You paid a designer $8,000 over the year, a consultant invoiced you twice, and now you need to know whether those payments belong on a T4A — and if they do, what to do about it.

Filing a T4A is more than filling out a form. You need to confirm the payment type first, then gather recipient information, complete each slip, choose a filing method, submit the return to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), and provide copies to your recipients. Each step depends on the one before it.

Contractor payments are the most common T4A use case for small businesses — but not every contractor payment belongs on a T4A, and not every T4A reports contractor income. Start with the classification step — it determines whether you need a T4A at all.

What is a T4A and when is it required?

The T4A — Statement of Pension, Retirement, Annuity, and Other Income — reports non-employment income made during a calendar year. Under CRA administrative policy, you must issue a T4A if either of the following applies: you deducted tax from any payment, or the total of all payments in the calendar year was more than $500 and the payment is not on CRA's exceptions list.

The payer can be an employer, trustee, estate executor, administrator, corporate director, or business. Common T4A income categories include:

• Pension or superannuation income
• Lump-sum payments
• Self-employed commissions
• Fees for services (Box 048)
• Educational assistance payments (EAPs)
• Research grants
• Death benefits
• Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) payments

The $500 threshold is not universal. CRA sets lower thresholds for specific payment types, and those exceptions override the general rule:

• RESP accumulated income payments to a subscriber, or educational assistance payments to a beneficiary: report if the total is more than $50 in the calendar year
• TFSA taxable amounts paid to a recipient: report if the total is more than $50 in the calendar year
• Group term life insurance benefits provided to a retired or former employee: Report these benefits under code 119. The general $500 T4A reporting threshold does not apply.
• Multi-employer plan (MEP) taxable benefits: report if the amount is more than $25 in the calendar year

CRA also waives the requirement to file a T4A when the payer is an individual who contracted the payee in a personal capacity — for example, services for the repair or maintenance of the individual's principal residence. That waiver applies to the individual acting personally, not to your business paying contractors for business work.

When the payment isn't covered by a specific exception, report it on a T4A if the total paid to that recipient in the calendar year is more than $500, or if you deducted tax. When the payment type is unclear, check current CRA guidance directly — the correct box depends on the nature of the payment, not just who received it.

T4A vs. T4 and other information returns — which one applies?

Worker classification comes before slip selection. The wrong starting point produces the wrong form — and correcting it after filing costs more time than getting it right before.

A T4 reports employment income. A T4A reports certain pension, service, and other non-employment income. Calling someone a contractor doesn't automatically make them self-employed. If the CRA determines a worker is an employee, the income belongs on a T4, not a T4A.

For amounts paid or credited to a non-resident of Canada — such as interest, dividends, rental income, royalties, pension income, retiring allowances, or similar passive income — use the NR4, not the T4A.

If you’re unsure whether a worker is an employee or self-employed, confirm their classification before choosing a slip.

What information do you need before preparing slips?

Payer information

• Legal or operating name and business address
• Payroll account number — your 15-character number made up of the 9-digit business number, the two-letter RP program code, and a 4-digit reference number, for example 123456789RP0001
• CRA My Business Account access or Web Access Code (WAC), depending on your filing method
• Applicable calendar year, or tax year (January 1 to December 31 of the reporting year)

Recipient information

• Full legal name and mailing address
• Social Insurance Number (SIN) for individuals, or a program account number for a business recipient
• How the recipient is marked in your accounting system — employee, contractor, vendor, partnership, sole proprietor, or corporation. Review this classification directly, since it affects which return applies and whether a T4A is the right slip at all

Make reasonable efforts to obtain the recipient's social insurance number. If you do not try to get a SIN, CRA may charge a penalty of $100 for each failure. A missing SIN does not extend the filing deadline — if you cannot get one, enter nine zeros in box 012 and file on time.

Payment details

• Gross amount paid during the calendar year
• Payment dates and method
• Income tax deducted, if any
• Payment category (which box applies)
• Supporting invoices and contracts

One detail that trips up many filers: exclude GST/HST and PST from amounts reported in Box 048. Only the fee for services belongs there — not the taxes you collected on their behalf.

Reconcile your accounting records against contractor invoices and payment reports before completing any slip. If you report an amount in box 016, dental benefit reporting in box 015 becomes mandatory.

How to complete the main T4A fields

The correct box is determined by the nature of the payment, not by the recipient's job title or contract label. Get the category right before entering any amounts.

