What is a T4?
If you’re a salaried employee, you’ve probably received a T4 once tax season rolls around. A T4, also referred to as a Statement of Remuneration Paid, simply shows how much money you earned as an employee, and how much was withheld and sent to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). It’s usually prepared by an employer, and it’s one of the most important slips you’ll need as an employee filing your taxes.
In addition to documenting your salary, a T4 will also lists mandatory payroll deductions, such as your Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions, Employment Insurance (EI) premiums, vacation pay, bonuses, union dues and Registered Pension Plan (RPP) contributions.
Every employee in Canada who earns $500 or more in employment income within a calendar year (January 1 to December 31) must receive a T4 from every employer they work for. By law, employers must issue T4 slips to current and former employees for the preceding calendar year on or before the last day in February of the following year.
Who has to fill out a T4?
Are you an employer who has paid someone at least $500 within a calendar year and has deducted CPP contributions, EI premiums, or similar? Then you need to fill out a T4 and give it to them. If you’re an employee, then you need to make sure you receive a T4 from every employer for that given year.
T4 Breakdown
At first glance, the T4 can be a bit confusing since it contains a great deal of information on a relatively small form. It contains your name, address and social insurance number, as well as the year, your employer's name and their CRA employer account number.
Here's a breakdown of what you can expect to see on your T4:
| Box | Meaning |
|---|
| Box 14 - Employment Income | This is your total pre-deduction income for the year. |
| Box 16 & Box 17 | Box 16 lists the total annual Canada Pension Plan contributions for employees outside of the Province of Quebec, while Box 17 lists the Quebec Pension Plan contributions for employees who worked in Quebec. |
| Box 18 | The total annual amount of your Employment Income premiums deducted directly from your paycheck. |
| Box 20 | This includes any Registered Pension Plan contributions deducted by your employer. |
| Box 22 | The total amount of income tax deducted by your employer from your wages or salary. |
| Box 24 | The annual insurable earnings used to calculate your EI premiums, which is the total entered in Box 14 less any earnings, benefits or allowances that are not used to in the EI premium calculations. |
| Box 26 | This box lists the amount of CPP/QPP pensionable earnings used to determine your CPP/QPP deductions listed in Box 16/Box 17. |
| Box 44 | If you are a member of a union, your union dues deducted by your employer are listed in this box. |
| Box 46 | Any charitable donations made directly through your employer are listed here. |
| Box 52 | If you earned benefits through a deferred profit-sharing or registered pension plan, the value of those benefits is listed in Box 52. |
| Box 55 | This box includes any provincial parental insurance plan (PPIP) premiums deducted from your income by your employer. |
| Box 56 | The total income used to calculate the PPIP premiums listed in Box 55 is listed in Box 56. |
| Other Information | The T4 slip also includes an area called 'Other Information' used to document special tax codes. |
How to Get a T4 Online
In order to obtain a T4 online, you need to log in to your online CRA account and look for the tab titled 'tax returns'. Select this tab, and navigate to 'Tax Information Slips'. This will open a drop-down menu. Choose the previous year, select the 'Information Slip' option and select the T4.
How to View Past T4s
When it comes to viewing past T4s, you have two options: contact your current and former employers to ask if they can provide you with copies of your T4s, or access the information through your individual CRA online account.
To view past T4s online, log in to your CRA account, select the 'Tax Returns' tab, then select the Tax Information Slips' option. This launches a drop-down menu with links to previous tax years. Simply click on the year you need your T4 for, then select the link to the T4 slip.
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FAQs
A T4 slip identifies all of the remuneration paid by an employer to an employee during a calendar year. You can get a Form T4 slip in a PDF or PDF fillable/saveable format to file on paper.
How many T4 should I have? ›
In adults, normal levels of total T4 range from 5–12 micrograms per deciliter (mcg/dl) of blood. Normal levels of free T4 range from 0.8–1.8 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dl) of blood.
Do you always need a T4? ›
Each employer should give you a T4 slip if you worked for them within the last tax year — no matter if you're a salaried or hourly-paid employee. Depending on how many companies you worked for, you may have multiple T4s that you'll need to submit as part of your tax return.
