Glossary · Payroll
T4
A T4 is the Canadian slip, the Statement of Remuneration Paid, that an employer issues to each employee for the calendar year. It reports employment income and the income tax, CPP or QPP, and EI deducted. The employer files the slips with a T4 Summary to the CRA by the last day of February.
Glossary / T4 · Also called T4 slip, Statement of Remuneration Paid
How it works
The employee uses the T4 to file their income tax return, and the CRA matches it against the employer's remittances. Key boxes include box 14 (employment income), box 16 and 16A (CPP and CPP2), box 17 and 17A (QPP and QPP2 for Quebec), box 18 (EI premiums), box 22 (income tax deducted), box 24 (EI insurable earnings) and box 26 (CPP/QPP pensionable earnings).
Employers filing more than five information returns of a type in a calendar year must file them electronically, and late filing brings a penalty per day per slip band. Payments to contractors and some other income go on a T4A instead. Quebec employers also issue the provincial RL-1 slip.
Worked example: A year's T4 for one employee
An employee in Manitoba was paid $52,000 in 2026. Their T4 shows box 14 $52,000, box 16 CPP $2,885.75 (5.95% × ($52,000 - $3,500)), box 18 EI $847.60 (1.63% × $52,000), box 24 and 26 $52,000, and box 22 with the income tax withheld over the year's pays.
The T4 Summary adds up every slip and the employer's CPP and EI share, and the total is compared with what was remitted during the year. Any difference is paid or refunded.
In AcboBooks
AcboBooks totals the year's paycheques into T4 slips and the T4 Summary, as PDF slips and a summary CSV, and marks employees missing a SIN. You submit through the CRA's Web Forms or give the figures to your accountant; it does not transmit the XML file itself, and it does not produce Quebec RL-1 slips.
Related terms
Related on this site
Sources
- CRA RC4120, Employers' Guide: Filing the T4 slip and Summary
- CRA: CPP contribution rates, maximums and exemptions
- CRA: EI premium rates and maximums
Updated October 25, 2026. General information, not tax, legal or accounting advice. Rules and rates change; check with the IRS, the CRA, your state or province, or your accountant.
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