Identification fields

Every T4A includes the following:

• Calendar year of the return
• Payer's name and address — use your legal or operating name exactly as it appears in your CRA account
• Recipient’s name and address — enter all in capital letters: the recipient’s last name first, followed by the first name and initials. For a business, enter the legal or registered operating name provided.
• Recipient's SIN or program account number — enter the SIN in box 012, or nine zeros if you cannot obtain it; use box 013 for a business recipient's program account number if available
• Payer's account number — your 15-character payroll account number in box 061, on your copy and the CRA copy only (not on recipient copies; see Section 7)
• Box 015 — payer offered dental benefits. For calendar year 2023 and after, if you report an amount in box 016, box 015 is mandatory to indicate whether the recipient or their family members were eligible on December 31 of that year to access dental coverage you offered. Otherwise, box 015 is optional

Key boxes

Box 048 vs. Box 020: Box 048 covers fees paid to contractors for services. Box 020 is for self-employed commissions — specifically payments to an independent agent acting on your behalf. These are different payment relationships. Using the wrong box is a common and correctable mistake, but it requires an amended slip if caught after filing.

Other information codes

Additional codes include research grants (code 104), educational assistance payments (code 042), apprenticeship grants (code 130), tuition assistance (code 196), wage loss replacement plan payments (code 107), death benefits (code 106), RESP accumulated income payments (code 040), RDSP payments (code 131), tax-exempt income under the Indian Act, and other income (code 028). For the full list of codes and instructions, refer readers to the CRA T4A guide. CRA’s current guidance includes these codes and more, so linking to the guide is the right move instead of reproducing every code in full.

Formatting rules

• Enter dollar amounts only — no dollar signs
• Report all amounts in dollars and cents, except pension adjustment amounts, which are reported in dollars only
• If a box has no value, leave it blank — do not enter "nil" or "N/A"
• Do not enter hyphens or dashes between numbers
• Do not enter negative amounts, except for code 037, where CRA permits a negative amount for certain advanced life deferred annuity excess transfers

How to file a T4A with the CRA

Follow these steps in order:

1. Confirm the payment belongs on a T4A — not a T4, T5018, NR4, or other return
2. Review payer and recipient information — legal names, addresses, SINs or program account numbers, payroll account number
3. Calculate the reportable amount — gross fees paid during the calendar year, excluding sales taxes where required
4. Complete each T4A slip — enter the calendar year, identification fields, correct payment boxes, and any other information codes
5. Review the T4A Summary or electronic totals — confirm that slip totals match your payment records before submitting
6. Choose your filing method — Web Forms, Internet File Transfer, or paper
7. Prepare your CRA account access or WAC — for Web Forms or Internet File Transfer, you need a business number and its associated WAC, unless you file through My Business Account or Represent a Client
8. Enter the information or upload the XML file — depending on the method chosen
9. Correct validation errors — resolve all errors before submitting; do not submit with outstanding errors
10. Submit the information return
11. Save the CRA confirmation number — this is your proof of submission
12. Provide T4A slips to recipients — this is a separate obligation from filing; see Section 7

Choosing a filing method

Electronic filing is required when you file more than five information returns of the same type in a calendar year. If you file on paper, you can file only 1 to 5 T4A slips, and you have to include the related slips with the T4A Summary. If you file electronically, do not send a paper copy of the slips or summary to CRA.

For the 2025 reporting year, electronic filing is available starting January 12, 2026.

Each payroll account requires a separate return. If your business operates under more than one payroll account, file a separate T4A return for each.

Quebec note: If you operate in Quebec, provincial reporting through Revenu Québec is a separate obligation not covered by this CRA-focused guide. Confirm current Revenu Québec requirements for your specific payment types.

How to prepare T4A slips in Wave

Wave Payroll* can generate T4A slips for eligible contractor records. An active Wave Payroll subscription is required.

Wave can generate T4A slips for vendors marked as T4A Contractors in Wave when they meet Wave's current payment criteria. This workflow is designed for contractor fee-for-service payments and may not support every possible T4A income category. Non-contractor T4A types fall outside the scope of this workflow.

The process in Wave

1. Go to Payroll in your Wave account
2. Select Tax Forms
3. Choose Preview to review contractor payment details and confirm the information is complete before generating
4. Wave flags missing information that must be fixed before the slips can be generated
5. Select Generate once the review is complete
6. You'll need to provide electronic transmitter and contact information during generation
7. Download recipient copies and the XML file from Wave
8. Upload the XML file to the CRA through Web Forms or Internet File Transfer — this step is not automatic

For step-by-step instructions, see Wave's support article on how to preview and generate a T4A slip.

What Wave handles: generating the slip and creating the XML file for CRA submission. What you still own: confirming the return type, submitting the return, and sending recipient copies. Those steps remain the payer’s responsibility.

Distribute slips and correct errors

Filing with the CRA and providing recipient copies are two separate obligations. Completing one does not fulfill the other.