Are you claiming a spousal amount? ›
You can claim the spouse or common-law amount if you supported your spouse or common-law partner at any time during the year and their net income was less than their basic personal amount ($15,000 in 2023).
What does T4 tell you? ›
A T4 test is used to check how well your thyroid is working. It's also used to help diagnose and monitor thyroid disease and conditions that may affect your thyroid, including: Hypothyroidism, or underactive thyroid, which is when your thyroid gland doesn't make enough thyroid hormone to meet your body's needs.
What is the main function of T4? ›
Thyroid hormone (T3 and T4) affects every cell and all the organs in your body by: Regulating the rate at which your body uses calories (energy). This affects weight loss or weight gain and is called the metabolic rate. Slowing down or speeding up your heart rate.
What is normal T4 level for age? ›
Normal levels of free T4 vary based on your age. In general, normal ranges of free T4 for healthy people include: Children up to 5 years old: 0.8 – 2.8 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dL). Children 6 to 15 years old: 0.8 – 2.1 ng/dL.
What happens when T4 is low? ›
T4 is the key hormone produced in the thyroid gland. Low levels of T4 produce hypothyroidism, and high levels produce hyperthyroidism. Triiodothyronine (T3). Thyroxine (T4) converts to triiodothyronine (T3), which is a more biologically active hormone.
What is the ideal T4 level? ›
Total T4 and Total T3 levels measure bound and free thyroid hormone in the blood. These levels are influenced by many factors that affect protein levels in the body, including medications, sex hormones, and liver disease. A normal Total T4 level in adults ranges from 5.0 to 12.0μg/dL.
How do I get my T4? ›
Your T4E is available as early as February 1 through My Service Canada Account (MSCA). You can view, print and submit a copy of it with your Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) tax return. To access your T4E online, you need to log in or register for MSCA. You can also get your T4E by mail.
A T4 is not the same as a record of employment. An ROE is the document required to complete when there is a lapse of insurable income for an employee, as explained above. It is a necessary form for an employer to complete and is directly related to whether an employee can make an Employment Insurance claim.
What do the boxes mean on my T4? ›
What do the boxes on my T4 mean? Box 10: Province of employment. Box 12: Social insurance number. Box 14: Employment income – Line 10100. Box 16: Employee's CPP contributions – Line 30800 and Line 22215.
How does my wife get spousal benefits? ›
When a worker files for retirement benefits, the worker's spouse may be eligible for a benefit based on the worker's earnings. Another requirement is that the spouse must be at least age 62 or have a qualifying child in her/his care.
Do I claim married or single? ›
To use the single filing status, you need to be unmarried, legally separated and/or divorced on the last day of the tax year (December 31). To qualify as married in the eyes of the IRS you need to get legally married on or before the last day of the tax year. If you can legally file as married, then you must.
Can I claim my wife as a dependent if she doesn't work? ›
Dependents are either a qualifying child or a qualifying relative of the taxpayer. The taxpayer's spouse cannot be claimed as a dependent. Some examples of dependents include a child, stepchild, brother, sister, or parent.
Is it better to have high or low free T4? ›
A level of free T 4 that is higher than normal could mean you have an overactive thyroid. Conditions linked to hyperthyroidism include Graves disease, an autoimmune disorder. Abnormally low free T 4 levels may signal hypothyroidism. This means your thyroid is not making enough hormones.
What is a normal free T4 level? ›
Normal Results
A typical normal range is 0.9 to 2.3 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dL), or 12 to 30 picomoles per liter (pmol/L). Normal value ranges may vary slightly among different laboratories. Some laboratories use different measurements or may test different specimens.
How to interpret thyroid test results? ›
Low levels of TSH in the blood may indicate an overactive thyroid gland, thyroid gland, commonly referred to as hyperthyroidism. High levels of TSH in the blood may indicate an underactive thyroid gland, commonly referred to as hypothyroidism. Elevated Free T4 results may indicate hyperthyroidism.
