T4A Tax Slips for Canadian Income Taxes

Tax season is never a walk in the park, and having the deal with forms with confusing names that sound like Star Wars robots don't make it any better. But once you know what each form is for, filing taxes becomes just that much less of a nuisance.

If you are working in Canada, you will most likely encounter the T4A Tax Slip. Here is a quick breakdown of what the T4A Tax Slip is and what to do with it.

A Canadian T4A tax slip, or Statement of Pension, Retirement, Annuity, and Other Income, is prepared and issued by an employer, a trustee, an estate executor or liquidator, a pension administrator, or a corporate director, to tell you and the ​Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) how much of certain types of income they paid you during a tax year and the amount of income tax that was deducted.

Income covered by T4A tax slips includes:

• Pension or superannuation
• Lump-sum payments
• Self-employed commissions
• Annuities
• Retiring allowances
• Patronage allocations
• RESP accumulated income payments
• RESP educational assistance payments
• Payments under a wage-loss replacement plan
• Other income, including death benefits, registered disability savings plan payments, research grants, scholarships, bursaries, fellowships, artists' project grants, and prizes

Note that pension income from Old Age Security is reported on the T4A(OAS) tax slip and amounts you received from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) or Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) are reported on the T4A(P) tax slip.

T4A tax slips must be issued by the last day of February the year after the calendar year to which the T4A tax slips apply.

This sample T4A tax slip from the CRA site shows what a T4A tax slip looks like. For more information on what is included in each box on the T4A tax slip and how to deal with it when filing your income tax return, click on the box number in the pull-down menu or click on the box on the sample T4A tax slip.

When you file a paper income tax return, include copies of each of the T4A tax slips you receive. If you file your income tax return using NETFILE or EFILE, keep copies of your T4A tax slips with your records for six years in case the CRA asks to see them.

If you haven't received a T4A tax slip, file your income tax return by the deadline anyway to avoid penalties for filing your income taxes late. Calculate the income and any related deductions and credits you can claim as closely as you can using any information you have. Include a note with the issuer's name and address, the type of income, and what you have done to get a copy of the missing T4A slip. You are required to ask for a copy of the missing T4A slip. Include copies of any statements and information you used in calculating the income and deductions for the missing T4A tax slip.

Other T4 tax information slips include:

• T4 - Statement of Remuneration Paid
• T4A(OAS) - Statement of Old Age Security
• T4A(P) - Statement of Canada Pension Plan Benefits
• T4E - Statement of Employment Insurance and Other Benefits
• T4RIF - Statement of Income From a Registered Retirement Income Fund
• T4RSP - Statement of RRSP Income