You must give recipients their T4A slips on or before the last day of February following the applicable calendar year.

Distribution methods

• Secure electronic portal — you can distribute slips this way without obtaining prior written or electronic consent from the recipient
• Email — allowed only with the recipient's written consent
• Paper copies — where the recipient has no portal access or requests paper, provide two copies in person or by mail

Do not include your payroll account number on recipient copies. That number goes on the CRA filing copy in box 061, not on the version you give to the recipient.

If a paper copy is returned undeliverable, keep the returned copies in the recipient's file and document your efforts to obtain a correct address. If you already know the address on file is wrong, do not send it — document why and keep that record.

Correcting slips

Two correction scenarios apply:

• Before submission: correct the slip in your system and file the updated version. No amended slip needed.
• After filing: you can amend, cancel, add, or replace slips online or on paper, regardless of how you filed originally. On paper, mark each slip AMENDED, ADDITIONAL, CANCELLED, or DUPLICATE as applicable, include the information that was correct on the original, and do not file an amended T4A Summary. Do not send CRA a copy of a replacement (DUPLICATE) slip.

Do not file an amended slip if the only change is the recipient's address. Income amount errors, wrong boxes, missing SINs, and other substantive errors do require correction.

Keep original and corrected records, CRA confirmation numbers, and documentation of recipient communications. Keep your paper and electronic records for at least six years after the year to which they relate.

Deadlines, penalties, and common mistakes

File your T4A slips and summary with the CRA on or before the last day of February following the applicable calendar year. If that due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or CRA-recognized public holiday, the return is on time when CRA receives it on or before the next business day.

For the 2026 reporting year, that means Monday, March 1, 2027.

Special deadlines

• Ceased operations: remit all amounts you deducted within seven calendar days of the day your business ends. File the T4A slips and summary within 30 days of the day the business ends.
• Death of a sole proprietor or partner: file within 90 days from the date the sole proprietor or partner dies.

Penalties

Late filing. The minimum penalty is $100. Above that, the penalty is based on the number of slips filed late:

Failure to file electronically. If you file more than five returns of a type on paper when electronic filing is required, the penalty is based on the number of slips filed in the wrong format, per type of return:

Miss the slip distribution deadline, and CRA can charge $25 per day for each failure, with a minimum of $100 and a maximum of $2,500. If you fail to deduct required income tax, CRA may assess a penalty equal to 10% of the amount you failed to deduct. A second or later failure in the same calendar year can trigger a 20% penalty if it was made knowingly or through gross negligence.the same calendar year, CRA may apply a 20% penalty if the failure was made knowingly or under circumstances of gross negligence.

Late remittance of deducted tax. The penalty depends on how late the remittance is:

• 3% if the amount is one to three days late
• 5% if it is four or five days late
• 7% if it is six or seven days late
• 10% if it is more than seven days late, or if no amount is remitted

A 20% penalty may apply to a second or later failure in a calendar year made knowingly or under circumstances of gross negligence.

Common mistakes

Complete your review several business days before the deadline. Validation errors, missing SINs, and CRA system delays all take time to resolve — time that disappears when you start on the 28th.

T4A filing checklist

Before preparing slips

• Confirm the applicable calendar year
• Identify every recipient who may require a T4A
• Confirm worker or recipient classification — employee, self-employed, or other (self-employment income belongs on a T4A, not a T4)
• Determine the correct information return for each payment type (T4, T4A, T5018, NR4, or other)
• Verify recipient legal names, addresses, and the social insurance number or program account number where applicable
• Review the gross amount paid and any income tax deducted
• Reconcile contractor payments with invoices and accounting reports
• Confirm GST/HST and PST exclusions from Box 048 amounts
• Confirm whether box 015 dental reporting applies — it is mandatory when you report an amount in box 016

Before filing

• Review every T4A slip for completeness and accuracy
• Confirm correct payment boxes and any other information codes
• Review T4A Summary or electronic totals and reconcile against slip totals
• Confirm payer account information — 15-character payroll account number, legal name, address
• Choose the correct filing method (Web Forms, Internet File Transfer, or paper)
• Confirm the current filing deadline and due date
• Obtain CRA My Business Account access or WAC before the deadline, not on it
• If you file electronically with software-generated XML: upload the file to the CRA separately after generating it
• Resolve all XML validation errors before submitting

After filing

• Save the CRA confirmation number and keep a secure copy of the filed information return
• Provide T4A slips to all recipients by the required deadline
• Document any undeliverable copies and efforts to obtain correct addresses
• Correct any discovered errors through the CRA's amendment process
• Keep all supporting records for at least six years after the year to which they relate