How to fill out the T5018 slip and summary (2026): who files, boxes

Tax forms › T5018 slip and summary · Last reviewed October 25, 2026 · General information, not tax advice

T5018 slip and summary at a glance

Who files	Businesses whose main source of income (more than 50%) is construction
What it reports	Payments to Canadian resident subcontractors for construction services
Threshold	More than $500 to a subcontractor in the period, not counting GST/HST
Box 22	The total paid, including GST/HST and PST
Due	6 months after the end of your reporting period: Wed, Jun 30, 2027 for calendar 2026

What T5018 slip and summary is

The T5018 is the construction industry's contract payment report. If construction is your main business, you report what you paid each subcontractor for construction services, so the CRA can match it to the subcontractor's income.

You choose the reporting period: the calendar year or your fiscal period. The return is due 6 months after that period ends, so a calendar-year filer reports 2026 by June 30, 2027, much later than T4 and T4A slips.

Instead of slips, the CRA accepts a listing or printout with the same summary information, the total paid to each subcontractor, the number of subcontractors and a signature. Most payers file slips through Internet file transfer or Web Forms.

Who has to file

Individuals, partnerships, trusts and corporations whose primary source of business income is construction: more than 50% of their income-earning activities.
Report payments to Canadian resident subcontractors for construction services, inside or outside Canada, paid by cheque, cash, barter or offset.
Do not report payments for goods only, payments to employees (T4), or payments to non-resident subcontractors (T4A-NR).
If construction is not your main business, report contractors on a T4A instead. Report only the subcontractors you contracted with directly.

Due dates

What	Due
Calendar-year reporting period (Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2026)	Wed, Jun 30, 2027
Fiscal period ending Sep 30, 2026	Wed, Mar 31, 2027
If your business stops operating	Within 30 days of the date it stops

Box 20 on each slip shows the last day of the reporting period, which tells the CRA which period the slip belongs to.

Penalties for filing late or wrong

Late filing, under the CRA's reduced administrative policy, which covers T5018: $100 for 1 to 5 slips; $5 a day for 6 to 10 (maximum $500); $10 a day for 11 to 50 (maximum $1,000); $15 a day for 51 to 500 (maximum $1,500); minimum $100, up to 100 days.
Paper filing when more than 5 slips had to be filed electronically: $125 for 6 to 50 slips, $250 for 51 to 250, rising with the number of slips.
The CRA notes that conspiring to avoid contract payment reporting can lead to criminal prosecution, with fines and penalties of up to 200% of the tax avoided.

T5018 slip box by box

Box	What goes there	Where it comes from in your books
Recipient	The subcontractor's business name, or the individual's name, and address	The vendor record
Payer	Your business or individual name	Company settings
Payer's account number	Your 15-character program account number, on the CRA copy and your copy only	Your CRA registration (RZ program account)
20	For the period ending: the last day of your reporting period	December 31, 2026 for a calendar-year filer
22	Construction subcontractor payments: total paid in the period, including GST/HST and PST	All bill payments and cheques to the subcontractor in the period
24	Recipient's 15-character program account number (e.g. 123456789RT0001) or SIN	From the subcontractor, when you engage them
Summary	Number of slips and total of box 22, with your contact details and signature	Add up the slips

The $500 test excludes GST/HST, but box 22 includes it. A subcontractor paid $480 plus 13% HST ($542.40) needs no slip; one paid $510 plus HST does, with $576.30 in box 22. Report amounts in Canadian dollars and in the year paid; leave empty boxes blank.

Common mistakes

Filing T5018s when construction is not your main business. Use T4A slips instead.
Excluding GST/HST from box 22, or including it when applying the $500 test.
Reporting payments for materials only, or wages to employees.
Reporting a sub-subcontractor you did not contract with directly.
Missing the 6-month due date because it does not line up with the February slip season.
Showing your own account number on the subcontractor's copy.

How to file T5018 slip and summary

Confirm you must file. Check that construction is more than half of your business income-earning activity, and choose calendar or fiscal reporting.
List subcontractor payments. Total each subcontractor's payments for construction services in the period, leaving out goods-only purchases.
Apply the $500 test. Compare each total before GST/HST with $500, and prepare slips for those over it with the total including GST/HST in box 22.
Collect account numbers. Get each subcontractor's business number with program account, or SIN for an individual, for box 24.
File. File the slips and summary through Internet file transfer or Web Forms (paper only for 5 slips or fewer) within 6 months of the period end.

How AcboBooks fills it in

In the Canadian edition of AcboBooks 0.2.1, set a vendor's slip type to T5018 on the Vendors list or on the T4A / T5018 Slips screen (Accountant → 1099 Forms).

The slip amount is the year's bill payments and cheques to the vendor including GST/HST, as box 22 asks.
Enter and save a missing business number or SIN and the mailing address.
Print saves a plain-paper T5018-style PDF with your name and RZ account number, the recipient's name, address and BN or SIN, box 22, and the reporting period.

What it leaves to you

The screen works by calendar year only, so fiscal-period filers must total the payments themselves.
The File tag compares the total including GST/HST with $500. The CRA test is more than $500 before GST/HST, so check vendors near the line.
The screen's footnote gives the last day of February as the due date; for a calendar-year T5018 it is June 30, 2027.
No T5018 Summary is produced. AcboBooks prepares the figures; it does not file or remit for you. You file through the CRA or Service Canada and pay the Receiver General yourself.

Described as of AcboBooks 0.2.1. See T4A and T5018 slips in AcboBooks

Questions

Who has to file a T5018?

A business whose primary source of income is construction, meaning more than 50% of its income-earning activities, that paid Canadian resident subcontractors more than $500 (before GST/HST) in the period for construction services.

When is the T5018 due?

6 months after the end of the reporting period you chose. For the 2026 calendar year, that is Wednesday, June 30, 2027.

Does the T5018 include GST/HST?

Box 22 does: report the total paid including GST/HST and PST. The $500 threshold, though, is measured without GST/HST.

T5018 or T4A for a contractor?

If construction is your main business, construction subcontractors go on a T5018. Otherwise, fees for services go in box 048 of a T4A, without GST/HST.

Do I report payments for materials?

Not payments for goods only. Report payments for construction services, including contracts that combine labour and materials.

Sources

Checked against these sources on October 25, 2026. Dates assume a calendar year and apply the next-business-day rule for weekends and holidays.

General information, not tax or legal advice. Forms, thresholds and dates change; confirm with the CRA and Service Canada or a tax professional before you file.

How to fill out the T5018 slip and summary