: Deadlines, Penalties and What Goes on Each
Every February, Canadian business owners face the same question: which slips do I owe, and to whom? If you paid employees in 2026, you owe T4 slips. If your corporation paid dividends or interest, you owe T5 slips. The T4 and T5 slips deadline is the last day of February, and the CRA’s late-filing penalties start at $100 and climb from there. Here is the whole picture, in plain English.
T4 slips: who gets one and what goes on it
The T4 is the Statement of Remuneration Paid. It reports what you paid each employee, and what you withheld.
You must file a T4 slip when any of these apply:
- You deducted CPP or QPP contributions, EI premiums, provincial parental insurance premiums, or income tax from the pay.
- The employee earned more than $500 in the calendar year.
- You provided taxable benefits such as group term life insurance, even if total pay was under $500.
Report income for the year it was paid, not the year it was earned. January payroll for December work goes on the new year’s slip.
The main box on the slip is box 14, employment income, supported by the CPP contributions, EI premiums, and income tax you deducted. You also file a T4 Summary that totals every slip. Those totals must match what you actually remitted to the CRA during the year. When they do not match, the CRA notices.
T5 slips: who gets one and what goes on it
The T5 is the Statement of Investment Income. Corporations file it to report:
- Dividends paid to shareholders. That includes you, if you took dividends from your own corporation instead of salary.
- Interest paid on loans, bonds, deposits, or broker accounts.
Two practical notes. Eligible and non-eligible dividends are reported in separate boxes on the slip, so know which kind you paid. And if your corporation paid nothing that belongs on a T5 all year, you file nothing at all. The CRA does not want nil T5 returns.
The T4 and T5 slips deadline
Both returns are due on the last day of February following the calendar year. The date covers two duties: giving each person their copy of the slip, and filing the return with the CRA. T4A slips, the ones for contractors and pension income, follow the same date.
When the last day of February lands on a weekend or a holiday the CRA recognizes, the deadline moves to the next business day. For the 2025 calendar year, that made the deadline Monday, March 2, 2026. For the 2026 calendar year, February 28, 2027 is a Sunday, so plan on Monday, March 1, 2027.
Two special cases. If your business stops operating, file within 30 days of the shutdown. If a partner or the sole proprietor dies, you have 90 days.
What late filing costs
The CRA treats each slip as its own information return, and penalties are capped at 100 days late. For T4, T4A, and T5 slips there is a relieving administrative policy that keeps the penalties proportionate for small businesses. The penalty is $100 or the amount below, whichever is more:
- 1 to 5 slips late: $100 flat
- 6 to 10 slips: $5 per day, maximum $500
- 11 to 50 slips: $10 per day, maximum $1,000
- 51 to 500 slips: $15 per day, maximum $1,500
Above that, the tiers continue up to $7,500 for very large filers.
Two quick illustrations (rounded, illustration only). Four T4 slips filed two months late: $100. Twenty slips filed 30 days late: $300.
Unpaid penalties also attract interest, compounded daily at the CRA’s prescribed rate. If circumstances genuinely beyond your control caused the delay, the taxpayer relief provisions let you ask the CRA to cancel or waive penalties and interest.
File electronically once you pass five slips
If you file more than five information returns of one type in a calendar year, paper is no longer an option. You must file electronically, either through the CRA’s free Web Forms (good for up to 100 slips) or Internet file transfer. Filing on paper past that threshold draws its own penalty.
One more delivery rule: you can email T4 slips to employees, but only with their written consent first. A secure employee portal or plain paper copies both work without that consent.
Five mistakes that catch small businesses
- Paying yourself dividends but never filing T5 slips. The CRA still expects them, even when the only shareholder is you.
- T4 Summary totals that do not match the remittances sent during the year. Reconcile before you file.
- Issuing a T4 to someone who was really a contractor. That belongs on a T4A, and the classification question behind it is worth getting right. We covered how the CRA draws the line here: Contractor vs Employee in Canada: How the CRA Decides.
- Starting in late February and discovering missing SINs or stale addresses. Chase those in January.
- Assuming the bookkeeper or payroll provider handled it. If a service bureau files for you, the CRA still holds you responsible for accuracy, any balance owing, and the deadline.
For the official word, see the CRA’s Employers’ Guide: Filing the T4 Slip and Summary and the CRA page on when to file information returns.
Get slip season handled before it bites
Slip season is where a messy year of payroll comes back to bite. If your records are a tangle, our cleanup service runs $45 an hour and gets them straight. Ongoing payroll starts at $29 per employee per month plus a $149 setup, and bookkeeping plans start at $199 a month. Led by qualified professionals with more than 75 years of combined experience. Book a free consultation and we will make sure your February filing is boring.
